Foreign airlines lose interest in China as domestic carriers expand abroad

9/8/2024 16:40

        Chinese airlines are gaining market share on international routes, industry data shows, as foreign rivals are deterred by weak China travel demand and rising costs and extended flight times because of the need to avoid Russian airspace.
        
        Foreign airlines, led by Western carriers such as British Airways and Australia's Qantas Airways, are pulling services or opting not to restart flights to China after the pandemic, whereas Chinese airlines are expanding overseas operations.
        
        The proportion of international flights to and from China operated by the country's carriers is higher than before COVID-19 grounded much of global aviation and continues to rise.
        
        British Airways said on Thursday it would halt flights from London to Beijing for a year from late October for commercial reasons and last month suspended one of its twice daily London-Hong Kong flights for the same period.
        
        Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022, Chinese carriers have continued to take shorter northern routes to Europe and North America over Russia's vast airspace.