More US-China flights? Passengers ready to pack, but US airlines balk at Xi Jinping’s call
Analysts say demand exists for more direct flights, but US carriers will resist while their Chinese peers have an advantage
Travellers in China and the US would welcome more direct flights, as suggested by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington this week, but the American civil aviation industry has less interest in adding such routes as long as their planes cannot fly over Russian airspace.
At a White House arrival ceremony on Thursday, Xi said that “our two sides may also increase direct flights to facilitate two-way travel and trade”.
Analysts said passenger demand existed for more than the 50 weekly round-trip flights that carriers from each side are allowed today – down from a combined 320 or more before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Demand isn’t like it was pre-Covid, but you have to look at the supply, which is a tiny fraction, so demand is obviously sufficient for more nonstops,” said Brendan Sobie, founder of the Sobie Aviation consultancy in Singapore.