Loading

China and Australia remove airline growth restrictions as China cautiously embraces open skies

Analysis

China has agreed to liberalise passenger flights and remove capacity restrictions with Australia, its largest outbound long haul market after the United States. This is a relief to Chinese airlines, which face bilateral constraints in North America and Europe. The result is already evident as Chinese airlines deploy more capacity and larger aircraft to Australia.

In North American and European markets the local governments hold back on traffic right expansion (let alone open skies). But for Australia it was the Australian government, which signalled some years ago that it wanted to liberalise once China was ready - a time that has now come.

Australia's view was progressive and detached from bygone days of national carrier interest; Chinese airlines hold 90% of the market to Australia. Elsewhere many governments still hold back on Chinese traffic right expansion so their local airlines can continue to grow. There are 15 Chinese airports that have nonstop flights to Australia with a total of 27 airport pairs - figures that should expand in 2017 as the market evolves further with the Virgin Australia-HNA partnership.

Read More

This CAPA Analysis Report is 1,492 words.

You must log in to read the rest of this article.

Got an account? Log In

Create a CAPA Account

Get a taste of our expert analysis and research publications by signing up to CAPA Content Lite for free, or unlock full access with CAPA Membership.

InclusionsContent Lite UserCAPA Member
News
Non-Premium Analysis
Premium Analysis
Data Centre
Selected Research Publications

Want More Analysis Like This?

CAPA Membership provides access to all news and analysis on the site, along with access to many areas of our comprehensive databases and toolsets.
Find Out More