Scandinavian Airlines announced that it will suspend its direct flights from Copenhagen to Shanghai in November. As soon as this news came out, it immediately attracted widespread attention.
It is reported that this is the fourth European airline to announce the suspension of Chinese routes recently, and so far, more than 30 overseas airlines have withdrawn from Chinese routes. So, why have these foreign airlines chosen to withdraw from Chinese routes? What are the untold stories behind it?
Scandinavian Airlines' decision has undoubtedly brought a bit of shock to the Chinese aviation market. As Scandinavian Airlines, which has the only route in Chinese mainland, its withdrawal undoubtedly means that China's aviation market will usher in a new reshuffle.
Prior to this, many overseas airlines, including Lufthansa of Germany, Virgin Atlantic of United Kingdom, and Qantas, have also announced their withdrawal from Shanghai, Beijing and other routes. The withdrawal of these airlines has not only changed the competitive landscape of China's aviation market, but also made people start to re-examine the future development of international routes.
To explore the reasons for the withdrawal of these foreign airlines from Chinese routes, we have to start with the current situation of the international aviation market. In recent years, with the continuous development of the global economy, the international aviation market has also ushered in an unprecedented prosperity.
Behind this prosperity, however, lies enormous competitive pressure. Especially on the routes between Central Europe and Central America, the competition between airlines has reached a white-hot stage due to strong market demand. For European airlines, the appeal of the Chinese market is undoubtedly huge.
However, since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, European countries and Russia have closed each other's airspace. This means that European airlines must bypass Russia's airspace if they want to fly to China.
This not only increases the flight time, but also comes with additional flight costs. Taking the Shanghai-Paris and London routes as an example, the shortest route through Russia's airspace is about 9,300 kilometers, while the distance between Turkey and Central Asia and Central Europe is about 10,400 kilometers.
This increase in flight costs is undoubtedly a heavy burden for European airlines. In addition to the increased cost of flying, European airlines are also facing stiff competition from Chinese domestic airlines.
In recent years, China's aviation industry has developed rapidly, and many domestic airlines have increased their investment in international routes. On China-Europe routes, Chinese airlines have a 120% flight recovery rate, while foreign airlines have only 53% of their flights.
This huge market share gap makes it difficult for European airlines to stay ahead of the Chinese market. In addition, airlines around the world are facing aircraft delivery delays due to component production and supply chain issues.
For many foreign airlines, the recruitment and training of relevant flight and service support personnel after the epidemic has not yet been fully put in place. In this case, investing limited capacity and manpower in more lucrative markets (such as the Atlantic route between Europe and the United States) is also an important reason why many foreign airlines have reduced capacity on Pacific routes, including China.
With the combination of these factors, it's no surprise that European airlines are opting out of China routes. However, the withdrawal of these airlines has brought new challenges and opportunities to the Chinese aviation market.
On the one hand, the withdrawal of these airlines will free up more market space for Chinese domestic airlines, which will help Chinese airlines further expand their international routes. On the other hand, the withdrawal of these airlines will also prompt the Chinese aviation market to accelerate the pace of transformation and upgrading, and enhance the overall competitiveness.
After Scandinavian Airlines announced its withdrawal from Chinese routes, many domestic airlines have begun to take action. For example, China Southern Airlines and Spring Airlines have announced that they will add new international flights to further expand the international market.
These airlines' initiatives will not only help fill the gap in the market after the withdrawal of foreign airlines, but also inject new vitality into the future development of China's aviation market. However, we cannot blindly regret the withdrawal of these foreign airlines. After all, market competition is brutal.
In the fierce market competition, only those airlines that can adapt to market changes and continuously improve their own strength can survive. And these airlines that have chosen to withdraw from China may have made such a decision because they could not adapt to this fierce market competition.
Judging from the reactions of netizens, everyone also has their own opinions on the withdrawal of these foreign airlines. Some netizens believe that the withdrawal of these airlines is because the Chinese market is too competitive and they cannot compete with Chinese domestic airlines; Some netizens believe that the withdrawal of these airlines is due to their own lack of strength and inability to adapt to market changes; Other netizens are worried that the withdrawal of these airlines will affect the exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world.
I think there is some truth to these points. However, we cannot ignore the fact that the competition for international routes has become more and more fierce. In this fierce market competition, airlines need to continuously improve their own strength, optimize service quality, and innovate business models in order to be invincible.
And the airlines that have opted out of China may have made this decision because they were unable to do so. In general, there are many reasons why these foreign airlines have withdrawn from China routes.
There are not only the influence of objective factors such as fierce market competition and increased flight costs, but also subjective factors such as the lack of strength of airlines themselves and their inability to adapt to market changes. However, whatever the reasons for these airlines' withdrawal from China, we should face up to this reality and respond positively.
Only in this way can we remain invincible in the competition of international routes and promote the sustainable and healthy development of China's aviation market. In the coming days, we look forward to Chinese domestic airlines seizing this opportunity to further expand their international markets and enhance their overall competitiveness."
At the same time, we also hope that those airlines that choose to withdraw from China routes can find their own position and achieve better development in the future market competition. After all, in this era of globalization, international exchanges and cooperation have become an indispensable part. As one of the important carriers of international exchanges and cooperation, the development of the aviation industry will also directly affect the quality and level of international exchanges and cooperation.