China’s domestic airline market 'may be at turning point': IATA

China’s domestic passenger airline market is showing signs of improvement as the country’s coronavirus restrictions are lifted, according to IATA. “We are seeing some signs of a turning point in the Chinese domestic market,” says IATA chief economist Brian Pearce Tuesday. “The March numbers are showing an improvement. We’re certainly getting those reports from the market.” Airlines in China had been discounting seats by up to 25% year-on-year in February, but “that’s stabilising” in March, Pearce notes. Indeed, IATA’s figures indicate that passenger yields on Chinese domestic flights booked in the 2 weeks of March are up slightly year-on-year. IATA also notes that load factors on domestic services have been around the 60% mark. <br/>