China Eastern Airlines began operating its 2025/26 winter–spring timetable on 28 October, deploying 820 passenger aircraft across 953 routes. The schedule includes 197 international and regional services—an 11.7 per cent year-on-year increase—as the carrier doubles down on ‘fly farther, fly international, fly emerging markets.’
Headline additions include Beijing Daxing–Muscat, Taiyuan–Kunming–Kuala Lumpur and the much-anticipated Shanghai Pudong–Auckland–Buenos Aires sector launching 4 December. Spanning nearly 20,000 kilometres, the latter will set a new benchmark as the world’s longest commercial flight linking antipodal cities, supporting south-south trade flows and positioning Shanghai as a super-connector between Asia and Latin America.
For corporate mobility planners, the expanded network offers fresh one-stop options to secondary Chinese cities via the airline’s domestic ‘air-rail’ interline agreements, while additional frequencies to Sydney, Paris and Nairobi improve duty-of-care flexibility during disruptions. Average weekly international departures will reach 3,220—critical capacity as visa-free and 240-hour transit policies drive inbound demand.
China Eastern is also upgrading its A350 and 787 fleets with Viasat inflight Wi-Fi, offering complimentary messaging across all ‘Air Express’ trunk routes. Mobility managers should update travel-policy per-diem guidelines to reflect new connectivity benefits and advise travellers on potential jet-lag impacts for the ultra-long-haul Buenos Aires leg.
The airline’s winter push underscores Chinese carriers’ ambition to capture pent-up outbound tourism and cargo revenue before international rivals can fully restore capacity. Global mobility teams should re-benchmark negotiated fares for 2026 budgets as competition intensifies on trans-Pacific and Europe–China corridors.
Headline additions include Beijing Daxing–Muscat, Taiyuan–Kunming–Kuala Lumpur and the much-anticipated Shanghai Pudong–Auckland–Buenos Aires sector launching 4 December. Spanning nearly 20,000 kilometres, the latter will set a new benchmark as the world’s longest commercial flight linking antipodal cities, supporting south-south trade flows and positioning Shanghai as a super-connector between Asia and Latin America.
For corporate mobility planners, the expanded network offers fresh one-stop options to secondary Chinese cities via the airline’s domestic ‘air-rail’ interline agreements, while additional frequencies to Sydney, Paris and Nairobi improve duty-of-care flexibility during disruptions. Average weekly international departures will reach 3,220—critical capacity as visa-free and 240-hour transit policies drive inbound demand.
China Eastern is also upgrading its A350 and 787 fleets with Viasat inflight Wi-Fi, offering complimentary messaging across all ‘Air Express’ trunk routes. Mobility managers should update travel-policy per-diem guidelines to reflect new connectivity benefits and advise travellers on potential jet-lag impacts for the ultra-long-haul Buenos Aires leg.
The airline’s winter push underscores Chinese carriers’ ambition to capture pent-up outbound tourism and cargo revenue before international rivals can fully restore capacity. Global mobility teams should re-benchmark negotiated fares for 2026 budgets as competition intensifies on trans-Pacific and Europe–China corridors.
