Tepid international rebound drags China's 'Big Three' 2023 traffic recovery

China’s three largest carriers reported a significant rebound in passenger traffic in 2023, though they have yet to fully recover traffic to pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019. In traffic results released for 2023, the ‘Big Three’ – comprising Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines – saw slow recovery in their international traffic, most of which were still about half of 2019 levels. The data also shows that Air China and China Southern’s domestic traffic and passenger volumes also surpassed 2019 levels, while China Eastern only recovered domestic traffic levels. Air China carried 118.5m domestic passengers in 2023, about twice the number reported in 2022, and 28% higher compared to full-year results for 2019. The growth in domestic passengers made up for a slower recovery of international passenger numbers, which at 6.7mn was less than half of 2019’s numbers. Across its network, Air China carried more than 128m passengers, up about two-fold year on year, and 11% higher than 2019 levels. The Beijing-based operator also saw system-wide traffic and capacity double year on year, with the sharpest increases seen in the international network. While domestic RPKs surpassed pre-pandemic levels, system-wide traffic remained slightly below that of 2019. On the other hand, Air China’s overall capacity increased compared to pre-pandemic levels, despite international capacity being half of 2019’s. <br/>