Analysts and local media said international flights to and from China could resume sooner than expected, driven by a recovery in international travel., However, the restoration of connectivity with the US remains slow.
Air China will gradually roll out four international flights starting Sunday, the airline announced on its official WeChat account on Tuesday.
In addition to adding routes between Beijing and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Dhaka in Bangladesh, the Chinese capital will also be reconnected to São Paulo in Brazil and Havana in Cuba via a stop in Spain's capital Madrid.
The flight to Sao Paulo is China's first direct flight to Brazil and one of the longest routes in the world, and Air China says it will “strengthen the ties between China and South America and better expand the South American market for Chinese companies.” I hope that it will be useful.
we believe [Chinese airlines] We will see a strong recovery on both the supply and demand sides as May Day travel heats up.
The national carrier said it had restored 84% of its international flights to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, with routes to Southeast Asia 20-30% above previous levels.
ChinaTaiwan Securities said on Monday that outbound travel demand is expected to surge ahead of the five-day May Day holiday starting Wednesday, driving a recovery in international flights operated by Chinese airlines.
The securities firm said, “China's airline industry is expected to bottom out this year.'' “we believe [Chinese airlines] As May Day travel heats up, we will see a strong recovery in both demand and supply. ”
According to Chinese reservation company Umetrip, the number of international ticket reservations reached 790,000 as of Monday ahead of the May Day holiday, an increase of more than 1.5 times from the same period last year.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said last week that China carried 14.12 million passengers on international flights in the first quarter of this year, a 22% decrease compared to the same period in 2019.
But it is close to the goal CAAC set in January to restart international flights to about 80% of pre-pandemic levels and operate 6,000 passenger flights a week by the end of the year.
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According to CAAC, flights to Southeast Asia accounted for 41.6% of all flights, with South Korea, Japan and Thailand as the top three destinations.
China Eastern Airlines announced that its international flight operations have recovered to about 90% of 2019 levels, and its Southeast Asia routes have exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, China Southern Airlines said it expects to resume summer international flights to 80% of pre-pandemic levels.
Data from passenger planes suggests China's international aviation sector is recovering faster than expected, Shanghai-based media outlet Yicai reported on Friday.
The level of recovery in international flights is a key factor in whether China's civil aviation can turn a profit this year
But flights to the U.S. have been slow to recover, with Air China's routes only recovering to about 30% of pre-pandemic levels. According to China Southern Airlines, this number reached about 21%.
There are only six airlines in China that fly to and from China and the United States.
“The level of recovery in international flights is a key factor in whether China's civil aviation industry can return to profitability this year,” Yicai said.
