Major airlines like British Airways, Qantas, and Finnair are scaling back flights to China due to increased costs and low demand. This reduction in service is mainly driven by the closure of Russian airspace, resulting in longer and more expensive routes to Asia. Notably, Virgin Atlantic and Scandinavian Airlines have completely withdrawn from China, while British Airways has replaced larger jets with smaller aircraft to maintain presence. John Grant from OAG notes that this trend may intensify before improving.
The flight bans imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have not affected Chinese carriers, which continue to operate faster and cheaper routes to Europe. Finnair, for example, extended Asian flight durations and shifted capacity to markets like Thailand instead of China. European carriers are redeploying aircraft from less profitable Chinese routes to more lucrative destinations like Cape Town, which saw higher passenger load factors.
Demand for travel to and from China has diminished, affected by economic conditions and reduced international interest. In contrast to 2019’s 49.1 million visitors, only 17.25 million foreigners traveled to China by July this year. Qantas cited this low demand when canceling its Sydney-Shanghai service while maintaining other Australia-to-Hong Kong routes.
U.S. airlines are also pulling back from China, managing current market dynamics while retaining future market access. Both U.S. and European airlines are reassessing their strategies with an eye on regaining their foothold once demand rises.
Chinese airlines face their own difficulties, grappling with significant financial losses despite a current uptick in European capacity. As Chinese carriers introduce new routes to Europe, they confront a mismatch between increased services and actual demand, signaling continued challenges in the recovery of the Chinese aviation market.
Original Story https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/25/china-sees-global-airlines-cut-flights-or-quit-totally-amid-weak-demand.html
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