China Southern Airlines will launch its first route to Spain this winter, becoming the latest Chinese carrier to strengthen its presence in Europe.
The airline has opened reservations for 3X-weekly flights between Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Madrid Barajas Adolfo Suarez Airport, starting Dec. 2. The service will be operated with Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
The move gives China Southern a foothold in Spain—a market that has seen rapid growth in nonstop China connections. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, there are currently 10 routes linking the two countries with 26,200 weekly two-way seats, up from 21,900 a year ago and more than double the 13,500 recorded in 2019.
Currently, Air China has 19X-weekly flights from Beijing Capital to Barcelona and Madrid, and 3X-weekly from Shanghai Pudong to Barcelona, while China Eastern flies seven times per week to Madrid from Shanghai and once a week from Wenzhou.
Hainan Airlines serves Madrid from Shenzhen and Chongqing, and Shenzhen Airlines flies to Barcelona from Shenzhen. Sichuan Airlines also connects Madrid with Chengdu Tianfu, while Beijing Capital Airlines links Hangzhou with Madrid.
The planned Guangzhou–Madrid launch extends China Southern’s broader European push. The carrier currently operates 24 routes to 13 destinations across 12 countries in Europe, offering about 52,400 weekly two-way seats. That equates to a 12.3% share of the China–Europe market, trailing China Eastern at 17.6% and Air China at 27.7%.
Access to Russian airspace has become a key advantage for Chinese airlines, enabling shorter and more fuel-efficient routings to Europe. European carriers, by contrast, must divert around Russian territory, extending flight times, increasing costs and in some cases prompting route suspensions. As a result, Chinese operators now account for more than 82% of seat capacity between China and Europe—excluding Russia—compared with 59% in 2019 before the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Over the past two years, China Southern has added a string of new markets, including flights from Guangzhou to Belgrade, Budapest, Istanbul and London Gatwick, while also experimenting with secondary city pairings such as Frankfurt–Shenyang.
Air China has broadened its European footprint with additions such as Shanghai–Barcelona, Chengdu–Paris Charles de Gaulle and Milan Malpensa–Chengdu Tianfu, while China Eastern has added new links from Shanghai to Copenhagen, Geneva, Milan and soon Barcelona.
Beyond the big three, Hainan Airlines has launched routes from Prague and Oslo to Beijing, Juneyao Airlines has entered Athens and Marseille from Shanghai, and Sichuan Airlines has connected Madrid with Chengdu Tianfu.
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