Air China steps up international presence

Air China will resume Shanghai-Paris rotations CA833/4 and change the Shanghai-Beijing-Paris service CA933/4 to Beijing-Paris direct service. B777-300ER widebodies will be used on these routes to replace the original A340. Air China’s Paris office recently invited nearly two hundred guests from the government as well as sectors of civil aviation, industry, commerce and travel, including French minister for transport Thierry Mariani and Chinese ambassador in Paris Kong Quan and his wife to a grand gala which was intended to generate appropriate publicity for the resumption of the direct link between Shanghai and Paris and the change of aircraft type on the Beijing-Paris route. Since joining the Star Alliance - the world’s largest airline network - in 2007, Air China has been cementing its foothold in the international market. Its extensive route network places 1,160 destinations in 181 countries worldwide within easy reach. What Air China has done with respect to the Beijing-Paris market is just one of the moves that the carrier is making to shore up its international presence. In 2012, Air China will make further inroads into the overseas market. Take Europe as an example. The inauguration of links to Dusseldorf, Athens and Milan in 2011 will be followed by that of Beijing-Copenhagen rotations in 2012, which will bring Air China’s European destinations up to 13. Currently, Air China is the largest carrier serving the China-Europe market.