Xiamen Air has eyes on Yangtze Delta

Ti Gong

Xiamen Airlines opened a Shanghai branch on Thursday to tap the demands of local travelers and contribute to the city's ambition to become an international aviation hub.

Based in the popular tourist city in southeast Fujian Province, it became the third domestic airline, following Air China and China Southern, to open a branch in Shanghai.

Previously, the airline operated in Shanghai with a business department. The establishment of the branch means it will manage and deploy its own fleet and open more international and domestic routes leaving from the city.

The airline has opened flights from Shanghai to major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Fuzhou and Chongqing. It operates 48 daily flights to or from the city's Hongqiao and Pudong airports with over 2 million passengers a year.

With the Shanghai branch, the carrier plans to increase the frequency of its existing flights as well as open new routes. It will focus on the Shanghai-Fujian route to become a major carrier operating routes between Shanghai and southeast Chinese cities.

Additional flights have been planned between Shanghai and Chengdu in southwest Sichuan Province, Harbin in northeast Heilongjiang Province, Kunming in southwest Yunnan Province, Sanya in south Hainan Island and Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

International flights from Shanghai to Southeast Asia, Europe and America are planned after 2020.

The airline plans to deploy 15 aircraft to Shanghai by 2020, which will be increased to 33 in 2025 and finally reach 50. It plans to transport over 7 million passengers by 2025.

As the airline opens Shanghai branch, it will focus on the east China, especially the Yangtze River Delta Region, said Zhao Dong, Xiamen Air's president. It will accelerate expansion in East China and support the establishment of the Shanghai international aviation hub, he said.

The opening of the Shanghai branch marks its entry to the already fierce competition in the local civil aviation market which features abundant business and tourism travelers.

China Eastern holds about 30 percent of all seats in the local market, followed by its wholly owned Shanghai Airlines subsidiary with about 12 percent market share. Juneyao accounts for some 8 percent of seats.

The other major players in the city are China Southern Airlines, Air China and Spring Airlines who share the rest of the seats.

Early this month, China Eastern and Juneyao airlines announced a cross-shareholding partnership to strengthen their positions in Shanghai. Together they control over half of the market in Shanghai.

Apart from East China, Xiamen Airlines is also targeting the north. The airline, along with its subsidiaries Hebei and Jiangxi airlines, has signed an agreement to operate at the Daxing Airport, the new Beijing mega airport to open by the end of the month.

Ti Gong