Virgin Atlantic and China Eastern have inked a new airline codeshare agreement.

The codeshare tie-up will improve connections to East Asia and better access to more destinations across China for Virgin customers.

The first phase of the agreement will allow customers booking through Virgin Atlantic to connect from the airline’s Heathrow to Shanghai services to other Chinese cities on a single ticket.

These include Chengdu, Changsha, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Xi’an.

Flights are on sale now for these destinations.

China Eastern customers will also soon have the opportunity to connect via Heathrow onto Caribbean and African destinations, including Jamaica, Nassau, Lagos, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

China Eastern is a fellow member of the SkyTeam alliance, which Virgin Atlantic joined last year.

Since November, the two airlines have been co-located at Shanghai Pudong Terminal One.

Here, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold and Silver members and China Eastern Miles members can take advantage of SkyPriority services, including priority check in, boarding and extra baggage.

The expanded airline codeshare also allows Flying Club members to fast track rewards, with opportunities to earn Virgin Points and Tier Points on every codeshare flight with China Eastern.

The option to spend Virgin Points is expected to follow shortly.

Virgin Atlantic resumed its services to Shanghai last May.

Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic, commented: “China and East Asia is an incredibly important region for Virgin Atlantic.”

“Our new codeshare will serve continued demand for travel to the region and strengthens our commitment to China and East Asia.”

Source TravelMole