China Eastern Airlines has upgraded its air-rail intermodal service with China Railway, bringing high-speed rail connections directly into the flight booking process and offering Yangtze River Delta passengers a more seamless route to international destinations.
Built around the model of "one booking and one all-inclusive price", the service uses smart matching to recommend combined train-and-flight itineraries. When passengers search for flights through China Eastern's app, mini-program or official website, the system automatically identifies whether the origin and destination are covered by the air-rail network and displays railway connections, China Eastern-operated flights, final prices and joint booking discounts.
The service treats railway trips as part of the air travel itinerary. Options are sorted by total travel time, with reasonable transfer intervals built in to improve both booking efficiency and the transfer experience. For example, a trip from Zhenjiang to Singapore may be routed from Zhenjiang to Shanghai Hongqiao by high-speed rail, then to Shanghai Pudong by city railway, before an international flight to Singapore.
The upgraded service currently covers Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, mainly serving travelers from the three provinces who transfer through Shanghai for overseas trips. Coverage will be gradually expanded.
Since January 2024, China Eastern has set up an air-rail transfer service center at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station and introduced early check-in and baggage services at stations including Hangzhou East, Ningbo, Suzhou, Suzhou North and Kunshan South, further improving the air-rail travel experience.
