“China is to be the world’s biggest air-travel market by 2022. Growth in demand for air travel will be driven by the ongoing expansion of Chinese disposable income. Indeed, it is projected that 35% of China’s population will be in the upper-middle-class income bracket or better by 2030, up from just 10% in 2015. In October 2017, the IATA moved forward its forecast by two years that China’s domestic aviation market will overtake the US’ to become the world’s largest by 2022. It expects China to add 921 million new passengers by 2036, bringing total annual passengers to 1.5 billion.”
This report offers an overview and update about Chinese airlines. China’s civil aviation sector is led by three state-sponsored carriers, including: Air China, the country’s flag-carrier; China Eastern; and China Southern, as well as Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific. Otherwise, there are numerous smaller regional airlines, many of which are owned by the sprawling Chinese conglomerate HNA, which is currently experiencing severe financial difficulties. Low-cost carriers (LCCs) have been slow to get off the ground due to numerous restrictions and impediments. However, there are about ten LCCs operating in China, of which the best known is Spring Airlines. In terms of geographical limits, this report covers the commercial aviation sector of Greater China, which is defined as Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong, but does not include Taiwan, which is a politically independent from China.
This report looks at the following areas:
How is the Chinese airline sector structured and which are the key players?
How are regulatory aspects impacting the Chinese airline industry?
What has been the trend in financial performance of the major Chinese airlines?
How competitive is high-speed rail (HSR) with air travel in China?
How are LCCs progressing in China and what challenges do they face?
What are the trends in distribution for Chinese airlines?
