China Eastern has announced its intention to enter into a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic, Air France and KLM, expanding the network of the carriers between Europe and China.      

China Eastern said it currently has a joint venture with Air France and KLM through a portfolio of flights between China and Paris and Amsterdam.

"With Virgin Atlantic joining the existing partnership between China Eastern, Air France and KLM, the enlarged cooperation will offer strengthened customer benefits including increased travel options and optimized connectivity across Europe and China, further facilitated by a developed joint network, as well as competitive joint commercial propositions," the Shanghai-based airline said.

The China to United Kingdom markets, it added, are expected to be "pivotal" at a time where China Eastern and Virgin Atlantic services linking London to Shanghai are part of the mutualized offer.

China Eastern said it plans to seek to codeshare for the first time on Virgin Atlantic services between London and Shanghai, which will open up a range of customer benefits, including the opportunity for customers to earn and redeem miles across both carriers on flights between China and the United Kingdom.

"The announcement reaffirms China Eastern's commitment to the European market, which will inject new vitality into her international development, network construction and service improvement and will also contribute to the internationalization of China's civil aviation and the Belt and Road Initiative," the airline added.

Tian Liuwen, EVP China Eastern Group, said the joint venture partnership will help expand the coverage of the airlines between China and Europe.

"China Eastern and Air France-KLM have maintained a long-term and stable strategic cooperation, which have provided strong support for each other's services between China and Europe. With Virgin Atlantic's joining, the cooperation will develop to a higher level, enabling us to deliver more quality products and services for customers between China and Europe," Liuwen said.

Based on the schedule provided by China Eastern, there will be twice-daily frequencies between Shanghai/Pudong and Paris/Charles de Gaulle, four weekly frequencies between Shanghai/Pudong and Amsterdam/Schiphol, three weekly frequencies between Kunming and Paris/Charles de Gaulle and three weekly frequencies between Qingdao and Paris/Charles de Gaulle, to be serviced by China Eastern.

 Air France, meanwhile, will serve twice-daily frequencies between Paris/Charles de Gaulle and Shanghai/Pudong and three weekly frequencies (four weekly in peak periods) between Paris/Charles de Gaulle and Wuhan.

KLM will have 12 weekly frequencies between Amsterdam/Schiphol and Shanghai/Pudong.

Between China Eastern and Virgin Atlantic, there will be daily service from Shanghai/Pudong to London Heathrow and thrice-weekly frequencies from Shanghai/Pudong to London Gatwick.