Incentives offered to local airlines for increasing long-haul capacity.

Authorities in Shanghai are planning to subsidise airlines to increase their international capacity from the city.

In an effort to build Shanghai as a global aviation hub, the Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau has announced that it will offer millions of yuan in subsidies to airlines adding extra capacity from Shanghai to North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Africa.

The municipal government will offer CNY30 million (US$4.9m) to any Shanghai-based airline for the launch of a single long-haul route, classed as having a flight time longer than six hours.

The authority will also provide CNY20m if any carrier resumes an international flight after a hiatus. For an increase in the frequency of an international route, the government will offer a CNY10m bonus.

In addition, Shanghai is planning to reward Shanghai-based airlines for attracting more transit passengers and carrying more cargo.

In the first half of this year, the combined passenger traffic at Shanghai’s two airports – Pudong and Hongqiao – reached 43.2 million, exceeding Beijing for the first time.

Source from <Travel Daily Asia>