Air China will launch a new Beijing – Bucharest – Zagreb route in September 2026, giving the Croatian capital a new long-haul connection to China, as well as additional regional connectivity with Romania.

According to AeroRoutes, the Star Alliance member has opened reservations for the Beijing Capital – Bucharest – Zagreb route, with flights scheduled to begin on September 4, 2026. The route also marks Air China’s return to Bucharest, a destination it last served until March 1994.

The route will operate three times weekly with Airbus A330-200 aircraft. Air China has three different configurations of this aircraft type in its fleet: one with 283 seats, including 12 in business class; one with 237 seats, including 30 in business class; and one with 265 seats, including 18 in business class. The configurations primarily differ in the layout and capacity of the business class cabin, meaning the actual number of seats available on the route will depend on the specific aircraft version assigned to each flight.

According to the currently available schedule, flight CA913 will depart Beijing at 00:30 and arrive in Bucharest at 06:20. After a stop in Bucharest, it will continue to Zagreb at 09:20, arriving in the Croatian capital at 09:55. The return flight, CA914, will depart Zagreb at 11:55 and arrive in Bucharest at 14:25. The onward sector to Beijing is scheduled to depart at 17:25, arriving in the Chinese capital the following day at 08:05.

Particularly noteworthy is that, according to availability in the reservation system, Air China is also offering local traffic rights on the Bucharest – Zagreb sector. This means passengers can purchase tickets solely between Zagreb and Bucharest, or Bucharest and Zagreb, independently of the onward journey to Beijing.

The carrier has therefore secured fifth freedom rights on this sector, allowing it to carry passengers between two countries that are not its home country — in this case, between Croatia and Romania — as part of a wider international service from China.

Tickets are already available through Air China’s reservation system, while the new route further strengthens Zagreb’s position within both long-haul and regional networks. In addition to a connection with Beijing via Bucharest, passengers from Croatia will gain a new travel option to Romania, while Zagreb could also see additional inbound traffic from Asia through the Chinese flag carrier’s network.