Riding the cusp of a boom with a China focus

It is difficult to say whether the World Trade Organization (WTO) membership has triggered an aviation boom in China, but it has certainly helped improve the prospects for foreign airlines, especially after 2001, said Frederic Kahane, general manager of Air France-KLM Group in Greater China .

"Market demand in China has been continuously growing (since 2001), especially in the domestic market, and during the last five years, the growth has been even faster," Kahane said.

The aviation sector has seen a 10 percent growth rate in China every year between 2001 and 2010, according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).