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Air China, the mainland's biggest carrier, will start flying to New Delhi and Mumbai in October, joining China Eastern Airlines in tapping the rising demand for air travel to India.

It would fly four times weekly to New Delhi from Beijing using Boeing 767s, said the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China.

The flag carrier will also operate four weekly flights to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates via Mumbai from Beijing.

In addition, the airline will resume its daily Airbus 330 service to Berlin - which has been suspended since 1998 - from September.

The new routes will bring the number of international flights offered by the carrier to nearly 40.

China and India signed an agreement in April last year to expand flights between the two countries,  and air traffic is expected to increase by 10 per cent  this year, according to a forecast by the International Air Transport Association.

Air China already flies four direct weekly flights to Dubai from Beijing.

China Eastern, the mainland's third-biggest carrier, flies to New Delhi from Shanghai. Air India flies to Shanghai from New Delhi and Mumbai.

Air China now flies to 69 domestic and 35 international destinations, including Sydney, Melbourne, Munich, Frankfurt and Moscow.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Airlines and United Airlines signed a code-share agreement yesterday covering 11 flights.

The flights under the agreement are to begin on May 15 pending approval from the United States government. United Airlines' routes listed under the agreement include Shanghai to Chicago and San Francisco; San Francisco to Los Angeles, Newark and New York; and Chicago to Newark and New York.

Shanghai Airlines routes within China include  sectors from Shanghai to Shenyang, Chengdu, Dalian and Qingdao. Under the deal, United Airlines would be able to extend its network from Shanghai to the other four mainland cities.



Air China adds India routes to network