(Yicai) May 22 -- Chinese airlines are resuming or launching new routes to Australia, taking advantage of unrestricted flight access between the two nations, compared with other markets after the Covid-19 pandemic, to deploy idle wide-body aircraft and meet rising demand for intercontinental travel.

Five Chinese carriers have increased the number of flights to Australia from the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. The number of flights to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane operated by China Eastern Airlines jumped 10.7 percent last month from a year earlier and 12.6 percent from April 2019, while Sichuan Airlines' flights to Australia have doubled from the pre-pandemic level.

China Eastern will increase the number of flights on its Shanghai-Brisbane route starting late next month, the Shanghai-based company told Yicai. Nine Chinese mainland-based airlines operate direct flights to Australia from more than a dozen cities, with China Eastern running the most, followed by China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

"Compared with regions such as Europe and the United States, there are no restrictions on the number of flights or passengers between China and Australia, making it a key destination for Chinese airlines to resume and expand international routes post-pandemic,” said Lin Zhijie, a civil aviation industry expert.

On Feb. 12, Hong Kong Airlines announced that it would launch a new direct route from the city to Sydney on June 20. The new daily schedule flights will make Sydney the carrier's second Australian destination after seasonal flights to the Gold Coast were resumed on Jan. 17, it added.

Due to restricted air traffic rights in European and American markets, Chinese airlines have not yet restored their international routes to the pre-pandemic level, resulting in a surplus of wide-body aircraft used for long-haul routes, Lin noted. There is a need to resume or launch new routes quickly to alleviate this oversupply and reduce excessive competition in the domestic market, Lin pointed out.

As of last week, the number of flights operated by Chinese airlines to the US was at only 26 percent compared with before the pandemic, while that to France was at 64 percent, Flightradar24 data showed.

Chinese airlines also need to debut new routes or increase flights to Australia to meet growing demand for intercontinental travel. For example, the Queensland government set up the Attracting Aviation Investment Fund after the pandemic to encourage international airlines to resume more direct flights to the state and attract foreign tourists.

China was Queensland's largest source of international tourists before the pandemic, with 497,000 Chinese visitors spending a combined AUD1.6 billion (USD1 billion) in 2019. Their ranks have rebounded, and China has regained its spot as Queensland's top source of travel spenders. 

In addition, China's visa waiver agreements are encouraging more visitors from Japan, South Korea, and Europe to transit through the country on their way to Australia, providing another reliable source of passengers for Chinese airlines and increasing the need for more planes bound for Australia. 

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev