China’s international demand slow to gain momentum – part two: airline recovery rates vary

Many Asia-Pacific airlines are reporting that the rebound in traffic on their mainland China routes has been slower than anticipated, causing them to adjust their plans in this market.

Part one of this analysis showed that China’s overall international capacity growth has levelled off, aside from some peaks in holiday periods. Comments from executives at Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air and AirAsia X underlined this trend.

Part two provides another similar example, with the AirAsia short haul group pulling back slightly in the China market as growth cools.

However, some airlines are having more success on their China routes. The LCC Scoot is performing better than its full service cousin, Singapore Airlines. And Cathay Pacific is seeing strong demand for connecting traffic to and from mainland China.