Chinese Airlines Expand International Reach

DALLAS — According to a recent OAG estimate, Chinese airlines will have frequencies in summer 2024 that are more than 50% higher than those in summer 2023 in seven out of nine regional markets.

Frequency to North America has increased 191% season over season, yet it is 81% behind Summer 2019. Based on pre-pandemic data from Summer 2019, there has been an increase in frequency in four regions:

• Central Asia + 120.3%
• Eastern/Central Europe +26.9%
• Western Europe +13.2%
• Middle East +59.3%

When comparing the frequency of flights by Chinese airlines to various regional markets across three time periods: Summer 2019, Summer 2023, and Summer 2024, the data shows the following key points:

1. Most regions saw an increase in flight frequency from 2023 to 2024, with North America showing the highest growth at 190.8%.
2. Compared to pre-pandemic levels (Summer 2019), there are mixed results:
   1. Central Asia, Eastern/Central Europe, Western Europe, and the Middle East have seen significant increases.
   2. North East Asia, South Asia, South East Asia, North America, and Southwest Pacific are still below 2019 levels.
3. North America has experienced the most dramatic changes.
   1. It had the highest growth from 2023 to 2024 (190.8%).
   2. However, it still shows the largest decrease compared to 2019 (-80.5%).
4. Central Asia has seen the most consistent growth, with a 120.3% increase from 2019 to 2024.
5. South Asia shows the second-largest decrease compared to 2019 (-36.8%), after North America.
6. Most Asian markets are approaching 2019 levels but haven't fully recovered yet.
7. European and Middle Eastern markets have surpassed their 2019 frequencies.

Chinese-European Summer

Since summer 2023, the total number of scheduled flights from Chinese carriers to Europe has climbed by 74%, with 6,331 more flights planned, or thirty flights every day, as per the OAG report. Chinese airline frequencies to the top three major European cities: London, Frankfurt, and Paris, saw a major boost in capacity.

All three destinations saw significant increases from 2023 to 2024, with Paris showing the highest growth at 121% (from 482 to 1,065). When compared to pre-pandemic levels (Summer 2019), London has surpassed its previous frequency by 35.5% (from 1,706 to 2,407), and Frankfurt has slightly increased by 6.3% (from 792 to 1,174).

Additionally, Chinese airlines, taking advantage of their continuous access to Russian airspace, have been busy over the past year expanding their services to important regional markets where bilateral concerns do not exist.

Leading the pack are Air China (CA) and China Eastern Airlines (MU) in terms of total frequencies to Europe for Summer 2024. CA shows the highest number of flights at 5,011, a 63.7% increase from 2023 and a 7.3% growth from 2019.

China Southern Airlines (CZ) follows with a significant increase in frequencies to Europe, showing over 80% growth from 2023. Notably, Juneyao Airlines (HO), while having fewer total flights, demonstrates the most dramatic growth, with a 182.7% increase from 2023 and a remarkable 247.8% surge compared to 2019.

Hainan Airlines (HU) is the only carrier in this group showing a slight decrease (-1.1%) compared to 2019, despite a 74.2% recovery from 2023 levels.

The OAG analysis also concluded the following:

• Every year, the number of Chinese carriers operating to Europe has increased by more than twice. HO is in first place with 254 more flights.
• Alongside some of the more well-known regional travel destinations, like Western Europe, are emerging growth markets in the region, such as Central Asia and the Middle East.