There's 'China' and 'China': the companies' guide to going to China without a visa and without getting lost
From last December 1 and until November 30, 2024 (that is, for one year), Italians will be able to travel to China [...]
China Southern Airlines
Air China
Star Alliance
SkyTeam
PVG
China
From last December 1 and until November 30, 2024. (i.e. for one year) Italians will be able to go to in China without a visa, with just a valid passport. They can do this for tourism and also for business, Provided that the stay does not exceed 15 days. A nice opportunity to plan a trip and visit the country in a much more agile way, simply by purchasing a round-trip airline ticket.
In this article:
Given that the only direct flight between Italy and China operated by an Italian airline is that of Neos between Milan Malpensa and Nanjing, who wants to avoid stopovers in European or Middle Eastern hubs, it can reach the country only flying with Chinese airlines. Of these, the bulk of the connections are operated by Air China, China Eastern and China Southern.
A trio of 'China' which may lead to some confusion or to think that one is worth the other because 'we are always talking about China.' In reality, the three companies are as different from each other as companies from different European countries could be.
Their origin should be sought in the overcoming of Maoist-style centralism, which occurred toward the end of the years straddling In the late 1980s and early 1990s., at the same time that the other great communist nation, the Soviet Union, was crumbling.
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Before that time, there was only one major company in China, the CAAC or Civil Aviation Administration of China. A company that in fact did not even have a name, since it borrowed it from the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority.
Toward the end of the 1980s, the regime led by Deng Xiaoping, engaged in a campaign of reforms that would set in motion the meteoric growth of the Chinese economy, decided to end CAAC's monopoly, stipulating that its place would be taken by Four major companies that would geographically share the skies: the most important one, Air China, would be considered the 'flag carrier' based in Beijing; China Eastern Airlines would be based in the other major metropolis Shanghai, on the Pacific coast; China Southern would 'cover' the southern part of the country with based in Guangzhou (the former Canton), while China Northern would have its hub in Shenyang.
The latter would be absorbed in 2003 by China Southern, with a takeover that suggested that the original division of the market by geography was now outdated by an industry that increasingly followed the dictates of the market, rather than those of the Party.
Today, the so-called Chinese 'big three' are true giants of the air with endless fleets, multiple hubs within the country and destinations scattered throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and Oceania. In Italy they fly all three.
Air China has its main hub at Beijing Capital Airport and a base at Shanghai Pudong. It has a network of about 200 destinations scattered across Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe and North America. It has a fleet of 484 airplanes and it is one of the three companies in the world (along with Lufthansa and Korean Air) to have in service the Boeing 747-8 passenger version, of which he has six examples.
The rest of the fleet consists of 32 Airbus A319s, 87 Airbus A320s, 91 Airbus A321s, 50 Airbus A330s, 29 Airbus A350s, 122 Boeing 737s, 3 Boeing 747-400s, 28 Boeing 777s, 14 Boeing 787s, and 21 Comac ARJ21 (the Chinese-made bireactor). A Boeing 747-8 is in VIP configuration and, confirming that this is China's 'flag carrier,' serves as the presidential aircraft.
Air China is part of Star Alliance since 2006 and has its own frequent flyer program called Phoenix Miles organized on four levels: basic, silver (which is equivalent to the 'silver' staus of Lufthansa Group's Miles & More), gold and platinum (which are equivalent to 'gold' status in the Miles & More program).
In Italy Fly to Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa. From Fiumicino you fly daily to Beijing with a Boeing 787-9 to three classes and three times a week to Hangzhou (a city about a hundred kilometers from Shanghai) with a Airbus A330-300 Set up in two classes. From Malpensa you fly in Beijing and Shanghai every day with Airbus A350-900 set up in three classrooms and four times a week at Wenzhou with a A330-200 two-class.
China Eastern Airlines is the company that has a home in Shanghai, though h bases in Beijing Daxing (the Chinese capital's newest airport), Guangzhou and Wuhan. It has a network of about 220 destinations scattered across Asia, Oceania, North America, Europe and Africa. The fleet consists of 624 airplanes, including 35 Airbus A319s, 269 Airbus A320s, 77 Airbus A321s, 56 Airbus A330s, 20 Airbus A350s, 141 Boeing 737s, 20 Boeing 777s, 3 Boeing 787s, and 3 Comac C919s.
It is part of the alliance Skyteam since 2011 and has its own loyalty program called Eastern Miles which has Four status levels: basic, silver, gold and platinum. In Italy operates only in Rome. from Fiumicino we fly daily to Shanghai with a Airbus A330-200 set up in two classes and twice a week with A350-900 set up in four classes and Wenzhou.
China Southern Airlines has its main hub in the former Canton, now called the Guangzhou and has secondary hubs at Shanghai and Shenzen. Its network includes about 230 destinations scattered across Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America and Africa.
With 661 aircraft has the largest fleet, among Chinese companies. Between 2011 and 2022, it was also the only one in China to fly the A380, of which it had five in its fleet, while today the largest aircraft in service is the Boeing 777-300ER, of which it has 15. The rest of the fleet consists of 13 Airbus A319s, 146 Airbus A320s, 156 Airbus A321s, 36 Airbus A330s, 20 Airbus A350s, 208 Boeing 737s, 32 Boeing 777s (17 of which are freighters), 27 Boeing 787s, and 23 Comac ARJ21s.
Between 2007 and 208 she was a member of theSkyteam alliance, to date is not associated with any international alliance, although it boasts code-sharing agreements with thirty companies and a joint venture with Air France-KLM. His frequent flyer program is called Sky Pearl Club and is organized into four levels of membership: classic, silver, gold and platinum. In Italy operates only in Rome. From Fiumicino we fly four times a week to Guangzhou with Boeing 787-9 To two classes of service.
In addition to the 'big three' listed above, in the skies flies fourth 'China': it is about China Airlines, which, however, is Taiwan's airline. Which for the Chinese (and a few other states in the world) is part of the People's Republic of China, while for most of the international community it is considered an independent state. But that is another story.
