Chinese cities like Xiamen, Nanjing, Chongqing, and Xi’an have started direct flights to Paris, while the Shanghai–Marseille route is rising quickly. A new trend shows that China–France routes are no longer just centered around Paris.
For many years, most air connectivity between China and France was handled by Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, with key flights connecting Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou to Paris forming the market’s backbone. However, this single-hub arrangement is evolving. In 2024, Shanghai Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, launched the Shanghai Pudong–Marseille route, and new routes to cities like Lyon may also be on the horizon.
Recent data from VariFlight reveals that Chinese airlines hold 77.02% of the capacity on China–France routes, leaving Air France with only 22.98%. Major players include China Eastern Airlines, Air China, and China Southern Airlines, which are expanding their reach across multiple cities, with both China Eastern and Air China holding a 29.83% market share.
This evolution signifies a notable change in the French market dynamics where Chinese airlines are actively leading rather than just filling gaps. Although Paris remains the primary hub, capacity is approaching saturation as traffic from China’s major tier-one and key tier-two cities rises.
Analysis from the first half of 2025 shows a total of 969,400 passengers were transported on six routes from major hubs—Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Guangzhou—to France, marking a 6.63% increase over the previous year. Among these, Shanghai grew by 14.5%, while Guangzhou saw a dramatic rise of 29.4%, in contrast, Beijing experienced a decline of 6.4%.
Additionally, five routes from secondary hubs—Xiamen, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Xi’an, and Chengdu—recorded a substantial increase with 102,000 passengers, soaring 79.7% year-on-year, and achieving an impressive average load factor of 83.8%.
The Shanghai–Marseille route has achieved 150 round-trip flights, almost equaling Xiamen–Paris’s 156 flights and surpassing Shenzhen–Paris.
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