Airlines Race For Prime China Routes
The number of passengers using China routes in the first half of this year nearly reached 11.49 million, surging by more than 20% from a year earlier. As passenger growth has far outpaced the increase in flight operations, domestic airlines are moving more quickly to secure highly profitable “prime
China's passenger traffic on international routes surged by over 20% in the first half of the year, reaching nearly 11.49 million travelers. This rapid growth, outpacing the 7.4% increase in flight operations, has prompted domestic airlines to swiftly secure high-profit "prime routes." According to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport statistics, China routes saw 11,486,154 passengers in the first half of the year, up 22.2% from 9,396,686 the previous year.
The surge is attributed to visa-free entry for Chinese and South Korean tourists, as well as the resumption of business travel. Short flight times on China routes allow airlines to optimize aircraft utilization. Low-cost carriers, facing higher costs due to oil prices and a weak won, are expanding their China networks. Eastar Jet launched the Incheon-Hohhot route in August and plans to add the Incheon-Ningbo route, while Jeju Air will introduce the Busan-Guilin route on September 23.
Aero K is set to launch routes to Chengdu and Beijing by November and December. As additional traffic rights under the Korea-China aviation talks agreement are allocated in September, competition among airlines is expected to intensify. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will announce results for 113 routes in 67 countries, including China routes, after reviewing operational capability and fleet acquisition plans.
Written by urgent.news from BusinessKorea's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
