Emirates is deepening its commitment to the Chinese market with a new interline partnership that opens up twenty-two additional domestic destinations for travellers from the United Arab Emirates. Through a tie-up with Zhejiang Loong Airlines, better known as Loong Air, passengers flying from Dubai and other Emirates-served points in the UAE can now continue seamlessly to a wider range of Chinese cities via key hubs including Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The move broadens options for both business and leisure travellers at a time when China’s aviation market is regaining momentum and demand for cross-border connectivity is on the rise.
A New Layer of Connectivity Between the UAE and China
The interline agreement, announced in mid-February 2026, effectively extends Emirates’ reach far beyond its own Chinese gateways, which currently include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Under the arrangement, passengers can book itineraries that combine flights on Emirates and Loong Air using a single ticket, while benefiting from through-checked baggage and unified fare conditions from origin to final destination. For travellers in the UAE and across Emirates’ global network, this unlocks new one-stop links deep into China’s interior without the need to piece together separate bookings on domestic Chinese carriers.
Loong Air, headquartered in Hangzhou, operates a dense network of domestic services across multiple regions of China. By connecting Emirates’ long-haul operations over Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong to Loong Air’s shorter domestic legs, the two carriers are effectively stitching together a virtual hub system that offers smoother itineraries and reduced connection times. For the UAE, which has positioned itself as a global aviation crossroads, the agreement further strengthens its role as a bridge between China and the rest of the world.
The partnership also reflects the strategic importance both countries place on improving air links as an enabler of trade and tourism. The UAE is one of China’s key economic partners in the Gulf, and Chinese outbound travellers have historically been a significant source market for Dubai and other emirates. Enhanced air connectivity is expected to support renewed visitor flows in both directions while providing Chinese businesses with streamlined access to markets served by Emirates worldwide.
Twenty-Two New Domestic Destinations Across Key Chinese Regions
Through the new interline arrangement, Emirates ticket-holders can now access 22 additional points across mainland China on Loong Air-operated flights. These destinations span several of the country’s most dynamic regions, including East, Northeast, South, Central and Southwest China. Among the cities highlighted by the carriers are Zhengzhou in Henan province, Changchun in Jilin, Haikou on the island of Hainan, Xiangyang in Hubei and Dazhou in Sichuan, alongside a broader mix of industrial centres, transport hubs and emerging tourism locations.
For many of these cities, convenient one-stop access from the Gulf and beyond has traditionally required multiple separate tickets or circuitous routings through Beijing and Shanghai. Emirates’ expanded China strategy, which in recent years has added new own-metal routes to Hangzhou and Shenzhen, now combines with Loong Air’s extensive domestic network to dramatically reduce the friction involved in reaching secondary and tertiary markets. This is particularly significant for corporate travellers heading to inland manufacturing belts, technology corridors and logistics nodes that are not yet served directly by long-haul carriers.
The geographic spread of the 22 destinations highlights the breadth of opportunity that the airlines are targeting. From the consumer and high-tech clusters of eastern China to the resource-rich provinces of the interior and the tourism-focused coastal and island regions, the extended network is designed to cater to a wide range of travel purposes. For UAE-based firms expanding their presence in China, the ability to reach a greater number of local markets with fewer stops and clearer booking channels may offer a tangible competitive advantage.
Streamlined Travel Experience With Single Ticketing and Unified Baggage Rules
Central to the appeal of the Emirates–Loong Air tie-up is the promise of a more seamless passenger experience. Rather than purchasing separate tickets and reclaiming luggage at the first point of entry into China, travellers can now book through itineraries where baggage is checked from origin to final destination. This reduces the risk of missed connections, simplifies transit procedures and shortens the time needed to navigate major hubs such as Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
The carriers are also offering consistent fare conditions across the combined journey, removing one of the key pain points associated with self-connecting on multiple airlines. Passengers are expected to benefit from coordinated minimum connection times, clearer rebooking policies in the event of disruption and a single point of contact for itinerary changes when tickets are issued on Emirates stock. For long-haul travellers tackling journeys that may involve more than ten hours of flying followed by a domestic connection, such streamlining can make a substantial difference to overall comfort and predictability.
From a distribution standpoint, tickets incorporating the new interline options are available through Emirates’ direct sales channels, including its website and contact centres, as well as via travel agencies and global distribution systems. The carrier has also highlighted the availability of popular Chinese digital payment methods, such as WeChat Pay and Alipay, for customers booking online. This is in line with Emirates’ broader strategy of localising its sales and payment experience in key growth markets, thereby lowering barriers for travellers who prefer to transact in familiar environments.
Strategic Hubs: Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong as Gateways
The practical foundation of the new connectivity lies in three strategically selected hubs: Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Hangzhou, the home base of Loong Air, has rapidly grown into one of China’s most important centres for technology, e-commerce and finance. Emirates’ decision to launch services there in 2025 and subsequently deploy its Premium Economy product on the route underscored the city’s rising global profile. As an interchange point with Loong Air’s domestic network, Hangzhou is poised to serve both business travellers heading to corporate headquarters and tourists exploring the cultural and scenic offerings of Zhejiang province.
Shenzhen, meanwhile, sits at the heart of the Greater Bay Area, one of the world’s leading clusters for innovation, manufacturing and high-tech research. Since Emirates began daily flights to the city, it has cemented its role as a vital corridor for technology exporters, start-ups and investors connecting China with the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The integration of Loong Air connections via Shenzhen extends this role deeper into surrounding regions, enabling smoother access to supply-chain cities and inland industrial centres that feed into the area’s manufacturing ecosystem.
Hong Kong continues to operate as a major international gateway and financial hub, offering sophisticated airport infrastructure and extensive onward connectivity. For travellers whose itineraries combine mainland Chinese cities with international business obligations in Hong Kong, the use of the territory as a transfer point alongside Hangzhou and Shenzhen adds flexibility in route planning. Together, the three hubs create a triangular network of interchange points that can be tailored to travellers’ specific destinations, schedules and visa requirements.
Boost for Trade, Investment and Tourism Flows
Beyond the immediate convenience for individual travellers, Emirates’ extended access to Chinese domestic hubs is expected to support broader trade and investment links between the UAE and China. The two countries have steadily deepened their economic relationship in areas such as energy, logistics, technology and infrastructure. More frequent and diversified air connections allow executives, engineers, project teams and investors to reach project sites and regional offices with less travel time and fewer administrative hurdles.
Tourism stakeholders on both sides also stand to benefit. For inbound tourism to China, easier one-stop journeys from markets served by Emirates make it more feasible for visitors to look beyond classic first-tier destinations. Secondary cities with rich cultural heritage, natural attractions or emerging hospitality sectors could see increased international arrivals as itinerary planning becomes simpler. Conversely, for Chinese travellers departing from inland cities, the combination of Loong Air’s domestic flights and Emirates’ global network opens up additional options for holidays in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Travel agencies and tour operators are likely to respond by developing new multi-city products that make full use of the extended network. Itineraries might combine Dubai stays with visits to less familiar parts of China, or pair Chinese regional cities with onward connections to beach destinations, safari experiences or European cultural tours. The flexibility afforded by single-ticket interline journeys will be a key factor in enabling such products to be marketed to both individual and group travellers.
Part of a Wider Emirates Strategy in the Chinese Market
The Loong Air agreement comes on the heels of a series of Emirates moves that have progressively strengthened its Chinese footprint. In recent years the airline has added Hangzhou and Shenzhen to its mainland network, bringing the total number of Chinese gateways it serves to five. It has also restored high-capacity Airbus A380 services on routes such as Shanghai, a signal of sustained demand on key corridors, and introduced its Premium Economy offering in select Chinese markets to target travellers seeking a higher level of comfort without the price tag of business class.
In parallel, Emirates has cultivated relationships with several major Chinese carriers, including Air China, China Southern Airlines and Sichuan Airlines, through interline and codeshare arrangements that collectively provide access to more than a hundred domestic destinations beyond its own network. The new partnership with Loong Air fits into this wider ecosystem of alliances, adding another layer of coverage and redundancy that can be particularly valuable in a market as vast and regionally diverse as China’s.
From a competitive perspective, the strategy positions Emirates as one of the most deeply embedded non-Asian long-haul carriers in China’s aviation landscape. By investing not only in trunk routes to premier cities but also in partnerships that extend its reach into secondary markets, the airline is seeking to capture a greater share of both premium corporate traffic and resilient visiting-friends-and-relatives and SME segments. The Loong Air interline is likely to be closely watched by rival carriers in the Gulf and beyond as airlines race to rebuild and reorient their post-pandemic networks.
Practical Implications for Travellers Planning 2026 and 2027 Trips
For travellers in the UAE and across Emirates’ global network who are planning trips to China in 2026 and 2027, the new options arrive at a timely moment. As China continues to refine its entry and transit policies and more international capacity returns to the market, having a broader range of single-ticket connections to domestic hubs can simplify trip planning significantly. Business travellers attending trade fairs, factory visits or regional conferences in inland cities may now find viable one-stop itineraries that previously required time-consuming detours or overnight stays in gateway cities.
Leisure travellers, particularly those interested in exploring lesser-known cultural and natural destinations, can also leverage the extended network to craft more adventurous routes. With domestic legs operated by Loong Air feeding into long-haul segments on Emirates, itineraries can be built to start or finish in cities such as Zhengzhou or Haikou rather than defaulting to Beijing or Shanghai. Travel consultants advise that passengers should pay close attention to minimum connection times and baggage allowances when booking, but the unified fare and luggage policies under the interline agreement are designed to remove much of the complexity traditionally associated with multi-airline journeys.
Industry analysts note that as airlines refine their schedules and capacity deployments over the coming months, further adjustments to frequencies, timings and city pairings are likely. Travellers are therefore encouraged to monitor timetable updates and, where possible, to book flexible fares that allow changes if operational conditions evolve. Nonetheless, the underlying architecture of the Emirates–Loong Air partnership is expected to remain an important pillar of UAE–China connectivity, giving travellers more ways than ever to link the Gulf’s aviation hub with China’s domestic heartlands.