British Airways to suspend Beijing route

LONDON - European Airlines struggle with adverse market conditions on routes to China. British Airways will suspend its London - Beijing service for a year citing commercial reasons. Overcapacities triggered by Chinese airlines present a yield challenge to all competitors on international routes.

British Airways will halt its London - Beijing service for a year. The IAG airline cites commercial feasability of the route and also curbed its Hong Kong services.

Meanwhile Virgin Atlantic will discontinue its Shanghai service - a route that has been part of its network for 25 years, paused only during the pandemic.

International airlines struggle with yield pressure and cost disadvantages on China routes. Chinese airlines restored nearly 90 percent of their 2019 international capacities adding a flood of seats in the recent months - a step that took many competitors by surprise.

Lufthansa was hit by a ten percent drop it its China yields in the second quarter citing a supply shock and an "abnormal situation" in the market. European airlines also suffer from costly routings avoiding closed Russian airspace while Chinese airlines continue to fly over Russia on routes to Europe.