Flights to China for Expo 2010. Tuesday, 26 January 2010 13:39 | Written by Paul Argyle | PDF | | Print | | E-mail

If the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 defined China’s entry into the very top tier of International Sports, then the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010 will define China’s entry into the top tier of International business. The event is due to attract 70 Million visitors and will run for six months from May 01st to October 31st 2010. In scale, scope and commercial impact the Shanghai Expo 2010 will far exceed anything that Beijing Games achieved and is likely to exert a massive influence on the agenda of international trade for the next decade. With 192 countries and 50 international organisations participating the event is already guaranteed to be an unsurpassed showcase of architecture, technological innovation, new ideas for community development and urban living.

But how are Europeans booking their flights to Shanghai to ensure they don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity?

The good news is that the Expo will be served through both Shanghai’s two major airports: Hongqiao International Airport and Pudong International Airport where the dominant indigenous carriers are Air China and China Eastern Airlines, the latter of which is currently merging with Shanghai Airlines to form a new mega carrier.

Air China is China’s second largest carrier after China Southern and whilst its main hub is at Beijing Capital International Airport it has a very strong network of flights from Shanghai's Pudong.

Air China

Air China flies to China from 9 European departure points: London Heathrow, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Frankfurt, Munich, Milan, Rome, Moscow, St Petersburg, Madrid and Stockholm. North America is served from Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Vancouver. With a massive fleet of almost 250 aircraft, all western manufactured by Boeing or Airbus, Air China should feature in anyone’s research into the best ways of getting to Expo 2010.

China Eastern

China Eastern Airlines has the benefit of being based in Shanghai and whilst smaller than its rival, Air China, is rapidly developing in size through its merger with Shanghai Airlines. By adding its fleet of 240 aircraft to Shanghai’s 33, China Eastern is building into itself into a formidable force in Chinese aviation. Currently its presence in Europe is small with established schedules services operating to Paris and Frankfurt but from March 28th 2010 the airline will add departures to Shanghai’s Ruding airport from London Heathrow and Moscow.

China Southern

China’s largest airline,

China Southern operates European services only to Amsterdam, Paris (Charles de Gaulle) and three airports in Russia. European carriers operating into Pudong include Virgin Atlantic, Air France, British Airways, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines.

10 Chinese carriers serve Hongqaio Airport from many domestic destinations as well as All Nippon and Japan Airlines from Tokyo plus Asiana and Korean from Seoul.

Two things are clear, one is that demand for Air travel to Shanghai during Expo 2010 will be high and secondly, that the choice of different routes to get there and alternative airlines to try is enormous. This is a combination that will inevitably reward the savvy traveller who is willing to spend time researching different options and who consider their travel time as a valuable part of their Expo experience.