Chinese airlines keen to spread wings in India

Chinese carriers are planning to add more flights and routes to India on the back of over 60% growth in traffic in last four years.

Three carriers from the mainland- Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines fly to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Air India flies to Shanghai and SpiceJet recently launched Delhi-Guangzhou flights.

Till a few years ago there were no direct flights between two countries and passengers travelling to China had to connect via Bangkok or Hong Kong but since 2009, Chinese airlines have been spreading their wings in India.

According to International Air Transport Association data, traffic between India and China rose from 4,10,000 in 2009 to 6,70,000 in 2012, an increase of 63%. This includes passengers who flew direct or with one stop.  About 65% of traffic comprises of corporate and business travellers.

China emerged as India's largest trade partner with total volume of $74 billion in 2011 but trade declined 10% to $66.4 billion in 2012.

According to IATA data, Delhi-Shanghai has been the busiest route since 2009 followed by Mumbai-Shanghai, Delhi-Beijing and Delhi-Guangzhou. Apart from three Chinese airlines which are keen to increase their capacity to India other carriers too are keen to introduce services.

These include Hainan Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines. Hainan Airlines had announced plans to start Shanghai-Shenzhen-Mumbai flight in 2011 but cancelled its plans. Also it withdrew services to Kolkatta in a short period but is again keen to start services to India, sources said. Hainan Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines did not respond to email query.

A Delhi International Airport Limited spokesperson said, "India and  China have historic route ties. With the emergence of an affluent middle class it is obvious that two great nations of the world would have a rise in business connectivity.

China Eastern has just increased its schedule from 4 weekly flights to 7 weekly flights. We understand that China Southern is also looking to increase its 10 weekly  flights to 14 weekly flights.''  

Similarly China Southern Airlines is keen to start services to Mumbai however, there is a constraint on the allotted bilateral-as the Chinese airlines have utilized all the entitled seats. According to a senior civil aviation ministry official, currently there was no proposal to revise bilateral seat entitlements with China.

"Travel to China has been continuously rising year on year. When we look at the break-up we find around 65% is business and 35% leisure and VFR. Air China is looking to further expand the current online operations. In Mumbai, Air China started operating in May 2012 with 3 flights a week and the increase in demand has been strong. From  April, the airline will be increasing its flights to four weekly flights," said Richa Goyal Sikri of STIC Travel Group which represents Air China in West and South India.

According to her while traffic from India to China has been primarily business and trade focussed, in the past 3 years there is a growing trend of leisure group travel. "Tour operators are very innovative is travelling with Indian chefs and arranging Indian meals during a 10-15 day leisure tour. Hotels in China also recognising the important of vegetarian food requirements happily provide such large groups with space for their "Indian chefs" in their kitchen.

Beyond the traditional customer segments we also have seen a growth in niche segments—such as couples travelling with their interior decorators for "house shopping", business delegations travelling to study certain manufacturing processes and looking for collaborations,'' she said.