The US Transportation Department has recently announced that it will permit Chinese airlines to increase their US passenger services from the current eight weekly round-trip flights to 12. The aim is to gradually reopen air services markets between the two countries following the pandemic.
Since early 2020, air travel between the US and China has been restricted due to COVID-19-related regulations. However, in light of the gradual lifting of restrictions in China since March, the demand for both international travel to and from the country has increased.
Both American and Chinese carriers currently operate scheduled passenger services between the two countries. US carriers American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines; and Chinese operators Xiamen Airlines, Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines. The new agreement to allow an additional four weekly round-trip flights could help air travel recover from the pandemic’s devastating effects on the US-China air transport market.
The US Department of Transportation has made clear in the past that the restrictions imposed by China on airlines have had a catastrophic effect on the country’s air transport industry. However, while US airlines operate scheduled passenger services between the two countries, they are unable to fly over Russia after the country retaliated against the US’s decision to ban Russia from flying over America in March 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The travel industry in China has shown signs of recovery, with Chinese tourists returning to air travel in large numbers during the recent Labor Day holidays, according to information from the country’s Ministry of Transport. During the five-day break, 9.42 million air passenger trips were taken, equal to the number of trips taken in the same period in 2019 before the pandemic. Domestic travel accounts for 70% of Chinese jet fuel consumption and is expected to drive global demand growth, according to JP Morgan Chase.
Meanwhile, China’s top three airlines – China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Air China – have resumed taking deliveries of the Boeing 737 MAX jet; and Hainan Airlines plans to take delivery of 14 MAX planes from lessors between 2023 and 2026.
In conclusion, the increase in flights between China and the US is welcome news for the air travel industry, which has seen a significant decline since the pandemic emerged. The agreement could also be beneficial for international trade and business, with Chinese companies now more able to travel to the US for meetings and conferences, while US firms can do the same in China. Nonetheless, this agreement does not mean the end of travel restrictions between China and the US, and the aviation industry is expected to suffer losses until pandemic travel restrictions are completely lifted.
