Qatar Airways announced on 23 November that its winter 2025/26 schedule will raise Doha–Shanghai Pudong services from seven to ten weekly flights between 1 January and 28 March 2026. The carrier will also up-gauge select rotations with Airbus A350-1000 aircraft equipped with Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi.
The move forms part of a broader network expansion that adds nearly 3 000 flights across 15 destinations, but Shanghai is the only Mainland Chinese city seeing a capacity boost in this tranche—signal of recovering corporate and premium-leisure demand. Forward bookings from energy, automotive and luxury-retail accounts in the Gulf Cooperation Council are reportedly 18 % above 2024 levels.
![Qatar Airways Lifts Shanghai Frequencies as China Demand Rebounds]()
Why it matters: the extra seats improve one-stop connectivity between eastern China and Africa/Middle East markets such as Lagos, Algiers and Doha, easing routing constraints for project teams and supply-chain managers who previously relied on limited Chinese carrier options.
Travel-program impact: organisations with contracted fares on oneworld partners should renegotiate allotments before the 17 December Kuala Lumpur frequency hike diverts capacity. Qatar Airways has not reinstated Beijing services yet; analysts expect an announcement once bilateral slot talks conclude early 2026.
Passenger experience: the A350-1000 offers Qsuite business-class cabins and free gate-to-gate Wi-Fi. Economy travellers gain USB-C power and 13-inch 4K IFE screens—features that can help duty-of-care teams keep staff connected during long-haul travel.
The move forms part of a broader network expansion that adds nearly 3 000 flights across 15 destinations, but Shanghai is the only Mainland Chinese city seeing a capacity boost in this tranche—signal of recovering corporate and premium-leisure demand. Forward bookings from energy, automotive and luxury-retail accounts in the Gulf Cooperation Council are reportedly 18 % above 2024 levels.
Why it matters: the extra seats improve one-stop connectivity between eastern China and Africa/Middle East markets such as Lagos, Algiers and Doha, easing routing constraints for project teams and supply-chain managers who previously relied on limited Chinese carrier options.
Travel-program impact: organisations with contracted fares on oneworld partners should renegotiate allotments before the 17 December Kuala Lumpur frequency hike diverts capacity. Qatar Airways has not reinstated Beijing services yet; analysts expect an announcement once bilateral slot talks conclude early 2026.
Passenger experience: the A350-1000 offers Qsuite business-class cabins and free gate-to-gate Wi-Fi. Economy travellers gain USB-C power and 13-inch 4K IFE screens—features that can help duty-of-care teams keep staff connected during long-haul travel.
