Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains the world’s busiest airport, according to preliminary traffic figures, but Beijing Capital is closing the gap. The statistics - which reveal the top 20 airports by passenger numbers - also show there is no stopping China’s rapid growth, with 12 new airports beginning commercial air service during 2017.
China Southern Airlines, a SkyTeam member partly owned by oneworld’s American Airlines, is seeking to further its partnership with the US carrier to help it increase its presence in the transpacific market.
This week: Georgian Airways plans seven new European routes, including Berlin, while Turkish Airlines is to resume Ankara–Paris CDG after a seven-year absence.
American Airlines had originally proposed a December 16, 2016 start date for its new daily Los Angeles - Beijing flight, but a late DOT decision meant it had until this quarter, 90 days since the DOT’s final order to commence services. It now reveals that on January 18, 2017, the CAAC rejected American’s request for slots at Beijing Capital International Airport, putting its plans into disarray.
In the latest update of its 2017 flight inventory, Korean Air will introduce the 787-9 on its Seoul Gimpo – Jeju route between March 7, 2017 and March 25, 2017. The aircraft will serve the domestic link on a three times daily basis to ensure crew can secure required flight hours on the airframe ahead of its international debut.
Hainan Airlines' landmark Beijing - Las Vegas service has its roots in the US city hosting the World Routes air service development forum back in October 2013 and has been helped subsequently by regular meetings at Routes regional and world events. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) estimates the flights will account for $33.5 million in annual economic impact.
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.
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.
As World Routes returns to mainland China, Routesonline is providing a snapshot on the leading international airlines and international airports and most used aircraft types on international flights from the country and highlights the country's top performers during the first half of 2016.
Latest figures from VisitBritain state that tourist numbers to the UK from China were up 37 percent in the first nine months of 2015 as more than 200,000 Chinese holidaymakers visited the UK in the nine month period. VisitBritain is hoping to double spending from Chinese visitors to £1 billion by 2020, - they were already among the highest spenders ringing up £2,688 a head and already account for almost a quarter of tourist spending in the UK.
Alitalia will offer a four times weekly service between Rome and Beijing from July 18, 2016 using a three-class, 250-seat Airbus A330-200. The Rome – Beijing city pair market has grown over the past ten years from around 50,000 O&D passengers to over 130,000 passengers last year.
The new initiative will be led by senior executives from both carriers, who will meet regularly to coordinate new initiative rollouts, promote closer cultural integration between Air China and United, and prepare both companies for future joint opportunities, according to a joint statement.
This will be Delta’s fifth daily nonstop flight to the Asia-Pacific region and will add to existing links to Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo; the latter being served by flights to both Haneda and Narita airports. The Shanghai service was only added in July 2015, and Delta will be the only carrier to offer service to both of China’s biggest cities from Los Angeles.
A change of aircraft – Airbus 330-200 to A330-300 – will see an increased capacity on the Beijing - Manchester route, set to launch later this year. The new aircraft will be able to carry 292 passengers: 32 in Business Class and 260 in Economy.
Hainan Airlines filed an application with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in November last year for rights to introduce the first regular flight between China and Alberta. There are already direct links between Beijing and Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver; Guangzhou and Vancouver; Shanghai and Toronto and Vancouver and Shenyang and Vancouver.
The airline, part of the HNA Group, has requested rights to introduce weekly services from Beijing and the first direct link to the UK from the Hangzhou, the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China.
The Manchester-Beijing route is reported to be worth at least £250 million in economic benefits to the UK over the next decade, with two-thirds being felt directly in the Northern economy in terms of increased jobs, economic activity and tourism. By providing a non-stop service, the new route will also generate journey time savings worth £5 million every year for business passengers and avoid the inconvenience of changing planes at another airport.
Cuba is a strategically important destination for the Chinese government as it was the first Latin American country to recognise the People’s Republic of China and to establish trade relations and China is currently Cuba’s second largest trading partner after Venezuela with bilateral trade of bilateral of over $1.3 billion in 2014.
The introduction of a scheduled link from Manchester to China has been under discussion for a long time and there has been increased speculation over the past couple of years that an agreement is imminent. There was a suggestion that a route would have been launched this year, but issues with the crewing of its Airbus A330 fleet is understood to have delayed a final deal being agreed with Hainan Airlines.
Under the alliance Air New Zealand will continue to operate daily between Auckland and Shanghai, while Air China will operate this new service between Auckland and Beijing from December 10, 2015, bossting air capacity between Auckland and Mainland China by more than 25 per cent year round.
In an interview with the Chinese media following the arrival of the A330 in China, Xu Xin, chief executive officer, Beijing Capital Airlines said that over the next five years the carrier intends to purchase at least 30 widebody aircraft to open more international routes between Chinese cities and major overseas tourist destinations.
The new flights are operating twice weekly on Fridays and Mondays, between July 3, 2015 and August 28, 2015 and will carry almost 4,000 Chinese tourists into the UK on package tours and will contribute a forecasted £19 million to the regional economy. The flights will be operated by a 223-seat Boeing 767-300 configured with 32 Business Class and 191 Economy seats.
Every month Routesonline provides an update on the current schedules of five latest aircraft programmes, highlighting the routes the types are being deployed upon.
Air China and Air Canada signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2014 setting out the principles for an integrated revenue sharing joint venture. The MoU provides for an enhanced partnership on routes between China and Canada which is expected to stimulate traffic growth between the two countries.
