FIGHTING FOR A PLACE AT THE TABLE

摘要

Of the lessons learned from the shocks that have jolted the airline industry over the st few years, perhaps the most valuable is the resilience of air cargo. Despite SARS, terrorism and avian flu, Asian airlines have managed to derive ever-increasing revenue—in one case, up to 48% of the total—from freight. In fact, freight is now recognized as a form of insulation from the fickle whims of passenger traffic. And China, the world's fastest-growing market with 9,5% annual GDP growth and exports topping $851.2 billion in 2003—triple the 1997 number—is attracting immense interest from airports and airlines in the region as the "best ticket in town" tor cargo revenue. In late October, in a fascinating twist in the drive for freeing markets, a new dimension emerged. Chinese authorities announced, in a de facto manner through an Air China-Cathay Pacific equity tie-up, that the country's two dominant hubs would become Beijing and Hong Kong. Perhaps not coincidently, that news came just one week after Hong Kong-based Cathay was awarded 12 much-sought-after weekly freight services to Shanghai.