Recently, Emirates announced a joint interline agreement with Loong Air, a Zhejiang-based regional carrier.
Some aviation enthusiasts explained it this way: “For those unfamiliar, it’s like Sam’s Club partnering with a small local supermarket.”
Behind Emirates’ decision to team up with Loong Air lies a strategic pivot in the Chinese market.
Competition at China’s four major hubs—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen—has already reached saturation. Emirates operates either one or two daily flights on these routes, leaving limited room for incremental growth. Reaching second-tier cities such as Zhengzhou or Changchun through self-operated routes would be costly. Instead of burning capital on trial routes, Emirates is choosing to “test the waters” via Loong Air’s domestic network.
Compared with code-sharing, the interline model is significantly lighter—it requires no system overhaul, no service standardization, and only sales-side integration, making it the lowest-cost way to penetrate the market.
Last year, Emirates launched a daily Dubai–Hangzhou service, marking Hangzhou the airline’s first mainland Chinese destination served by its Airbus A350. Emirates now operates 49 weekly flights between Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou.
By partnering with a local base carrier, Emirates can create a closed loop at Hangzhou: Emirates handles internationally sectors, while Loong Air provides domestic connectivity.
Data shows that in 2025, Hangzhou airport handled 238,000 international transfer passengers, with international transfer routes increasing to 30. These passengers represent an existing pool of demand that Emirates can tap into.
Hangzhou is just one part of Emirates’ broader China strategy. Through partnerships with Air China, China Southern, Sichuan Airlines, and Loong Air, Emirates’ now extends to over 110 destinations across mainland China.
As Qatar Airways and Etihad continue to compete aggressively for Chinese travelers, this “broad-net” approach to local partnerships also functions as a defensive strategy.
