Kunming Airport

New routes to China to flourish in the next few years

China's leading airports are on the cusp of strong international growth, with several new routes to be launched in the coming 12 to 24 months. Growth will be driven by foreign and local needs: countries will have greater needs to further link with China while locally there will be an increasing propensity to travel among the Chinese population as incomes rise, while high-speed rail expansion will push Chinese airlines to grow internationally, at the same time providing feed opportunities for foreign carriers at the main Chinese gateways.

But growth is not only expected at the main Chinese hubs. Second tier airports can also look forward to increasing air services as the Government supports expansion from these hubs and as the LCC revolution takes hold in North Asia. New carriers across the region will be looking for new route opportunities, fuelling rapid growth at non-congested Chinese gateways. China's own second tier airlines are also looking to expand abroad, mainly within the Asia Pacific region, which will spur development at the provincial capitals across China's vast interior and economic zones.

Rapidly expanding Kenya Airways charts growth with plan to serve every inhabited continent by 2017

Kenya Airways plans to launch its first services to North America, South America and Australia by 2017, making it one of the few carriers to serve every inhabited continent. While these three continents will give Africa's currently fifth-largest airline by seats a global presence, its future is pegged on Asia, with the carrier over the next 10 years planning to launch seven new routes into China, six in the Indian Subcontinent and three across North and Southeast Asia as well as having a growing presence in Europe and the Middle East. It is poised to become Africa's largest carrier.

Growth will be fuelled by Africa's status as a burgeoning market, as well as reliance on partners: Kenya Airways will open routes to SkyTeam member hubs in Xiamen (Xiamen Airlines), Hanoi (Vietnam Airlines), Seoul (Korean Air), Moscow (Aeroflot) and Prague (Czech Airlines). The intercontinental focus follows Kenya's strong emphasis on regional Africa, with the carrier aiming to serve every African nation by the end of 2013. 

Kunming Wujiaba Airport outgrown; Massive new Changshui facilty to open in early 2012

Kunming Wujiaba International Airport (KMG), the gateway to Southwest China's Yunnan Province, was the seventh busiest airport in China in 2010. However, a growth rate of (just) 6.6% made it the slowest growing among China's 12 largest airports. Amid rising demand and capacity constraints, Kunming is nearing completion on a USD3.6 billion replacement, Kunming Changshui International Airport, which is scheduled to be operational in early 2012 and become the fourth largest aviation hub in China. Currently China’s largest airport construction project, Changshui is aimed at developing Kunming as an economic area and key transportation hub for the region to Southeast Asia. Upon opening, Kunming Xiaoshan International Airport will be equipped with two 4000m runways and a 400,000sqm terminal capable of handling up to 27 million passengers p/a, with this capacity expected to double within five years.

Beijing to overtake London as world’s largest aviation hub. Massive new airport planned

Congested Beijing is building fresh airport capacity that will see it become the world's largest aviation hub, leaving London - currently the world's busiest system of airports - and even ambitious Dubai in its wake. Beijing's new airport at Daxing south of the city could have up to nine runways and ultimate capacity to handle around 370,000 passengers per day, or a staggering 135 million passengers p/a. This would increase capacity at Beijing area airports to around 220 million p/a - almost a quarter of a billion passengers.