CAAC ready for 2013/14 winter transition

CAAC stated (24-Oct-2013) the industry is prepared to transition to the 2013/14 winter schedule, effective 27-Oct-2013 through to 29-Mar-2014. During the period, there will be 84 new domestic routes, six new routes to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and 31 new international routes. According to CAAC, 32 domestic airlines will operate 48,330 weekly services, an increase of 7.1% year-on-year, including 47,293 passengers services (+7%) and 1037 freighter services (+10.6%). 46 mainland cities will see 1900 services to Hong Kong, 21 cities will see 524 services to Macau and 49 cities will see 1268 services to seven Taiwanese cities. Seven mainland cities will see 114 services to Taipei Taoyuan alone. On international routes, 17 domestic carriers will operate 4798 international services, 4182 passenger and 614 cargo, to 114 cities across 49 countries. Meanwhile, 109 airlines from 56 countries will operate from 116 foreign cities to 36 Chinese cities, operating 4786 weekly services, 4082 passenger and 704 freighter. Among the 31 new international routes, 23 will be passenger services and eight will be freighter services, including Air China's Beijing-Honolulu, Hainan Airlines' Xian-Beijing-Seattle, as well as Air China Cargo's Shanghai-Zhengzhou-Amsterdam-Zaragoza-Tianjin-Shanghai and Shanghai-Zhengzhou-Amsterdam-Zaragoza-Beijing. [more - original PR - Chinese]