(Yicai Global) Nov. 16 -- International flights booked with Chinese airlines soared almost 140 percent in the first two weeks of this month from a year ago after coronavirus restrictions on overseas arrivals were relaxed.

Reservations hit a daily high for this year on Nov. 5, according to figures from industry data app Umetrip. Chinese carriers had nearly 1,900 flights on international routes in the first half of the month, the data showed. The average airfare also fell about 15 percent from a year ago.

“International flights have more than tripled since the middle of the year,” Lin Zhijie, a civil aviation sector insider, told Yicai Global. “But ticket prices have dropped sharply as demand has not recovered completely, pulling down the contribution international routes make to profits.”

International flights have been restricted in the past two years, but they have increased substantially in the second half of this year. Airlines plan to more than double such flights in the winter-spring season that began on Oct. 30, compared with a year earlier.

“The latest Covid-19 control and prevention measures shorten the quarantine time for inbound passengers, which is conducive to improving international flight demand and boosting revenue, laying a foundation for the resumption of more overseas flights,” Lin noted.

On Nov. 11, China scrapped the ‘circuit breaker’ for inbound flights, which had obliged airlines to suspend routes if passengers were found to have the coronavirus, and cut the quarantine period for arrivals by two days. Moreover, only one PCR test within 48 hours is now required before boarding, instead of two.

But the domestic market remains lackluster. In the week of Nov. 7 to 13, China had an average of 4,326 flights a day in the home market, down almost 30 percent from a year ago and 1.3 percent lower than a week earlier, with fewer than 4,500 daily flights for a fifth week, according to Flight Master data.

Only five airlines have more than 50 percent of flights operating currently -- Joy Air, Okay Airways, Air Travel, Colorful Guizhou Airlines, and GX Airlines -- all relatively small companies.

Larger Chinese airlines continue to struggle. According to the third-quarter financial results of 10 listed carriers, they had accumulated losses of over CNY100 billion (USD14.1 billion) before the traditional off season in the fourth quarter, 1.7 times the total CNY67.1 billion loss of all domestic airlines last year.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Tom Litting