European tourists choose China as an alternative to Southeast Asia

According to aviation expert Li Hanming, flights from Europe to China are increasing sharply due to great demand. Mr. Li said that European tourists are considering China as an attractive destination this summer, because flights to Southeast Asia are still limited.

Analysts say traditionally popular routes between Europe and Southeast Asia have become more difficult to operate due to the Middle East conflict, making flying over Iranian airspace potentially risky.

Jet fuel prices also skyrocketed amid tensions in this region. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), fuel prices reached 181.22 USD per barrel as of May 1. Meanwhile, China has relaxed visa exemption regulations for European tourists from 2023.

Russia has banned many European and North American airlines from using its airspace from 2022, in response to Western sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.

According to estimates by the British aviation data analysis company OAG, this ban gives Chinese airlines an advantage on routes to Europe. European airlines that want to go to China have to fly around Russian airspace, which also increases costs by at least $10,000 per flight hour.

OAG said the frequency of China-Europe direct flights will increase from 3,011 flights in May to a monthly peak of 4,151 flights in August – the peak summer period. During the same period last year, OAG recorded a similar flight frequency in May, but in August it only increased by 10%, to 3,393 flights.

Accordingly, the majority of additional flights come from Chinese airlines. Many international airlines also increased hundreds of flights between Europe and China such as Air France, Air Serbia, British Airways, Finnair, KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines and Turkish Airlines.

OAG data shows that this month, the operating frequency of European airlines (excluding Russian airlines) on China-Europe routes is expected to reach 508 flights, before increasing to 551 flights in July and August. Meanwhile, in the same period from May to August last year, this number only increased slightly from 445 to 463 flights.

An Air France spokesperson said the airline will increase the frequency of the Shanghai – Paris route from 7 flights per week to 10 flights in September and October. KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines will operate a total of 29 passenger flights per week, connecting Beijing and Shanghai with Paris and Amsterdam.

Travelers avoiding transit routes through the Gulf region have also increased demand for direct flights between Asia and Europe, especially in recent months.

To meet this shifting trend, many airlines, in addition to increasing flights, also deploy larger aircraft lines and increase load on some popular routes.