Air China inaugurated a four-times-weekly nonstop service between Beijing Capital International Airport and Venice Marco Polo Airport on 2 July 2026. The Boeing 787-9 flight CA949 departs Beijing every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, returning as CA950 the same day, cutting journey times to just under 11 hours. The route re-connects northern Italy’s industrial heartland with the Chinese capital for the first time since the pandemic, offering seamless connections onto Air China’s 200-plus domestic destinations and Star Alliance partners across Asia. The launch comes as bilateral trade rebounds: China–Italy goods turnover rose 8.4 % year-on-year in January–May 2026, led by machinery, luxury goods and food exports. Venice’s port authority has invested in cold-chain capacity to court more Chinese perishables, while Beijing’s Daxing free-trade zone has waived 6 % import duties on Italian fashion samples, tilting more corporate traffic towards premium cabins. For corporate mobility managers the new link means fewer forced stop-overs in Frankfurt or Doha, lower MICE budgets, and easier rotation of project teams supporting Chinese investments in Veneto’s green-hydrogen and ship-repair clusters. Air China is offering introductory round-trip business-class fares of RMB 21,000 (≈€2,650) with free date changes, an attractive hedge against still-volatile demand. Travellers should note that Venice airport’s Chinese e-channel remains suspended; passengers must queue for manual passport checks, so allow extra time when connecting to European low-cost carriers. Chinese nationals continuing beyond the Schengen Area must still secure appropriate visas; Italy’s consulates are currently quoting seven-day turnaround times for multi-entry C-visas.
Source: Xinhua
