China urges airlines to think big
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China’s aviation authorities have urged the country’s airlines to purchase increasing numbers of large, wide-bodied aircraft in an effort to extend their reach into the international market. The China Daily reported Li Jiaxiang, Chief Administrator for the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC), as telling the China Civil Aviation Development Forum that of the country’s air fleet of 2,600 planes, only 150 are wide-bodied aircraft, such as the Airbus A330 or Boeing 777.
More than 80% are single-aisle planes such as the A320 or B737, while a further 150 are regional aircraft, which carry fewer than 100 passengers. These include ATR and Bombardier turboprops, as well as China’s domestic planes such as AVIC’s Xian MA-60.
“Some airlines even regarded wide-body planes as a burden. But with flight time slots at major airports becoming scarce and the globalisation (of travel), wide-body jets will be very useful,” Li was quoted saying.
CAAC data also showed that despite the advance of China as a global power, Chinese carriers’ share of the international passenger market has shrunk from 45.3% in 2005 to 44.0% in 2010. Airlines have also focused on short- and medium-haul markets such as Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. On routes between China and the US, American carriers last year opened 34 offered weekly passenger and cargo 199 flights, compared to just 140 operated by Chinese carriers.
Li also noted that the number of airlines fighting for routes in China was also hampering international growth. “We observed that in the case of countries with flights to China, usually only one airline is designated to operate flights on a certain route. But in our case, several airlines are crammed onto a few routes, which offsets the country’s competitiveness. The government will direct them to integrate capacities and make alliances,” Li said.
China’s largest airlines however, are building their wide-bodied fleets. Later this year China Southern Airlines will become the first airline in the country to operate an Airbus A380, with the first of five superjumbos scheduled for delivery in August. Air China meanwhile, will add 10 more wide-body jets this year – four B777s and six A330s.
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