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The South China Morning Post said that Western airlines are incurring huge losses after Russian airspace has been closed to the aircraft of these companies.
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According to the newspaper, Chinese airlines gained a competitive advantage because Russian airspace remained open to them.
The newspaper quoted Lufthansa representative Jörg Faber: “European airlines have fallen into a completely unbalanced competition with Chinese companies.”
Faber explained that the use of short routes within Russian airspace “provides an additional advantage to reduce costs.”
According to the newspaper, the flight from Beijing to Frankfurt for Chinese airlines takes 9.5 hours on average, while German airlines spend 12 hours to make the same trip. Of course, the increase in flight time results in a significant increase in ticket prices due to the increased costs of fuel, maintenance and crew wages.
As a result, Asian flights flying over Russian territory are 600-1,200 yuan ($78-156) cheaper for Chinese airlines and take less time.
The current situation has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of weekly flights of Western airlines to Asian destinations compared to 2019. For example, during the peak season, European airlines only operate 23 flights per week from Amsterdam to the cities of China, and before the Pandemic their number was up to 43 trips.
On February 28, 2022, the Russian Federation closed its airspace to 36 countries in response to those countries closing their airspace to Russian aircraft.
Source: RT