US to ban Chinese passenger flights
>> The Trump administration is banning Chinese passenger airlines from flying to the US starting later this month, a move that comes as Beijing prohibits US airlines to resume flights there. The order, published Wednesday, takes effect June 16, but it could be moved up.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have been pushing to return to China this month after pausing service because of the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year, but they haven’t yet received the approvals from Chinese aviation authorities to do so.
China’s airline industry is capitalizing on pandemic
>> China's domestic airline demand and capacity are recovering ahead of international capacity around the world, according to OAG analyst John Grant. The country is in many ways ahead of other markets.
The Chinese government has a tighter grip on the operations of commercial aviation than any other country because the CAAC has direct control of the airports, airlines and the allocation of routes. A Daily Beast report said that China is ideally poised to exploit strategically the situation created by the pandemic.
That power will be decisive not only in deciding how fast domestic Chinese air travel recovers, but how fast foreign airlines will be allowed to return to China. And the outcome of these decisions will inevitably be influenced by the increased escalation of rhetoric and threats between China and the US.
Online travel platforms build hotel memberships
>> Chinese online travel service platforms including Fliggy, Meituan and Trip.com Group have been developing membership programs for independent hotels in the country for the past year, attracting more guests to these small hotels while strengthening their own influence on the hospitality industry. Smaller hotels are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus impact and that may present an opportunity for the online giants to help while growing their own influence.
Booking.com, Trip.com to drop rate parity terms on Korean regulatory demand
>> Global online travel agencies including Booking.Com, Agoda, Expedia and Trip.Com, have submitted to the Korea Fair Trade Commission corrective measures for the abuse of their superior position in the market against Korean lodging companies, offering to delete the "lowest guarantee" clauses in their contracts. Similar cases were reported weeks ago when the OTAs vowed to drop the rate parity terms in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong will remain closed to visitors until late September
>> Hong Kong's airport has reopened for transit passengers, but the territory's borders will remain closed to foreign visitors until late September. Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said on Tuesday that the current ban – introduced on March 23 initially for 14 days, and then extended until later this month – would now remain in place through to September 18.
Hong Kong travel setback to hurt Macao travel easing
>> Hong Kong's extended deadline of quarantine rules for arrivals from Macao, mainland China and Taiwan could set back by at least a month Macao’s efforts to get its tourism industry going again, said JP Morgan Securities in a note. Macao has not had a COVID-19 case since early April. All 45 confirmed patients have been released from hospital care, and the city recorded no death from the disease.
