Emirates will provide an all-A380 service on its Beijing (PEK) and Shanghai (PVG) services when it upgrades the second daily flights, EK308/EK309 on its PEK route and EK304/305 on its PVG route, replacing the current Boeing 777-300ER operations.

The move, effective from July 1 2017, will increase capacity to both Beijing and Shanghai, offering passengers even more seamless A380-to-A380 connections between the two Chinese cities and over 30 international points.

This upgrade strengthens Emirates’ overall mainland China offering, which also includes services to Guangzhou, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou.

The Emirates A380, which offers up to 519 seats in a three class configuration on Chinese routes, now flies to seven North Asian cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul in South Korea and Narita, Japan.

Shanghai was Emirates’ first Chinese destination with the launch of freighter operations in 2002, followed by passenger services to the city in 2004.

Launched in 2006, Beijing routes first deployed the A380 service in August 2010, when Emirates became the first international airline to fly the aircraft on Chinese scheduled passenger routes.