The return of long-haul travel – trans-Pacific

Asian markets have now largely lifted international border restrictions that had delayed its COVID-19 recovery and this is already leading to a rapid upturn in travel to and from North America.  

While the rapid removal of COVID-19 restrictions for Chinese domestic and international travel has not delivered as strong an initial spike in demand as anticipated – partly instigated by new testing requirements – it still bodes well for the continued strong trans-Pacific market recovery from the pandemic throughout the year. 

Most international airlines adopted a wait-and-see approach before restoring capacity at any scale, but confirmation in mid-Mar-2023 from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the end of mandatory COVID-19 tests for travellers from China will help build confidence. 

Asia-Pacific airlines posted a +376.3% increase in Jan-2023 international traffic compared to Jan-2022, by far the strongest year-over-year rate among all the world’s regions, but off of a very low base. Capacity rose 167.1% and the load factor increased 36.6 percentage points to 83.3%, the highest among the regions. 

With widebodies continuing to be pulled out of storage and connectivity being re-established, this session addresses the dynamics of the return of long-haul travel in this market. 

• What are the dynamics in different trans-Pacific country pairs as carriers see a return to normalcy on long-haul routes? 

• Do existing bilateral agreements have the scope to meet demand? Are countries open to coming to the table to discuss new access?