UK-China: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic withdrawals increase Chinese airline dominance

British Airways' (BA) withdrawal from Beijing and Virgin Atlantic's withdrawal from Shanghai in late Oct-2024 will reduce UK airlines' participation on routes to China to a minimum.

In the first week of the coming winter schedule, the only UK participation will be BA's service to Shanghai, accounting for just 6% of UK-China seats.

The closure of Russian airspace, leading to longer flights for Western operators, has not affected their Chinese competitors.

BA and Virgin Atlantic can no longer sustain the margin squeeze resulting from higher fuel costs on the suspended routes.

However, UK airlines have long struggled to combat the rising tide of Chinese competition. A decade ago, in the week of 11-Aug-2014, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic had a combined 54% of UK-China seats.

Their latest withdrawals suggest that UK airlines' seat share is in near-terminal decline.