China’s Airlines Expand International Reach: New Skift Travel Health Index

Skift Take

While Chinese airlines are making significant strides in expanding their international operations, the recovery of outbound travel demand remains key for their long-term success.

Saniya Zanpure

The Skift Travel Health Index has continued to trend upward: The latest reading of 104 indicates 4% growth over July 2023. Countries in the Asia Pacific dominate and China showed the biggest jump – 21% above a year ago.

China’s delayed reopening after the pandemic explains the growth, but outbound travel has not fully recovered. International airline seat capacity still remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Chinese airlines, however, are making significant strides in expanding their share of seat capacity and frequency to international regions. The July Highlights Report shows that while the seat capacity and frequency of non-Chinese airlines remain 42% below 2019 levels, Chinese airlines are only 9% and 10% behind, respectively.

Get more insights in our latest report.

John Grant, Chief Analyst at OAG, our data partner for the Index, said that “China’s airlines continue to increase their share of international market capacity as non-domiciled carriers respond to the softening market and geo-political conditions with our expectation being that this will continue at least through to the end of 2025 and perhaps further if circumstances do not change.”

Chinese airlines are expanding their international operations, but the recovery of international demand remains a key factor in determining their long-term success.

Read our latest Travel Health Index report and the Travel Health Index dashboard for further insights.