Chengdu-Doha flights launched as competitions growing

The first flight on the Chengdu-Doha route arrived at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport on Sep 3 and the aircraft was going through a water gate.

The Qatar Airways Company, one of the three main airlines in the Middle East, has located its sixth Chinese destination in Chengdu, Sichuan province, and the first flight on the Chengdu-Doha route arrived in the city on Tuesday.

The carrier runs three return flights weekly on the route using Airbus 330 aircraft with 284 seats.

"Chengdu will be the next important air hub in China, as almost half of the world's 500 top corporations already have branches in the city," said Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways.

Chengdu's tourism resources, such as the pandas, are also attractive for foreign tourists, he added.

Qatar Airways has run three return flights weekly between Doha and Chongqing, a city within two hour's train travel from Chengdu, since the end of 2011 but does not expect the two routes to compete for local passengers.

"Both cities have huge populations and we do not consider their closeness a problem," Al Baker said.

The average load factor on the Chongqing route is between 70 to 80 percent currently and the fast economic and air traffic development in Chengdu gives the carrier confidence, he said.

However, Al Baker also said it is becoming difficult for foreign airlines to add flights in China, as Chinese airlines also have ambitions for international networks.

"I do not blame the government in China, because China has their own domestic airlines' expansion and they have to give priority to the domestic airlines," he said.

The carrier had planned to double its flight frequency in China from 35 weekly in 2011 within two years, but the number was only increased to 41 weekly by adding the new route between Chengdu and Doha.

The competition on international routes from China does not only focus on the major cities and Chengdu, which is the fourth largest city by air passenger volume, has became a battlefield for both foreign and domestic airlines.

The Chengdu-Doha route is the third new international route for the city in 2013, said Chen Zhongwei, director of the Chengdu logistics bureau.

Air China and Sichuan Airlines opened routes from Chengdu to Frankfurt and Melbourne, respectively, earlier this year.

"Chengdu has three new international routes every year, according to the local government's plan," Chen said.

The local government takes several measures to encourage airlines to run international routes in the city, the primary among them being subsidies, which are usually provided for the first one or two years, Chen said.

"The subsidy helps the airlines with marketing, which usually costs a lot when a new route is opened," he said.

The local government is already planning next year's new routes, including Chengdu-Moscow, Chen said.

The route to Moscow may be operated by a domestic carrier, he added.

United Airlines will also open a Chengdu-San Francisco route in 2014, the carrier announced on August 29.