The latest update to the association’s 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast suggests that the developing Asia-Pacific region will be the source of more than half the new passengers over the next 20 years. China will displace the US as the world’s largest aviation market (defined by traffic to, from and within the country) around 2029, while rapid growth in India will see it displace the UK for third place in 2026, while Indonesia will enter the top ten at the expense of Italy.
With the handover last week of an A350-900 to Singapore Airlines it underscored the company’s growth that has transformed a European upstart in the 1970s to a global performer now offering a modern and comprehensive product line ranging from 100 to more than 600 seats.
China is Australia’s most valuable market, with Chinese visitors spending more than $7.7 billion annually. Spend has increased by more than 400 percent in the past 10 years, from $1.5 billion in 2005 to $7.7 billion in 2015. Year-on-year spending grew 43 per cent in 2015 – double the previous 12 month’s growth rate.
Over the past three years Okinawa’s Naha Airport has more than trebled its international flight capacity, and it hopes that hosting next year’s Routes Asia will help attract additional foreign air links into the southernmost prefecture of Japan.
Under the new Air Service Agreement passenger flights can now increase from the current maximum of 40 per week for each nation to up to 100. There will be no limit on the number of all-cargo services, creating new opportunities for trade and businesses. A restriction on the number of destinations that airlines can serve has also been lifted, meaning services can be operated between any point in the UK and any point in China. Up until now, airlines could only serve six destinations in each country.
Fleet renewal projects at major operators across Europe mean that numerous BAe 146 and Avro RJ regional jetliners are now starting to come out of mainland European airline service, but manufacturer BAE Systems says these aircraft are steadily finding new operators, markets and applications.
China has now become the largest inbound travel market for Indonesia ahead of Singapore, Malaysia and Australia and figures from Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency for the first quarter of this year show it now accounts for almost one in five foreign tourist arrivals into the country.
Singapore's Changi Airport was also named as the winner in the over 50m passengers category, while Shannon Airport was honoured in the Under 4m passengers category; Athens International Airport in the 4m-20m Passengers category; Dublin Airport in the 20m-50m passengers category and Tourism and Events Queensland in the destination Marketing category.
AirAsia X will return to the European market from 2018 when it starts to receive its Airbus A330neos and it is seeking a possible partner to help feed its routes, according to the budget carrier’s chief executive officer, Benyamin Ismail.
New Routes in China are developing at an unprecedented pace both nationally and internationally and data shows that from 2015 to 2016, 114 new national routes launched in China, while in 2015, 19 new international routes were also created.
A mix of existing and new airline partners officially signed-up to serve the fast-expanding Chinese gateway during a behind closed doors meeting on the opening day of business at World Routes and it is our understanding that there is more news to follow, with at least one other airline set to announce its expansion into Chengdu in the coming days.
While it might seem from the outside that nothing has changed, Malaysia Airlines has been completely reborn as a business over the last 18 months. Now, the carrier is planning a growth trajectory across south-east Asia under the stewardship of former Ryanair executive, Peter Bellew.
Tibet Airlines revealed at World Routes that it will introduce a daily link from Sanya, the Chinese beach resort in Hainan province, via Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province and host city for the route development forum, to the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Russia from next year.
Is mainland China set to become the principal battleground for AirAsia as the low-cost carrier sets its sights on growing its presence across booming north Asia? We investigate the rise of the low-cost airline group and how it is tweaking its strategy to support growth in new markets and the maturity of its existing network.
The year started optimistically with record low fuel prices and strong consumer demand, however a number of terrorist attacks, the UK Brexit referendum shock, an impending Chinese economy slowdown and the US election marathon, all appear to be taking their toll on the global aviation market.
Air Astana has proven that the right balance between managing costs and investing in reliability and efficiency can produce a profitable result, even when economic conditions in your home market have brought recent uncertainty.
From the outside little appears to have changed, however over the past 18 months Malaysia Airlines has been completely re-born as a business, and is now planning a growth trajectory across southeast Asia under the stewardship of former Ryanair executive, Peter Bellew.
Political instability and security fears have left a lasting impact on Turkey’s tourism industry during the past year, but has it had the same impact on the country’s general air transport sector?
