Air China holds its summer travel press conference on June 26, 2024 in Beijing. Photo: Courtesy of Air China

During the coming 2024 summer travel season, Air China will operate a more extensive route network, with increased capacity and higher quality services to deal with the peak summer travel demand, the airline announced at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

To meet the outbound summer travel demand, Air China plans to increase international route capacity by opening or resuming 13 routes such as Beijing to Dhaka, Chengdu to Milan, and the Shanghai to Barcelona route. Additionally, they will open a Beijing to Copenhagen route and Chengdu to Singapore route.

With the newly announced routes, Air China's international routes will be restored to over 90 percent of the 2019 level, covering 114 routes across 43 countries and regions on six continents. Through cooperation with Star Alliance member airlines, the route network will expand to nearly 1,200 destinations worldwide.

For domestic travel, Air China will increase capacity to popular areas such as Xinjiang, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shandong, and Hainan, as well as summer resorts like Yunnan, Guizhou and Fujian, covering 32 destinations and 38 routes. During the summer travel season, the daily average number of domestic flights will be 1,444, a 39.2 percent increase compared to 2019.

Air China has also been actively promoting the "Silk Road in the Air" and supporting the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to facilitate high-level opening-up. Currently, the airline operates 61 BRI-focused routes, serving 36 cities in 28 countries, accounting for 60 percent of its total international routes.

In terms of the European market, Air China is one of the key carriers between China and Europe, with a market share of over 28 percent. Europe is also the region where Air China has the largest international capacity deployment, with 32 routes and 53 daily flights between China and Europe, exceeding the 2019 level by 116 percent.

Passengers can now depart from multiple domestic cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Chongqing, to connect to Air China's European route network. With the strong hubs of Air China's cooperation partner Lufthansa in Frankfurt and Munich, passengers can reach various destinations in Europe through a single transfer.

Air China, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, and Beijing Capital International Airport Co have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly promote tourism resources and develop inbound tourism markets.

Air China also unveiled its latest upgrades in products and services. To meet the summer market demand for family and student travel, Air China has launched family card products, upgraded parent-child travel products, and optimized travel products for unaccompanied minors, students, and the elderly.

In terms of travel experience, Air China has upgraded the user experience throughout the entire process by linking online and offline, and ground and air services, including self-operated lounges and onboard meals, aiming to provide passengers with a more comfortable and convenient travel experience.