SPAIN says it hopes to see direct flights launched soon between Shanghai and Madrid, following face-to-face talks between industry and tourism minister José Manuel Soria and China Eastern Airlines’ president, Yang Min Li.
According to news agencies and confirmation by a tourism ministry spokesperson TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to, the two parties reached an outline agreement during talks to offer a thrice-weekly service.
Soria, who was visiting Shanghai, said China Eastern had already been studying the potential of the route for several months.
While Air China currently operates eight flights a week from Beijing, this is not sufficient given the rapid growth in both commercial ties and incoming tourism from China, said Soria.
An added incentive for China Eastern could be a codesharing deal with Spain’s second regular airline, Air Europa, which briefly operated China flights in the past. Both airlines are members of the SkyTeam alliance.
