Meanwhile, Scandinavian Airlines' nonstop flights from Copenhagen to Shanghai will stop in April as part of the carrier's new China strategy, SAS said.

The northern European carrier will have 10 direct flights to China after it opens a Beijing-Stockholm direct service four times a week starting on March 26, SAS said.

It now operates six flights a week from Beijing to Copenhagen.

"We want to open all of Scandinavia to China and our future vision is that Beijing will become SAS's gateway to China, regardless of whether customers fly from Stockholm, Oslo or Copenhagen and regardless of their final destination," said Lars Lindgren, chief executive officer with SAS.

"Through our partnership with Air China, we can offer travelers wishing to connect to other destinations a unique network of direct flights throughout China," he said.

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