Dubai: Emirates has timed its new flights to China to perfection, coinciding with the Chinese New Year. The Dubai airline will increase connectivity to three gateway cities – Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou - in response to intense travel demand after China reopened its borders on January 8 to tourists following three years of COVID-19 related closures.
Emirates said the service resumption to Shanghai will begin January 20 with a twice-weekly service and gradually increasing to a daily service from March 1. The two weekly flights, operated by an A380 aircraft, will depart from Dubai to Shanghai non-stop and make a short stop in Bangkok before returning to Dubai. This service will ramp up in frequency to four weekly flights operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from February 2, and on March 1, the Dubai-Shanghai route will have a daily non-stop service.
Emirates currently operates a non-stop flight from Dubai to Guangzhou and a return flight from Guangzhou to Dubai via Bangkok four times a week. Starting February 1, the airline will increase services between Dubai and Guangzhou with daily non-stop flights with the flagship Emirates A380.
Operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, Emirates’ flight will return to China’s capital, Beijing, with a daily non-stop service from Dubai, starting from March 15. The airline has also advised travellers to check the latest entry requirements into the country.
The carrier offers travellers increased connectivity to eight domestic points via Guangzhou through its codeshare agreement with China Southern Airline.
In an interview with ‘Gulf News’, Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates Adnan Kazim confirmed that the airline is focusing its energies on ramping up operations to Asian cities. Last week, the airline also relaunched operations to Tokyo-Haneda. The relaunch of routes to China will bring the airline’s operations in the market up to 21 weekly flights, contributing to China’s tourism recovery.
Airfares from Dubai to China
Return Economy class fares from Dubai to Shanghai are at Dh6,985 for departure on January 20 and return on January 27. The re-launch of direct Emirates flights from Dubai to China has significantly reduced flight rates. Until last week, airlines charged Dh10,000-Dh12,000 for Economy.
Breakdown of fares from January 20 - March 15
- Dubai – Shanghai: Dh6,985
- Dubai – Guangzhou: Dh 7,475
- Dubai – Beijing airfares for travel after March 1 are yet to be updated on the Emirates website.
