Chinese LCC international expansion gathers pace as Juneyao and Spring Airlines open new routes

The nascent international LCC footprint of Chinese low-cost carriers will grow as Juneyao Airlines in Aug-2012 opens routes to Japan, becoming the second Chinese LCC to have services beyond China. The first was Spring Airlines with services to the Tokyo area, and Spring intends to open new Japanese cities but first will reportedly bring new countries - South Korea and Thailand - to its route map.

Both carriers are based at Shanghai, are privately owned and are preparing for IPOs. Their operation alongside the three big state-owned carriers does not enjoy a transparent framework, and as the state-owned carriers use the short-term future to bolster domestic performance, Juneyao and Spring may find more favourable support for international services, which in turn balance the international LCCs that serve China. Juneyao's international network is in its early days, but so far it appears to be targeting more leisure destinations whereas Spring is pursuing service to populous cities.