China-US air growth slows as Xiamen Airlines flies Fuzhou-New York, making the world a smaller place

The world becomes a smaller place on 15-Feb-2017 with the launch of Xiamen Airlines' Fuzhou-New York JFK service. The route is a not a headline grabber like the ultra long hauls of Singapore-San Francisco or Doha-Auckland. But linking the two cities brings a nonstop flight to what is, by some calculations, the largest unserved trans-Pacific market.

The new flight reflects on current themes in the market between Asia and North America: the growth from China's secondary cities, more Chinese airlines being catapulted onto the world stage, and impacts to one stop competitors.

Fuzhou-New York will initially be only flown three times a week, supporting competitors' retorts that they have a frequency advantage - or at least for now. Competitors have also claimed a better product, but Xiamen's 787-9 is China's fifth widebody to offer direct aisle access business class. Soft service is catching up, and likewise for commercial planning: Xiamen's 787-9s do away with first class. This report looks at the growth of China and the rest of Asia to North America as growth momentum slows with China's bilateral capacity being reached.