Civil aviation summer transport ends: 151 million passengers transported in 62 days

On August 31st, the 62 day civil aviation summer transport ended. According to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, during the summer transportation period from July to August, the country's civil aviation transported a total of 151 million passengers, with an average of 2.442 million passengers per day, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%. While the passenger flow continues to grow, the structure of the summer transportation market is also undergoing new changes.

The first change is the dispersion of destinations. According to the big data of Hanglv Zongheng, cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai are still among the top destinations for residents to travel by air during summer vacation in China. However, summer tourism has driven rapid growth in passenger flow in a number of tourist cities: the number of civil aviation passengers in Zhangjiakou and Liupanshui increased by about 170% and 70% respectively year-on-year. The airline's route data also confirms this trend - during the summer season, China Southern Airlines' Beijing Daxing Yining and Guangzhou Hailar routes are highly favored by passengers; The average passenger load factor of routes such as Xi'an to Dali operated by Capital Airlines exceeds 97%; The flight volume of China Eastern Airlines' Shanghai Urumqi route increased by 51% year-on-year.

The influx of passenger flow to more destinations has also made the aviation network busier. During the summer season, China Southern Airlines Group operated over 200000 passenger flights and transported over 33.98 million passengers; New Hainan Airlines Group has operated over 152000 passenger flights, transporting 21.55 million passengers and setting a new historical high for the same period.

The second change is the two-way warming of international and regional markets. During the summer season, New Hainan Airlines Group operated over 5800 international and regional passenger flights, transporting 1.115 million passengers, of which foreign passengers accounted for over 30%. The increase in the proportion of foreign passengers is directly related to the expansion of visa free policies and the implementation of facilitation measures for inbound tourism, which also means that airlines need to make corresponding adjustments in cabin services, language support, payment convenience, and other aspects.

The third change is reflected in the segmentation of service scenarios. During the summer transportation period, many passengers saw staff leading children on trips in the terminal building: since July, China Southern Airlines has carried over 120000 unaccompanied children, including 38000 at the Guangzhou hub, a year-on-year increase of 20%. Shanghai Pudong Airport has newly opened a "Slow Service Zone", providing free wheelchair borrowing, handwritten note guidance and other services for elderly passengers, and opening a baby friendly space with an area of over 110 square meters. Shanghai Hongqiao Airport has opened a pet exclusive waiting hall and security checkpoint. During the summer season, China Southern Airlines Beijing Branch has provided over 400 pets with their owners in the cabin, a year-on-year increase of over 145%.

Unaccompanied children, elderly travelers, and pet companions, these three types of services may seem scattered, but they actually point to the same trend: the structure of the travel population is becoming more refined, and standardized services can no longer cover all needs. Whoever can solidly segment the scenarios can achieve higher passenger satisfaction under the same transportation conditions.

The summer season has come to an end, and the popularity of air travel has not immediately declined. According to the big data of Hanglv Zongheng, from September 1st to 15th, the number of domestic airline ticket bookings exceeded 13.45 million, with a steady increase compared to the same period last year; The booking volume of inbound and outbound airline tickets exceeded 3 million, a year-on-year increase of about 4%. The relevant person in charge of the Civil Aviation Administration of China stated that they will continuously consolidate the foundation of aviation safety, continue to expand the domestic transportation market, actively serve high-level opening-up, continuously improve aviation logistics capabilities, and strive to promote industry quality and efficiency improvement.