Etihad Airways will launch services to five new cities on mainland China, marking its largest single-market expansion in recent years. Starting October 1, 2026, the airline begins daily flights to Shanghai Pudong, with Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu Tianfu, and Shenzhen following in March 2027.
Shanghai Pudong receives one daily round-trip. From March 4, 2027, Guangzhou gets one daily round-trip and Hangzhou five weekly flights; Chengdu Tianfu starts March 5 with four weekly, and Shenzhen March 7 with five weekly.
All routes deploy Boeing 787-9 aircraft configured with 28 business-class seats and 262 economy seats, totaling 290 seats.
Combined with the existing Abu Dhabi-Beijing Daxing route, Etihad will serve six Chinese mainland cities with 35 weekly round-trips. This expansion forms part of its joint venture with China Eastern Airlines, boosting connectivity to high-demand markets and enhancing Etihad’s Asia-Pacific network capacity.