Chinese travellers hit by wave of Southeast Asia flight\ncancellations, Singapore routes affected amid fuel crisis<\/p>\n
Chinese holidaymakers heading abroad for the Labour Day break in May\nare scrambling to rebook plans as several airlines cancel flights to\nSoutheast Asia amid a fuel crisis driven by the Iran war.<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE: Chinese holidaymakers gearing up for the upcoming May\nLabour Day break are facing a wave of sudden flight cancellations on\nroutes between China and Southeast Asia, and beyond, as airlines cut\nback flights amid surging fuel costs driven by the escalating US-Iran\nconflict.<\/p>\n
Chinese travellers took to social media to share their dashed plans\nand woes.<\/p>\n
One traveller, Wang Qiang, 29, who was set to fly to Vietnam from\nQingdao in eastern China on May 1, told CNA that his flight on Shandong\nAirlines had been cancelled with \u201cno explanation given\u201d.<\/p>\n
Wang had planned to visit Hanoi and then Bangkok before flying to\nGuangzhou to settle his US travel visa, but has now been rebooked on a\nflight to Hanoi via Shanghai.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least the problem is solved,\u201d he said, adding that the new\nflight\u2019s timing \u201cwas actually even better\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, other Chinese travellers have not been as lucky as Wang.<\/p>\n
A Xiaohongshu user with the handle Dianzi said that his upcoming\nflight from Chongqing to Ho Chi Minh on China Southern Airlines,\noriginally scheduled for Apr 30, had been cancelled with \u201cno\nwarning\u201d.<\/p>\n
His return flight back to Chongqing on May 6 had also been\ncancelled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard that flights to Southeast Asia were cancelled due to fuel\ncosts,\u201d Dianzi wrote, adding that he had booked his flights two months\nago, along with accommodations in Phu Quoc island.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s more losses incurred,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that he had been informed of the cancellations on Apr 9 and\nwhile he had been able to get a full refund, other direct flights to Ho\nChi Minh during the same period had soared to more than 5,000 yuan\n(US$733.33) - as compared to 2,200 yuan he originally paid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought only foreign airlines were affected - I totally didn\u2019t\nexpect domestic (Chinese) airlines to be affected too,\u201d Dianzi said.<\/p>\n
KEY ROUTES AFFECTED<\/p>\n
With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world\u2019s most\ncritical energy chokepoints, the war in the Middle East has become an\neconomic crisis for Asia.<\/p>\n
Southeast Asia is a key destination for Chinese travellers, experts\nsaid - with strong tourist flows to countries such as Thailand, Malaysia\nand Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Checks by CNA showed multiple flight cancellations between China and\nSoutheast Asian destinations since early April, including routes between\nXi\u2019an and Phuket, and Xiamen and Vientiane, the capital of Laos.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s flagship carrier Air China has cancelled all flights between\nChengdu Fengdu International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International\nAirport from Apr 7 to Jun 30, according to Chinese news reports.<\/p>\n
State-affiliated The Economic Daily reported that Spring Airlines,\nChina Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines have cancelled some\nSoutheast Asia-bound flights scheduled during the Labour Day holiday in\nMay.<\/p>\n
Malaysia\u2019s AirAsia has suspended two routes between Bangkok and\nShanghai as well as Xi\u2019an.<\/p>\n
A travel notice on its website stated that flights between Bangkok\u2019s\nDon Mueang International Airport and Shanghai\u2019s Pudong International\nAirport will be suspended from Apr 17 while flights to Xi\u2019an Xianyang\nInternational Airport will be halted from May 11.<\/p>\n
Some flights to Singapore have also been impacted. Juneyao Air, which\noperates both domestic and international flights from Shanghai, has\ncancelled flights between Changi Airport and Shanghai Pudong\nInternational Airport from Apr 28 to May 5.<\/p>\n
Other cancelled routes include Sichuan Airlines flights between\nSingapore and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport from Apr 28 to May 5,\naccording to Flight Master, a Chinese flight tracking and aviation data\nservices platform.<\/p>\n
Singapore Airlines flights between mainland Chinese cities and\nSoutheast Asian destinations have not been impacted so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, the airline business is very complex and influenced\nby many external factors like kerosene supply and operational costs\nbeing very decisive ones,\u201d said Oliver Sedlinger, an expert on the\nChinese outbound travel market.<\/p>\n
LOW-COST CARRIERS MOST IMPACTED<\/p>\n
Low-cost carriers are among the hardest hit as they typically do not\nhedge fuel costs due to their lean business models and quick turnaround\ntimes, noted Gary Bowerman, a tourism policy and consumer trends\nanalyst.<\/p>\n
Bigger airlines \u201cbuy futures contracts to protect against short-term\nspikes in fuel prices\u201d, Bowerman said, referring to the practice of\nlocking in jet fuel purchases at fixed prices for later.<\/p>\n
However, that comes with risks, he said. \u201cIn some cases, over a\n12-month period, fuel costs may not go up and (they may have) actually\nspent quite a lot of money on those contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Low-cost carriers, meanwhile, cannot take that risk, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen costs of crude oil and jet fuel go up, it hits low-cost\ncarriers much harder because they\u2019re not sheltered against it,\u201d Bowerman\nsaid. \u201cThey have no protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed to Indonesian low-cost carrier Batik Air, where jet fuel\ntypically accounts for about 30 per cent of its operating costs under\nnormal conditions, but this has risen to almost 50 per cent amid the\ncurrent crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith (such) narrow margins, they can\u2019t operate all their flights\nbecause they\u2019re going to lose money,\u201d Bowerman said.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong\u2019s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific announced on Apr 11 that\nit would cancel a number of flights between May 16 and Jun 30 to\n\u201cmitigate part of the increased (fuel) costs\u201d - with mostly regional\nflights and a small number of Australia, South Asia and South Africa\nflights affected.<\/p>\n
HK Express, its low-cost arm, will also cancel a number of its\nflights between May 11 and Jun 30, it said - affecting about 6 per cent\nof \u201ctotal frequencies\u201d.<\/p>\n
The airline said the situation in the Middle East has \u201cnegatively\nimpacted\u201d jet fuel prices, which have ris<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chinese-travellers-hit-by-wave-of-southeast-asia-flight-cancellations-singapore-routes-affected-amid-fuel-1776426666", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }