The Covid-19 pandemic broke out in the People’s Republic and hit its airlines first. Meanwhile, the domestic market in China has recovered. But the big test is yet to come.
There is currently disappointment in Europe. Long-haul business has been bad since the restart, but demand for short and medium-haul routes was better than expected thanks to the pent-up desire for vacation. Since more and more European countries are registering many new infections from Covid-19 and countries are therefore opening Quarantine lists come, the summer high is already over. This causes disillusionment among the airlines.
It looks completely different in China. The airlines of the People’s Republic are already offering 86 percent of the capacity of the previous year in Germany – a market with last 611 million passengers annually. The value of the tickets issued is even 98 percent, as the analysis company Forward Keys writes. China will achieve full recovery in early September, it concludes.
The big test is yet to come
“This is a very important moment. Because it is the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak that an important segment of the global aviation market has reached the level before the pandemic, “comments Forward Keys expert Olivier Ponti. In China, too, the recovery was not without setbacks. When the second wave of Covid-19 paralyzed Beijing in June, demand plummeted again for a month.
But the Chinese airlines reacted as they did before with aggressive pricing strategies. It is also helpful that schools and universities will start again in China in September and many students will fly from home to their place of study beforehand. So the big test is yet to come. “The crucial question is whether large discounts are still required to maintain the recovery,” said expert Ponti.
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