High-speed rail a threat to air routes: Chinese airlines
China Southern Airlines Chairman Si Xianmin stated the rapid development of China's high-speed rail network has changed the competition pattern in the transportation market with the carrier expecting to lose "some of our customers to them" (The Star, 02-Oct-2010). Meanwhile, Spring Airlines Chairman Wang Zhenghua stated "there is no point competing head-to-head with the high-speed rail" adding that "there are 50% of air routes around the 1,000km distance which the high-speed rail has an advantage over". China has the world's longest high-speed rail network of 7,055km with plans to extend the nation's railway network to 110,00km including 13,000km of high-speed rail by 2012.
China Southern Airlines: "The fare for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail will be cheaper than airfare, and the travelling time will also be a lot shorter," Si Xianmin, Chairman. Source: The Star, 02-Oct-2010.
Spring Airlines: "We will stop our Shanghai-Wenzhou, Shanghai-Wuhan, Shanghai-Fuzhou and other shorter flights in stages. There is no point competing head-to-head with the high-speed rail," Wang Zhenghua, Chairman. Source: The Star, 02-Oct-2010.