On September 26, 2024, China Eastern launched the direct route “Shanghai-Venice”, with flight MU785/MU786. This route will operate three times a week, with flights every Monday, Thursday and Saturday. On the same day, the new route “Xi’an-Milan” also took off, with flight MU5013/5014, also with three flights a week, every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. These new connections not only make it easier for Chinese and Italian passengers to travel, but also open new doors for cultural and economic exchanges between the two countries.
To celebrate in style, China Eastern organized a special welcome for passengers: a parade of traditional Chinese clothes (Hanfu), themed performances, fusion dishes with Chinese and Italian ingredients, and small gifts inspired by Chinese culture. But it doesn’t stop there! The crews of the two inaugural flights participated in an air-ground connection event, using the onboard Wi-Fi to make a video call with each other, exchanging greetings and good wishes for all passengers.
The opening of these routes immediately got the web talking, with enthusiastic comments such as: “Congratulations to China Eastern! Finally the wonderful cities of Shanghai and Venice are connected!” “This route is fantastic, even Marco Polo would love it!” “Simply perfect!”… The official accounts of Milan Airports, Vola Malpensa and Associazione Aeroporti Lombardi also sent their best wishes to China Eastern via social media.
With the new Xi’an-Milan and Shanghai-Venice flights, China Eastern now has four direct connections between China and Italy, along with the Shanghai-Rome and Wenzhou-Rome routes. The flight network is making it even easier to travel between China, Italy and all of Europe. Currently, China Eastern flies to 9 European countries, connecting 14 cities and 15 airports, including Paris, Marseille, London, Rome, Milan, Madrid, Frankfurt and Budapest.