Chinese airlines expand European routes amid growing bilateral trade and travel demand

BRUSSELS - Chinese airlines have been expanding their routes to the European continent this summer with the resumption and launch of more international routes amid governments' endeavors to facilitate bilateral trade and exchanges.

Shanghai-based Juneyao Air launched two new intercontinental routes to Europe -- Shanghai-Manchester and Shanghai-Brussels early this month, increasing its European destinations to five countries.

July also sees the launch of a direct flight from Shanghai to Marseille by Shanghai Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, marking the first regular route between China and southern France, the China Chamber of Commerce to the European Union said on X.

Earlier in June, China's Hainan Airlines resumed a direct flight route from Brussels to Shanghai. The airline had operated 18 direct routes between China and Europe by July 8, spanning 10 countries including Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and Spain.

"The increase of international flight routes indicates that the ties between the Chinese economy and the global economy are deepening, with stronger demand for trade, investment, tourism, and family visits," said Yu Zhanfu, an expert with the Aviation Think Tank.

In 2023, the EU was China's second-largest source of imports and second-largest export market, according to a report from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Speaking of Juneyao Air's newly launched Shanghai-Brussels route, Cheng Xi, general manager of the commerce and sales department of the airline, noted that Chinese cities have always maintained close exchanges with Belgian cities.

Beijing established a sister city relationship with the Brussels-Capital Region, and Shanghai has done the same with Antwerp in Belgium, said Chen.

"There is vast potential for cooperation between China and Europe across various fields, which is the foundation for the development of new flight routes," Cheng added.

Apart from the volume of bilateral trade, demand for business and travel, and favorable visa policies are also among the most significant factors that prompt the launches of international flight routes, Yu said.

Since the beginning of this year, China has implemented various measures to facilitate the entry of foreign nationals into China for business, education and tourism, including expanded visa-free policies that exempt many European ordinary passport holders from the time-consuming and costly obligation of applying for a visa.

Following measures introduced since January, China recorded 14.64 million inbound trips made by foreigners in the first half of this year, up 152.7 percent year-on-year, the country's immigration authority announced earlier this month.

Hainan Airlines has witnessed a resurgence in the number of tourists on its recently resumed Shanghai-Brussels route, with an average load factor exceeding 80 percent, said Zhang Naifu, deputy director of Hainan Airlines' marketing committee.

To capitalize on the international travel boom, Hainan Airlines plans to launch the Shenzhen-Budapest route in 2024, further enhancing connectivity between China and countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

The timely resumption and launches of international routes are crucial to boosting inbound and outbound passenger flows and promoting international exchanges, Yu said.

The latest data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed that the country's international passenger trips reached 5.3 million in June, accounting for 88.1 percent of the level during the same period in 2019.

Looking ahead, Yu voiced confidence that China's international aviation market will achieve rapid recovery.