Air New Zealand is worried about New Zealand’s low profile in Beijing, less than two months before it’s inaugural flight to the Chinese capital.

Darline Liu, vacation manager of China’s first online travel agency, Ctrip, said more effort and funding needed to be put into marketing New Zealand in China.

She said, ‘I cannot hear any noise about New Zealand in Beijing.’

Air New Zealand’s international group general manager, Ed Sims, said the comments highlighted fundamental problems. ‘That concerns me hugely.’

Air New Zealand had spent more than $10 million in the Chinese market to promote New Zealand and this simply does not seem to have worked.

Daline Liu said the New Zealand Government’s decision to boost Tourism New Zealand’s Chinese marketing budget by $7 million over two years was not enough.

Too many Chinese did not know about New Zealand as a destination.

She said, ‘Because Chinese people don’t know much about New Zealand, New Zealand should pay much more money to promote the country.’

Education for travel agents was a key link in attracting more Chinese tourists. She said, ‘They don’t know about New Zealand, so they cannot tell people about New Zealand.’

In the past 10 years China has accelerated into the top five markets for New Zealand, and Air New Zealand has expanded capacity from three flights a week to five since starting its Shanghai service.

Ed Sims said flying celebrities out to New Zealand so they would blog about the experience and performing traffic-stopping stunts in Shanghai were more effective uses of cash than traditional advertising.

He said, ‘You have to think who you want to reach and how are you going to reach them.’ As this New Zealand rugby player is demonstrating here.

Personally I think they should hammer away at the scenic attractions and skiing. The writer has written a book on New Zealand and visited every town. He learned to ski near Queenstown. He considers it all magic.
Source: Stuff

The prospect of weekend ‘charter services’ from July 8 across the Taiwan Strait, as pledged by Taiwan’s President-elect, Ma Ying-jeou, could kick-start the process of opening one of North Asia’s biggest air travel markets. Currently, non-stop services are only permitted in the four major holiday periods on the Chinese calendar.

Daily charter services could be introduced this Northern Winter and be replaced as scheduled services in 2009, under Ma’s proposal.

Airlines on both sides are moving quickly to take advantage of the opportunity.Air China, for example, has applied to establish a representative office in Taiwan after Ma Ying-jeou is sworn in as President on 20-May-08.

EVA Air (shown in our illustration) forecasts a 50% increase in passenger numbers between Taiwan and the Mainland after the first stage of expanding the charter operations.

More than 1.5 million Taiwanese live on the mainland and are expected to travel more, if the inconvenience and added expense of a transit at a third point are removed. Furthermore, the Ma government proposes increasing ceilings on Mainland tourists, to help stimulate the island’s economy. Mr Ma plans to allow 3,000 Mainland arrivals per day to Taiwan from Jul-08, rising to 10,000 by 2012.

But the expansion of cross-Straits services is a serious looming threat for airports in Macau and Hong Kong and the carriers based there that have built large revenues from transfer services between Taiwan and the Mainland.
In terms of seat capacity, Cathay Pacific is the most exposed. Cathay accounts for almost one quarter of seats across the Taiwan Strait (from Hong Kong and Macau) at present, or around 38% including Dragonair. It will have to seriously consider how it will make good that shortfall.

Source: Centre for Aviation

Air China Ltd.’s net profit more than doubled in the first quarter from a year ago as the continued expansion of the Chinese economy lifted demand for air travel.

Net profit at China’s biggest international carrier rose 147% to RMB1.04 billion ($148.57 million) in January-March, the company told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Sales grew 22% to RMB12.76 billion.

China’s gross domestic product rose 10.6% in the first three months, lifted by spending and investment. The government is priming the economy through the construction of roads, bridges, airports and other facilities needed for hosting this year’s Olympics.

The airline said the RMB’s 4% gain against the dollar during the quarter also lifted earnings.

Air China earlier said it carried 8.31 million passengers during the period, up 5.7% from a year ago.

The downside is that nearly half its costs go on fuel and there is no doubt this year we are going to see rises which will seriously affect profits.
Source: Trading Markets

China’s air traffic continued to soar in 2007. There were 387.6 million passenger trips, up 16.8% from the previous year.

The General Administration of Civil Aviation said that international passenger traffic jumped by 17.5% to 38.3 million in 2007, while trips on domestic flights rose by 16.7% to 349.3 million.

Rises in oil prices and the rapid expansion of the shipping industry led to a slowing of growth in cargo and mail last year, which registered a 14.3% rise to 8.6 million tons, compared to 2006’s 19% rise.

The report said international journeys have become more attractive for Chinese travellers because of the appreciation of the yuan.

The spectacular growth in air travel has fueled a similar boom in airport construction to meet the demand, with around 100 new airports planned by 2020 at a cost of $60 billion.
Source: Hemscott

Etihad Airways, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will start flying to Beijing on March 30, making it the third Gulf carrier coming to China. While not quite, as yet, competing with Emirates in the luxury stakes it is a very pleasant and well run airline. The writer has flown it several times in economy and was very satisfied.

The airline will fly four times a week connecting Beijing and Abu Dhabi. Beijing will be Etihad’s eighth destination in its rapidly expanding flight network in the Asia-Pacific region.

Etihad will join Dubai-based Emirates Airlines and Doha-based Qatar Airways to provide Chinese travelers with access not only to the Middle East, but to Europe and Africa as well. The theory they are working on is that airport hubs in the Gulf area are growing into the world’s major air travel junctions.

This is not essentially true. One of the problems that these airlines have is convincing travelers that they have well equipped air travel junctions. Many business travelers simply will not make that connection.

James Hogan, Etihad’s chief executive,’There is a huge appetite from business and leisure travelers for flights to Beijing, especially ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games. Our forward bookings are already ahead of our expectations.’
He also said Etihad is looking to increase its frequency to daily flights to Beijing and will fly to Shanghai as well in the near future.

The UAE is home to nearly 200,000 Chinese and more than 2,000 Chinese companies.
Source: China Daily