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China Eastern to Join SkyTeam Just in Time for Shanghai World Expo

Nothing is official until the proverbial ink is drying on the proverbial paper, and we're not even sure they use paper any more for these things, but it now seems certain that China Eastern Airlines is joining the SkyTeam alliance. Officials have confirmed the deal, ending rampant speculation about which of the three alliances the airline would choose. The broad industry upshot here is pretty straightforward: SkyTeam failed in their huge bid to get JAL, so they needed a different way to continue expanding into the Pacific, but more interesting is what this may portend for China travel.

With the six-month Shanghai World Expo set to launch on May 1, the pressure was on for China Eastern to make a decision. The airline was China's last major unaffiliated carrier, which is less than ideal when you're in a geographic region dominated by international travel. They'd already inked a codesharing agreement with Taiwan's China Airlines, expanding their traditional cooperation with that airline into a broad array of cargo flights, passenger flights, logistics, aircraft maintenance and marketing. The deal was specifically done in preparation for the expo, and China Eastern subsequently slashed cross-Strait prices by as much as 20%. Hopefully this new deal, which opens up more than 13,000 daily SkyTeam flights, will trigger more of the same.

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World Expo Travel / China Travel / Shanghai / Events / → All Tags

Shanghai All Riled Up Over Release of World Expo 2010 Tickets

While tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service today were flying earlier this week, Shanghai experienced a similar ticket rush, except their craze is for the 2010 World Expo. Tickets for the six-month extravaganza, taking place from May 1 through October 31 of next year, went on sale on July 1 and already the first three days of the Expo have sold out.

This is understandable since those first three days are national holidays in China, and there's nothing like taking a mini-vacation to "see the things that will make life even better," as one of the eager ticket buyers explained.

If you aren't in China right now but plan on heading over for the event, purchase your tickets as early as possible since peak day admission is limited and going quickly. They can be bought—180 RMB ($26) for peak day and 140 RMB ($20) for off-peak—from official vendors overseas, which you can locate on the Expo's official website. It looks like good old Ticketmaster will handle the wave of tickets to be sold through September 31.

Related Stories:
· Shanghai is predictably Expo ticket crazy [Shanghaiist]
· Expo of Expos Opens in Beijing [CRI English]
· World Expo Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Yes China Tour]

World Expo Travel / Shanghai / China Travel / → All Tags

Lodging for Next Year's World Expo in Shanghai Only $14 a Day

Planning on hitting up Shanghai next year for the World Expo, but feeling the grasp of tightened budgets? If the city of Shanghai has its way and, ah hem, trains its locals properly, you may get to score lodging and cultural activities for a mere 100 RMB ($14) a day! How is this possible in a city rapidly catching up to other world capitals on pricing? It's simple; Shanghai is going to do exactly as we said and train some local families to be host guests in a traditional Shanghaiese manner.

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World Expo Travel / Shanghai / China Travel / Airport News / PVG / SHA / → All Tags

Shanghai's Airports Are Totally Going to Hook Up

Didn't make it to Beijing last summer for the Olympics? Well buck up, as rival city Shanghai will spend all of this summer and some of the fall trying to lure you to their World Expo, which is kind of like the Olympics without the athletes.

The 2010 Expo will not only feature a temporary city of international pavilions and amusements for the tourists, but thanks to the "Better City — Better Life" theme, Shanghai itself will benefit by gaining a rail link between its two far-flung airports, Pudong (PVG) and Hongqiao (SHA).

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