Foreign media: The number of flights between China and the United States is expected to double by the end of October | China US flights

According to foreign media reports on the 12th, China and the United States will approve the continued increase in the number of direct passenger flights between China and the United States. Starting from the end of October this year, the number of flights is expected to double. This will provide support and convenience for promoting personnel exchanges and trade between the two countries, and also bring good news for outbound tourism once again.

Flight volume is expected to double

The US Department of Transportation issued a statement on the 11th local time, stating that starting from September 1st this year, the number of Chinese passenger flights allowed to travel to and from the United States per week will increase to 18, and from October 29th to 24. At present, there are 12 round-trip flights per week.

The statement also stated that the Chinese government will agree to double the weekly number of US passenger flights to and from China.

The US Department of Transportation has stated that flight demand is expected to increase before and after the start of the new academic year, so the first batch of new flights will begin on September 1st to meet the relevant needs. The statement stated that the primary goal of the US side is to create a more favorable environment for both sides, allowing both US and Chinese civil aviation companies to fully exercise their bilateral rights, maintain competitive balance, and obtain fair and equitable opportunities.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington stated that direct flights are crucial for increasing mutual visits between the people of China and the United States, and China hopes that the resumption of more flights will be beneficial for the flow of people and trade between the two countries.

Earlier, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China in June, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said that the competent departments of China and the United States maintained communication on the issue of increasing passenger flights. China is willing to work with the United States to promote an increase in flights with a flexible and pragmatic attitude. Both sides agree to encourage the expansion of cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries, actively explore increasing passenger flights between China and the United States, welcome more students, scholars, and business people to visit each other's countries, and provide support and convenience for this.

According to Bloomberg and Reuters, direct flights between China and the United States will be operated by the three major US airlines and six Chinese airlines after October 29th. Among them, Air China has submitted documents to the US Department of Transportation seeking to increase flights between Beijing and Los Angeles. United Airlines also stated that it will resume flights to Beijing in accordance with the latest agreement and reopen daily flights to Shanghai.

However, it should be pointed out that even if the number of flights is expected to double by the end of October, it is still far from before the pandemic.

Reuters reported that before the epidemic, there were over 150 round-trip flights between China and the United States per week, so the increased number of flights only accounted for a small portion of the pre epidemic.

In addition, American Airlines also said that after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, because American flights could not fly across Russian airspace to China, the distance of some routes became longer.

Another piece of good news

Recently, there has been continuous good news about outbound travel. The public opinion believes that the increase in flights between China and the United States will facilitate the exchange of citizens between the two countries and further accelerate the recovery of China's international routes.

On August 10, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China issued a notice to restore the third list of outbound group tours. The newly added list includes 78 countries, including the United States, Britain, Japan, Türkiye, etc. This also means that outbound tourism will be further liberalized and the tourism market will be more favorable. With the addition of 60 countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia, which have piloted the resumption of outbound tourism and related businesses in the first two batches, the number of countries and regions piloting outbound team tours has increased to 138.

Analysis has pointed out that China's international aviation market has shown an overall recovery trend, but there are significant differences in the recovery of flight volume among different countries and regions. Among them, the recovery speed of air routes in the Asia Pacific region is higher than that in other regions. Previously, a large number of tourists traveling between China and the United States could only transfer to third countries. However, with the increase of flights between China and the United States, the related travel needs will be met, and the previously high direct ticket prices are also expected to decrease.

Another analysis suggests that agreeing to double the number of round-trip flights is a rare sign of cooperation shown by the United States. This may be because the recovery of the US tourism industry still relies on Chinese tourists.

China is an important customer source market for the United States. According to data from the Office of Travel and Tourism in the United States, in 2018, a total of 2.99 million Chinese tourists visited the United States, making it the fifth largest source of inbound tourists to the United States.

Chris Thomson, CEO of Brand USA, a national tourism promotion agency, stated in June this year that the US tourism industry cannot fully recover to pre pandemic levels unless a large number of Chinese tourists return to the United States. The organization has planned to increase its promotion of tourism destinations in China and increase the number of Chinese tourists visiting the United States in the second half of this year.

However, some surveys indicate that the willingness of Chinese tourists to travel abroad may have significantly decreased. According to visa processing agency VFS Global, compared to the same period in 2019, the number of visa applications from China in May this year only reached 35% of the pre pandemic level.