Travel between China and Europe to expand next year

Virgin Atlantic has joined a joint venture between China Eastern, Air France and KLM that is set to make direct travel between Europe and China easier and more accessible.

Scheduled to go into effect next spring, the partnership will increase the number of flights and itineraries between cities like Shanghai and Paris, London and Amsterdam.

The venture will also give flyers more opportunity to earn and redeem miles when flying and connecting across partner carriers.

The addition of Virgin Atlantic extends on the existing partnership between China Eastern and the Air France-KLM Group.

This summer, Virgin Atlantic operated daily flights from London Heathrow to Shanghai-Pudong. China Eastern also operated daily services from Shanghai-Pudong to London Heathrow, along with flights to London Gatwick three times a week.

Air France and KLM operate direct flights from Paris and Amsterdam to Shanghai-Pudong, while China Eastern also flies from Europe to alternative Chinese destinations Kunming and Qingdao.

Government statistics released earlier this year showed that inbound tourism to China grew 1.2 percent in 2018, at 141 million tourists. A report by market research group Euromonitor International released last year predicted that China will overtake France as the world’s most popular tourist destination by 2030.

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