30 Jan 2023

China Aviation Industry Newsletter

Cathay Pacific releases 2023 outlook

Looking ahead to 2023, Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam remarked, "We are very thrilled to be firmly on the path to rebuild Cathay Pacific and the Hong Kong international aviation center. Despite this, there are still difficulties, and we are approaching the rebuilding process cautiously and responsibly. We are still steadfastly dedicated on re-establishing connectivity and capacity at our home hub. By the end of 2023, we expect to be operating at around 70% of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity as a Group, which includes passenger carriers Cathay Pacific and HK Express. We intend to reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024.”

Etihad Cargo expands its China capacity

With the launch of an additional weekly Abu Dhabi-Shanghai cargo aircraft beginning on February 2, 2023, Etihad Cargo announced further growth of its capacity offering to the Chinese market. With the extra freighter service, there will be eight dedicated freighter flights each week between Shanghai and the carrier's hub in Abu Dhabi, bringing the cargo capacity from Shanghai up to 850 tons. Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Cargo at Etihad Aviation Group, Martin Drew said, "Etihad Cargo is committed to expanding its operations in China, which is a key global market for the carrier. Following the introduction of two more weekly freighter services between Shanghai and Abu Dhabi in 2022, this additional freighter service between Etihad Cargo's Abu Dhabi hub and Shanghai will further enable Etihad Cargo to fully meet customers' capacity needs."

Viasat's Ka-Band In-Flight Connectivity Integration for Boeing 737 Series Aircraft Receives Validation from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC)

The latest Ka-band satellite connection equipment from Viasat will be installed on the Boeing 737 aircraft series thanks to a Validation of Supplemental Type Certificate (VSTC) granted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). This most recent validation of the 737-NG series, which follows the certification of the A320 series in April 2022, further solidifies the groundwork for Chinese airlines to install and deploy Viasat's In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) system, including the antenna, radome, modem, server, and WAPs.

9 Million Passengers Travelled by Air during 2023 Chinese New Year Holiday

The number of passengers transported by air increased by 79.8% from 2022 to 21–27 January, the eve and first six days of the Chinese New Year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC). There were 83,844 flights operating with an average of 11,977 flights per day, an increase of 33.6% over 2022. The average passenger load factor of flights throughout the seven-day holiday reached 76%, 20 percentage points higher than that in 2022.

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