United Airlines will expand its codeshare agreement with Singapore Airlines to include routes to 19 additional cities in the USA and Asia-Pacific region. The Chicago-based carrier says on 25 April that beginning this week United’s customers will be able to connect to nine new codeshare destinations on SIA flights. These include Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan, Siem Reap in Cambodia, Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia, Denpasar, Jakarta and Surabaya in Indonesia, Male in the Madives, and Perth. “United continues to provide critical links to Asia and we are the only US airline flying direct to Singapore from the US, with our nonstop San Francisco–Singapore flight,” says Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice- president of international network and alliances. “We are excited to further expand our partnership with Singapore Airlines and provide our customers greater convenience and access to world-class destinations in the region.” In return, Singapore Airlines customers can connect on United flights from Los Angeles to the US cities of Austin, Baltimore, Boise, Cleveland, Denver, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Reno and Sacramento. That is in addition to the current codeshares available on United flights from Houston to Atlanta, Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Ft Lauderdale, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando and Tampa.<br/>
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Two of China’s largest airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines, will focus on domestic growth this year as the country maintains tight Covid-19 border restrictions. The emphasis in their newly released 2021 annual reports, which include multiple mentions China’s domestic economic initiatives that through 2025, is notable for its few references to international flying. Flights to foreign countries were one of the largest growth opportunities for Chinese airlines prior to the pandemic but, since the outbreak of Covid-19 two years ago, have become a minute part of their networks. China Southern “will proactively participate in the construction of a strong country in the new era and support China’s civil aviation in building a strong country of civil aviation,” the Guangzhou-based airline said in its annual report released April 26. Already China’s largest airline, China Southern carried 76% of its 2019 domestic passenger traffic in 2021. However, international traffic stood at just 5% of levels two years earlier. And at Air China, the country’s largest global carrier, domestic passenger traffic stood at 73% of 2019 levels last year. International was at just 2%. “Civil aviation demand in China will continue to rise and market potential will remain immense,” Beijing-based Air China said in its annual report released April 26. The airline noted that slower domestic capacity growth in 2022 would “alleviate the short-term excess capacity pressure brought by transfer of some aircraft from the international market.” Air China did not comment on when it planned to resume much of its broad international route map. The commentary from the two state-owned Chinese airlines keeps with government policy. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) outlined in January a plan to focus on containing the Covid-19 virus and domestic growth through 2022, with most international air travel resuming from 2023.<br/>
The Indian government has stripped Air India of its preferential status insofar as the allocation of international traffic rights is concerned following the state-owned carrier's sale to Tata Sons earlier this year. Airline executives told the Business Standard newspaper that following the move, the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has now dropped Clause 3.6 in its regulations - "due consideration shall be given to operational plans submitted by Air India before allocation of the traffic rights to other eligible applicants" - which had prioritised the former flag carrier's business plans over those of other airlines. "The central government may, at its discretion, grant or deny [the] allocation of traffic rights to any air transport undertaking having regard to its preparedness to undertake such operations, viability of the operations on a particular route, overall interests of the civil aviation sector etc.," the revised version states. As such, the playing field is now seen as being more level given Air India also no longer has access to the Indian government's seemingly depthless pockets.<br/>