Do Chinese airlines have an unfair advantage? Geopolitics and economics don’t mix better than water and oil

European airlines are facing significant challenges in flying to China due to the ongoing ban on accessing Russian airspace, a situation that has been in place since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This ban has forced European carriers to take longer, more circuitous routes, increasing flight times and operational costs. In contrast, Chinese airlines, which still have access to Russian airspace, can operate more direct and efficient routes, giving them a substantial competitive advantage.

This discrepancy has led to concerns among European airlines about the fairness of the current situation, especially as China reopens its skies post-COVID-19. The longer routes for European airlines not only increase fuel consumption but also reduce the number of flights that can be operated within a given time frame, further straining their operations. As a result, European airlines are struggling to compete with their Chinese counterparts, who benefit from shorter and more cost-effective routes.

A lot has been written about it already and you can read more from Euronews in their article in 2024 here but this was already identified in 2022, in this article.

Some European countries started to react and are now blocking Chinese carriers, as explained in this article by Kurt Hofmann.

Do Chinese airlines really have an unfair advantage here?

They have an advantage for sure but is it unfair? They did not even create it themselves, the closure of Russian airspace is not their fact. Yes, China has ties with Russia and by acting the way they do, Russian authorities are helping Chinese airlines, but does this make it an unfair advantage?

It could all boil down to customers loyalty. Will European travellers stick with their airlines? After all, nobody forces them to travel with Chinese airlines and they can keep flying with their national airlines and stand for their principles. Or they can fly with Chinese airlines and show this all about time and money.

Some people still are loyal to legacy flag carriers for personal reasons too and not fly with any other company whatever the other choices available. But will there be enough of them to make those longer flights viable?

Only time will tell but for now, with British Airways cancelling their flights to Beijing starting in October, it seems like economics wins over geopolitics…