Summary

  • Three Chinese airlines have increased direct flights from mainland China to France as the Paris Olympics approaches.
  • Currently, there will be a total of 56 round-trip flights per week between mainland China and France in the coming August.
  • Despite the increase, the number of direct flights between China and France is still much lower than in 2019.

With the Paris Olympics approaching, three Chinese airlines have recently increased their direct flights between mainland China and France. According to Cirium data, during the Olympics, in the first week of August, the number of direct flights between mainland China and France will reach 56 round-trip flights per week, an increase of 8 round-trip flights compared to June.

The three airlines that have added new direct flights between mainland China and France are:

  • Shanghai Airlines has added direct flights from Shanghai to Marseille, with three flights per week.
  • China Southern Airlines has increased the frequency of flights from Guangzhou to Paris to one flight per day.
  • Xiamen Airlines has increased the frequency of flights from Xiamen to Paris to five flights per week.

Which airlines are currently operating China-France routes?

The current airlines operating direct flights between China and France and their corresponding weekly round-trip flight information and numbers are as follows:

Airlines

Route

Number of round-trip flights in August

Number of round-trip flights in June

Air China

Beijing Capital

Paris

12

12

China Eastern Airlines

Shanghai Pudong

Paris

12

12

Air France

Beijing Capital

Paris

7

7

Shanghai Pudong

Paris

7

7

China Southern Airlines

Guangzhou

Paris

7

5

Xiamen Airlines

Xiamen

Paris

5

2

Shanghai Airlines

Shanghai Pudong

Marseille

3

0

Hainan Airlines

Shenzhen

Paris

2

2

Chongqing

Paris

1

1

Total

56

48

Air France planes parked at Paris airport

Photo: hanohiki | Shutterstock

By the way, Air France and Cathay Pacific also operate daily flights between Hong Kong and Paris. If these are taken into account, the number of direct round-trip flights between China and France will reach 70 flights per week by August.

Airlines

Route

Number of round-trip flights in August

Number of round-trip flights in June

Cathay Pacific

Hong Kong

Paris

7

7

Air France

Hong Kong

Paris

7

7

The global sporting event that occurs every four years, the 33rd Summer Olympic Games, will be held in Paris, France from July 26 to August 11.

Current number of China-France direct flights is still far from the levels of 2019

However, even with the increased flights, the current number of direct flights between China and France still falls significantly short of the peak levels in 2019. In 2019, there were more than 100 direct flights per week between mainland China and France. By June 2024, the flight levels have only recovered to about half of the 2019 levels.

China Eastern Airlines Boeing 777-300ER

Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock

Looking back to 2019, Air France operated flights not only to first-tier cities like Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai but also to Wuhan, reaching a total of 42 flights per week in the Greater China region. In 2024, Air France has only resumed flights to Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai, with 21 flights per week, a recovery rate of just 50%.

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As for Chinese airlines, in 2019, they operated numerous direct flights from second-tier cities in China to Paris, such as Air China’s Chengdu-Paris, Hainan Airlines’ Xi’an-Paris and Guiyang-Paris, China Eastern Airlines’ Kunming-Paris and Qingdao-Paris, and Xiamen Airlines’ Fuzhou-Paris. By June 2024, only two second-tier cities, Chongqing and Xiamen, have resumed direct flights to Paris. Even the number of flights from first-tier cities has decreased to varying extents compared to 2019.

If you are interested in which airlines are currently operating direct flights between China and the US, please refer to our analysis report on China-US direct flight routes.

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