The International Air Transport Association (IATA) have reportedly predicted that China will overtake America as the world’s biggest aviation market in the next four to five years.

The ambition being shown by China is evident in the plans for Beijing’s newest airport project which opens next year (pictured above). Daxing International will be the world’s biggest airport by some way. With eight runways it is expected to host more than the 100 million passengers annually travelling through the current largest – Atlanta.

The growth in the Chinese market, mainly on international routes, has seen the passenger numbers triple in the last decade, largely due to the loosening of immigration checks and an ever increasing demand for foreign travel from the Chinese themselves.

At $4 billion, China’s three biggest state-owned airlines accounted for about half the losses of all airlines globally in 2008. However, this year China Southern and China Eastern have both reported record profits, while Air China have reported their best profits since 2011.

These three carriers have been adding passengers at a rate that rivals the emergence of the Gulf carriers, although the Chinese growth is potentially built on a more solid foundation.  They have a massive home market and local demand, whereas the likes of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, built their numbers on attracting transiting passengers and cargo through their Middle Eastern hubs.

The Chinese carriers are expected to dominate the traffic that moves in and out of Beijing’s new airport, which has heightened frustrations with global carriers due to the subsidies they receive from Chinese Government.  In Europe some carriers are lobbying for the EU to be able to impose sanctions on airlines that receive subsidies.

Air cargo availability and capacity is largely driven by its higher revenue partner – the passenger market. So, it stands to reason that these three carriers will emerge as a force for air freight too.

Uniserve Group Airfreight Director – Leighton Bonnett (pictured centrally above) – commented “We have witnessed the growth of the Chinese carriers over recent years on both the Asia-Europe and Transpacific markets”.

“The main three are all in the top ten of the world’s largest airlines, and while the tonnage doesn’t reflect the high passenger numbers yet, it is clear they will be playing a major role in the industry for many years to come”.

“As Uniserve Group, we have been developing our business through great relationships with both Global and Chinese carriers, this ensures we continue to provide the flexible services our customers have come to expect”. 

As things stand, China continues to show it’s strength, and who would bet against them taking over as the world’s largest Aviation market, as IATA suggest.

For more information on Uniserve’s airfreight services to and from Asia, or to find out more about the five times BIFA Airfreight Award winners, email info@ugroup.co.uk or call 01753 287900

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