China Eastern partners China Southern for ‘voluntary’ cross-airline domestic transfer

China Eastern Airlines has partnered with compatriot China Southern Airlines for what it calls a cross-airline passenger transfer service on flights between Beijing’s Daxing airport and Guangzhou. The service – believed to be the first of its kind among Chinese domestic operators – will allow for passengers on the route to “voluntarily” switch flights between the two carriers on the route, subject to transfer conditions. Says China Eastern: “This is an innovative practice…to improve the level of domestic operations. It will further promote air links between the two [hubs] and provide passengers with more convenient, efficient and flexible travel options.” China Southern and China Eastern both have an operating hub at Daxing airport, while China Southern’s main operating hub is at Guangzhou. The two carriers take a lion’s share of the capacity on the route, operating 42 out of 48 flights daily. According to domestic travel data, the route saw just over 3m passengers in 2024. Separately, China Eastern has outlined plans for the upcoming Lunar New Year travel season, which it believes will see “rapid growth”, with capacity about 3% higher than 2019’s holiday period. The eight-day holiday is one of the peak travel period in Mainland China. <br/>