China slowdown drives economy-class bookings up; business-class travel rises in Singapore
Michelle Zhu
AS CHINA’S economic conditions slowed this year, so did the country’s demand for more premium classes of air travel, compared to 2019, said FCM, the flagship corporate travel arm of Australia-listed Flight Centre Travel Group.
The travel-management company on Friday (Oct 27) said its China unit reported the largest increase of 19 per cent in economy-class bookings due to the slower economic conditions; business-class bookings went up marginally, by 0.4 per cent.
Compared to the same period in 2019, premium-class bookings fell 1 per cent, and economy-class bookings, by 0.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, FCM Singapore’s cabin-class booking pattern remained relatively the same, with air capacity at 88 per cent.
Economy-class bookings from Singapore rose over 4.7 per cent, which contributed to a growth in bookings over that in 2019. FCM also noted a 1.9 per cent increase in business class bookings, and another 0.1 per cent rise in premium-economy class figures.
There was a “minimal” dip of 0.02 per cent in first-class bookings in Singapore, compared to 2019, said FCM.
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With international capacity yet to return to 2019 levels for India, the company said there were “nominal” decreases for first-class and business-class bookings. First-class bookings fell by 1.3 per cent; business-class bookings were down by 3.8 per cent for FCM India. A surge in domestic travel within the country, however, drove bookings for economy class up by 3 per cent, and another 1.7 per cent for premium economy-class bookings.
In Malaysia – another domestic-driven market – overall flight bookings have risen 8.6 per cent so far in 2023. While demand for economy-class with FCM Malaysia was up by 2 per cent, business-class bookings rose 0.2 per cent. FCM however, noted that Hong Kong was “still playing catch up with the rest of Asia”. Bookings for all four of its cabin classes fell in 2023 amid increasing month-on-month air capacity.
The company expects an increase across all booking classes for its entire Asia business going forward, in line with air capacity recovery.
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