China Eastern Unveils Major International Expansion

China Eastern is expanding its network ahead of the 2024 Spring Festival Rush. The move is part of its effort to open and resume international routes.

Increases Coming

The carrier says it’ll look to increase its Southeast Asian island destination routes to help meet travel demand.

Specifically, this will occur during the Spring Festival Travel Rush. The company expects that these additional flights will result in more passengers.

As a direct result, more people will travel or travel through China during a 40-day festival.

2,322 round-trip flights will be operated between domestic airports in China and critical locations such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

Breaking It Down

China Eastern says it’ll open service between three cities in China to Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, four routes are operated from Shanghai and Beijing to Kuala Lumpur. In total, 340 round-trip flights will depart from the city in Indonesia.

The airline further adds that operations towards Australia will see five destinations of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and Perth in operation.

Cairns, however, will be the ninth route operated between China and Australia, with the seasonal route operating briefly. For this stint, services will be offered on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Singapore has 8 routes with China Eastern. Thailand also has direct connections to Chengdu and Shanghai, among many other locations.

The flights, however, will be increased to 66 per day, a staggering amount during the Spring Festival Travel Rush and one of the most important periods of the year.

The importance is only highlighted following the incredibly bleak couple of years during the global pandemic that took its toll on airlines based in China.