Japan’s two largest carriers have not seen any significant decline in demand on Mainland China operations, days after Beijing “solemnly reminded” its citizens not to travel to Japan amid a deepening diplomatic spat.
Still, Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have said they will be “closely monitoring” the situation.
China – through its embassy in Japan – issued the travel warning late 14 November, blaming Tokyo for its “blatantly provocative remarks” about Taiwan.
Newly-appointed Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi told lawmakers on 7 November that Japan could use military force if China attacks Taiwan.
Beijing regards the self-governed Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of military force to take control of the island. The Taiwanese government has rejected Beijing’s claims.
Less than a day after the warning was issued, Chinese carriers, including the country’s three largest operators Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, offered full refunds for Japan flights through the end of the year.
A report from the South China Morning Post – citing data from Chinese aviation analysts – suggests more than 400,000 tickets have been cancelled since the comments were made.
So far, none of the Chinese carriers have disclosed the number of cancellations following the travel warning.
ANA chief Shinichi Inoue, who was speaking at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) Assembly of Presidents in Bangkok, says: “At this time there are no changes in booking trends.”
JAL, meanwhile, says it has no flight cancellations or suspensions in place currently.
Both carriers operate to several points in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou Tianjin and Shenzhen.
China ranks the top source market for visitors to Japan, according to data from the country’s tourism office. In September, more than 775,000 Chinese visited Japan, while in August, the visitor volume rose past 1 million.
