As the third runway and corresponding facilities of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport have been officially put into use, transportation capacity will be greatly improved. It is also the great opportunity for airlines to adjust the route network of Jiangbei Airport.

VariFlight Big Data Institute will give an analysis of base airlines in Chongqing Jiangbei Airport, including capacity, waypoints, routes and overnight plane of each airlines, so as to provide reference for opening new routes. At present, Jiangbei Airport has following base airlines: Air China (CA), Sichuan Airlines (3U), Chongqing Airlines (OQ), West Air(PN), China Express (G5), Shandong Airlines (SC), Shenzhen Airlines (ZH), Xiamen Air (MF).

Capacity of Base Airlines & Routes

Base Airlines accounted for over half capacity of Jiangbei Airport while West Air accounted for 10%; compared with major airlines, small airlines can only focus on one or two places

According to VariFlight big data, 8 base airlines accounted for 62% capacity of Chongqing Jiangbei Airport, and Air China and Sichuan Airlines were in a leading position among them. West Air accounted for 10% capacity in the increasingly fierce market competition, so it must have its own advantages.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

8 base airlines of Chongqing Jiangbei airport also accounted for over half capacity at Chengdu Shuangliu airport. They were mainly provided by Air China and Sichuan Airlines, so we can see that Shuangliu airport was also the important base for Air China and Sichuan Airlines.

Shenzhen Airlines occupied more market share at Shuangliu airport than that at Jiangbei, and there was almost no place for West Air at Shuangliu airport.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

China Express is committed to the development of small and medium-sized city routes, while there is fierce competition between Sichuan Airlines and Air China

China Express has 72 waypoints at Chongqing Jiangbei Airport, and the number of domestic waypoints also ranks first among base airlines. Air China and Sichuan Airlines' competition is fierce.Although Sichuan Airlines can't compete the scale with Air China, it still has many capacities at Jiangbei Airport. How to effectively improve the quality of service will be the main problem for both airlines.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

West Air is limited in size, but its capacity at Jiangbei Airport is accessible to 32 domestic cities; compared with other base airlines, Shenzhen Airlines has less capacity at Jiangbei airport.

Sichuan Airlines has good international accessibility while Air China needs to increase international waypoints

Sichuan Airlines' international accessibility is good. Since last October, it has cancelled South Korea route and opened Vietnam route because of the development of tourism in Vietnam. This is an opportunity, but there are also strong competitors such as Air China.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

Air China doesn't have many foreign waypoints, it mainly focuses on Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam. Although there are certain advantages on these routes, with the rapid development of domestic airport in recent years, Air China needs to increase waypoints properly. Overall, foreign waypoints are not enough for these 8 base airlines. Chongqing is an important strategic fulcrum of Western Development as well as a connecting point of The Belt and Road construction and Yangtze River Economic Zone. With the development of The Belt and Road, Jiangbei airport is bound to face new opportunities and challenges. It is also a good time to develop international routes for base airlines.

Air China has advantages in Beijing-Chongqing route; China Express often changes its routes; Sichuan Airlines puts high-density routes to large hub airports.

Beijing,Guangzhou and Hangzhou are the top-quality routes' destinations for many base airlines at Jiangbei Airport. Air China dominantly accounts for 52% of the capacity in Beijing-Chongqing route.China Express has three high-density routes but its departure frequency is not high. Sichuan Airlines puts high-density routes to large hub airports.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

Chongqing Airlines and Air China's capacity share are almost the same in Chongqing-Guangzhou route, but Air China's departure on-time rate is nine percentage points higher than Chongqing Airlines. So if Chongqing Airlines continue to develop this route, they have to effectively improve on-time rate. West Air accounts for 11.9% of the capacity in Chongqing-Guangzhou route, the on-time rate still needs to be improved compared to other airlines. As for Chongqing-Hangzhou route, Xiamen Air and Sichuan Airlines' competition is relatively fierce, their capacity share and on-time rate are almost the same, so reducing costs and improving the quality of service is the key to the competition of two airlines.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

Low-cost Airlines--West Air

West Air undertakes over half capacity in Jiangbei-Changi route, and this is the only one international route for West Air

According to VariFlight Big Data, at present 10% capacity of Chongqing Jiangbei Airport is provided by West Air. And West Air is the only one which operates Chongqing Jiangbei-Wenshan Puzhehei route. Although the number of passengers is relatively small, we must view it from the point of development. Puzhehei is the famous tourist site in Yunnan province, so this route may have more room to improve in the future.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

At the same time, Chongqing Jiangbei-Changi is the only one international route for West Air. West Air accounted for 54.6% capacity in this route, and maybe they should consider how to use their own advantages to expand the international market in next step.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

In relatively popular routes, West Air doesn't have many competitive advantages, so they should focus on developing their own routes with characteristics.In the increasingly competitive aviation market, it will help the survival of small airlines.

International Routes: Domestic Airlines VS International Airlines

Two popular routes from Jiangbei to Thailand were respectively carried out by domestic and foreign airlines, and the capacity of Chongqing-South Korea dropped significantly

Currently, TOP 5 of popular international routes are mainly distributed in Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and other places. Both domestic airlines and foreign airlines have their own advantages in Jiangbei-Thailand route. And Jiangbei-Don Mueang route is carried out by foreign airlines, Jiangbei-Phuket route is mainly carried out by domestic airlines.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

As for the route from Jiangbei to Hong Kong, it is carried out by Air China and three Hong Kong airlines. Of course, Jiangbei-Hong Kong route is an important part of international routes at Jiangbei airport for Air China, but in recent two years, with the development of domestic airports, passengers can fly directly from domestic airports to many countries. So the number of connecting passengers has reduced, and the capacity of domestic to Hong Kong has also declined.

Domestic airlines have a slight advantage in Chongqing Jiangbei-Changi route. As it is mentioned earlier, over half capacity of this route is provided by West Air, and West Air's on-time rate is also the highest among three airlines.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

Source: data.VariFlight.com

In Jiangbei-Incheon route, domestic airlines' capacity is inferior to foreign airlines. Because of THAAD, Jiangbei has cancelled three waypoints in South Korea after October 2016, and its capacity has also dropped dramatically. As for other airlines,Sichuan Airlines has quitted this route, and the number of Air China's flights has also declined after October 2016.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

Foreign airlines have a little advantage in Southeast Asia market and Thailand market while domestic airlines are dominant in Vietnam market

Chongqing is located in southwest China, and Jiangbei airport contributes over half international capacity to Southeast Asia countries.

According to VariFlight big data, seven Southeast Asia countries now are accessible to Jiangbei airport. With the rapid development of tourism in Thailand, many tourists have flooded into Thailand, and the competition between domestic and foreign airlines is very fierce. At present, foreign airlines have a little advantage.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

In Malaysia and Indonesia market, foreign airlines hold overwhelming superiority. With the completion of the third runway of Jiangbei airport, domestic airlines may consider the appropriate development of routes to these countries. Cambodian market is exclusive to domestic airlines, and domestic airlines also have some advantages in Philippines. The Belt and Road may be able to drive the market demand of Philippine. Vietnam is rich in tourism resources, with the rapid growth of tourism, it has become a place of strategic importance for both domestic and foreign airlines. Now domestic airlines seize most of the market, occupying a favorable position.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

Overnight Plane

Air China and Sichuan Airlines' domestic flights are most likely to give priority to supporting the use of contact stands. Air China is most likely to increase the number of overnight plane.

Base airlines occupied most of the airport overnight resources. In Jiangbei airport overnight plane accounted for 88%; in Shuangliu airport, overnight plane accounted for 94%. No matter in Jiangbei airport or in Shuangliu airport, the number of overnight plane of Air China is ahead of other airlines. But the number of overnight plane of Air China in Shuangliu airport is much more than in Jiangbei airport.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

Source: data.VariFlight.com

In addition to these base airlines, China Eastern in Jiangbei Airport occupies 5% of the overnight resources. Comparing with Jiangbei Airport, overnight resources of Shuangliu Airport are relatively concentrated, and they are mainly occupied by Air China, Sichuan Airlines, Chengdu Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Tibet Airlines. According to the distribution principle of overnight aircraft in Jiangbei Airport, Air China and Sichuan Airlines' domestic flights are most likely to give priority to supporting the use of contact stands. According to the priority principle about aircraft type and company, Air China is very likely to increase the number of overnight plane.

Source: data.VariFlight.com

Duration: July,2016 - June,2017

International routes & waypoints: Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are included

Top-quality & high-density routes: the volume of departure flights >=3

Flights: only scheduled passenger flights are included in this report; cargo flights, business aviation flights and general aviation flights are not included

On-time departure flights: actual departure time - plan time< 30 min

On-time rate of departure: the volume of on-time departure flights/the volume of actual departure flights

To get the full PDF, please log in "data.variflight.com"

Contributed by VariFlight