New Route of the Day (18 June 2026): China Eastern Airlines between Shanghai PVG and Zurich
China Eastern Airlines commenced flights between Shanghai PVG and Zurich on Thursday 18 June. The 9,050-kilometre service will be maintained 3-weekly, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with the A350-900 aircraft. It will compete against SWISS’ 3-weekly rotations.
Flight MU255 departs Shanghai PVG at 02:00 local time, arriving in Zurich at 07:55 local time. The return service, operating as flight MU256, takes off at 14:05 local time, arriving back in China at 06:40 local time the following morning.
What they said
Wang Zhiqing, Chairman of China Eastern Airlines, said: “With the dual-point service to Switzerland’s two core cities of Geneva and Zurich, China Eastern Airlines has further enhanced its air corridor between China and Europe, providing a more convenient air bridge for economic and trade cooperation, cultural exchanges, and tourism between China and Switzerland. To better meet the growing travel demand between China and Europe, China Eastern Airlines has continuously increased its capacity on European routes in recent years. With the launch of the Shanghai – Zurich route, a total of 29 flights will be operated between China and 19 European cities by China Eastern.”
Only Chinese carrier serving Switzerland
Zurich becomes China Eastern’s second destination in Switzerland, following the launch of its Shanghai PVG – Geneva route in 2025.
China Eastern enters a market that has been contracting rather than growing on the European side.
SWISS, the only other carrier currently flying nonstop between Shanghai and Zurich, has reduced its service to 3-weekly flights this summer after previously operating daily. The reduction comes in part due to the cost of avoiding Russian airspace, which adds time and fuel burn that Chinese carriers are not subject to.
Air China briefly operated flights between Beijing PEK and Zurich from 2017 but has since dropped the route, leaving Shanghai as the only mainland Chinese gateway to Zurich with nonstop service.
