The China boom

The rapid growth of Chinese airline capacity into Australia looks spectacular, with traffic surging annually at double-digit rates. But despite the headlines they still have a long way to go to catch up with international rivals from the Gulf and elsewhere. And Australia’s own big two airlines are approaching the market in remarkably different ways, reports

Whichever you look at it, China is an airline’s dream market. There are five megacities with urban populations exceeding 10 million, 14 more with over 5 million and another 41 with in excess of two million. Shanghai alone boasts a population of 22 million, with Beijing not far behind at 19 million. So, as the number of mainland Chinese carriers flying into Australia continues to grow, it was no surprise that Chinese tourists broke the one million visitor milestone last year. That, says Margy Osmond, chief executive of Tourism & Transport Forum Australia, is great news for the economy because Chinese visitors stay longer and spend more when they are here. “Chinese visitors spent more than $7.72 billion in the year to September 2015 according to the latest research, which is over 200 per cent more compared to the $2.55 billion spent by our current largest tourist market of New Zealand.”

It adds up to a mouthwatering opportunity, with these numbers expected to more than double over the next decade. Yet, when an Australian wants to fly to China with Qantas or Virgin Australia – on their heavy metal – the options are surprisingly limited. Qantas flies only to Shanghai. If your destination is Beijing, you’ll be flying with China Eastern Airlines under a code-share arrangement. If you are heading for Guanghzhou, China Southern Airlines will be your carrier (although budget Jetstar does have a Gold Coast-Wuhan service). On its part, Virgin Australia doesn’t fly to China at all, nor to any intermediate Asian points. Book with Virgin to China and you’ll be on Singapore Airlines through Singapore and on to your final destination.