Emirates is set to add new routes to China in summer 2025, according to unnamed Bloomberg sources. The Dubai-based flag carrier is reportedly launching daily flights from there to Shenzhen, a technology, trade and finance hub in a special economic zone in Guangdong Province, southeastern China.
History of high Emirates seat factors to China
Emirates was the first airline to establish non-stop connectivity between the Middle East and mainland China, with daily direct passenger flights to Shanghai back in 2004. That built to a service of over three dozen flights per week. By 2019 the carrier had carried nearly 13 million people, boasting an average seat factor of 83%. Around 38% of passengers on those flights either originated in, or were destined for, the UAE or Middle East. That figure rose to 63% when combined with Africa.
As the Chinese travel market continues to recover post-Covid-19, it is likely that historically high seat factor and Emirates Chinese codeshare partnerships that lend it the confidence to grow its offer in Asia’s largest economy. As well as the launch to Szenzhen, other Chinese routes are also set to hit schedules this summer. They are services to Hangzhou, on China’s east coast, plus the Sichuan capital of Chengdu.
Drop in European airline services could increase demand
The Emirates ramp up also coincides with a pullback from the Chinese market by European carriers due to detours and high fuel costs caused by the ongoing closure of Russian airspace. Lufthansa for example, cut back its China network in autumn 2024.
Meanwhile Chinese airlines have been expanding. Emirates is therefore said to be relying on potentially increased demand from diversified feeder traffic coming into its Dubai hub, and the same at Shenzhen, north of Hong Kong and Macau.
Delayed several times already due to supply chain issues with new and retrofit aircraft, the rumoured summer inauguration follows the successful delivery of a new Airbus A350. But the Shenzhen route is expected to be operated aboard a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, configured to seat between 364 and 442 passengers.
Other Emirates expansions in the pipeline
Elsewhere in Asia, the central Vietnamese port city of Da Nang will also gain an Emirates route, as well as Cambodia’s second city, Siem Reap. Those are in addition to new African services to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and, across the Congo River, Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo.
We’re ramping up in Africa, upgrading the schedule to Uganda and Ethiopia to a daily service. https://t.co/6st7QjVj9M pic.twitter.com/LUhqX5TOnL
— Emirates (@emirates) October 31, 2024
Over in Europe, it is Helsinki, Finland that is set to benefit from the ambitious Emirates expansion, possibly aboard the Airbus A350, if sources are accurate. Still, Bloomberg warned, all these routes are subject to potential delayed launches, thanks to continued uncertainty in aviation supply chains and an unpredictable geopolitical environment.
