01 Jul 2019

China Aviation Industry Newsletter 1 July

Airline 1st Private Carrier in China with Intercontinental Direct Flight Juneyao Airlines became the first privately owned carrier in China to launch an intercontinental direct flight, as the carrier's first air journey between Shanghai and Helsinki, Finland. The new long-haul daily route, which will be flown with a Boeing 787 aircraft, aims to offer more choices to Chinese travellers visiting Europe, especially its northern region. Wang Junjin, chairman of Juneyao Group and Juneyao Airlines said “Helsinki is one of the world's most dynamic cities. There are quite a few companies from Finland and northern Europe that made Shanghai their regional headquarters. As a result, travel demand between northern Europe and Asia has been continuously on the rise”. BOC Aviation Makes Milestone Boeing 737-800NG Aircraft Delivery To Skymark Airlines BOC Aviation announced 26^th June that it has delivered the final Boeing 737-800NG aircraft from its orderbook. This marks an 18 year association with the Next Generation programme. During this period, the Company took delivery of 209 Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft, including 161 737-800NG aircraft. The aircraft has been delivered to Skymark Airlines. China Eastern Airline Launches Direct Qingdao-Dubai Flight A new direct flight linking Qingdao, the biggest city in Shandong province, and Dubai of The United Arab Emirates has been launched on 29 June by China Eastern Airlines (CEA) operating three times weekly. The new flight will not only promote the cooperation and development in Economic, Travel, Culture and Science Research for both sides, but also contribute to the promotion of Belt and Road Initiative. China Southern Airlines takes delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 China Southern Airlines has taken delivery of its first of 20 A350-900 becoming the newest operator of this latest generation and highly efficient twin-engine, long-range widebody aircraft. The Guangzhou-based carrier operates an Airbus fleet of 335 aircraft, including 282 A320 Family aircraft, 48 A330 Family aircraft and 5 A380 aircraft (figures at the end of May 2019). The airline will initially operate the new aircraft on its domestic routes from Guangzhou to Shanghai and Beijing, followed by flights to international destinations. China Sees Robust International Air Transport in May  China's airliners served about 54.5 million passengers last month, up 8.7 percent year-on-year, 4.1 percentage points higher than April, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed. About 6 million passengers took international flights in May, up 18.7 percent from a year ago. Passenger air transport totalled 268 million in the past five months, up 8.5 percent year-on-year, while the number of passengers taking international flights rose 16.5 percent, CAAC data showed. Analysts attributed the robust growth of international air travel passengers partly to the booming outbound tourism market, as increasingly affluent Chinese crave experiencing exotic cultures. Construction Phase of Beijing Daxing International Airport Is Complete Construction of the Beijing Daxing International Airport finished on Sunday, five years after the project began in 2014, marking the start of the preparatory stage of the airport's operation. The airport, located 46 km south of downtown Beijing, is designed to alleviate the pressure on Beijing Capital International Airport in the city's northeastern suburbs. It is expected to handle 45 million passengers annually by 2021 and 72 million by 2025. Finnair grows its operations in China, operates three weekly flights to new Beijing Daxing International Airport as of November 2019 Finnair adds capacity to Beijing with three weekly flights to the new Beijing Daxing International Airport, which opens for operation by 30 September, 2019. Finnair will operate to Beijing International Daxing Airport on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays as of 3rd November, 2019 with an Airbus A330 aircraft. The new frequencies are in addition to Finnair’s daily flights to Beijing Capital Airport. Acumen Aviation © 1 July 2019 All Rights Reserved.