China's civil aviation on long runway to recovery

Airlines get creative

Airline companies across the world have been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and some are taking on side business to blunt its impact.

This month, China Southern Airlines said they will expand their business to new fields, such as online retail, tourism and hotel booking. The company also plans to offer Japanese and French language lessons to children and adults. They have also started a summer camp for children with the theme of civil aviation.

Flight attendants host livestreams selling products on social media platforms, for everything from produce to Sichuan hotpot kits.

But Yu warned companies to be cautious.

"The effectiveness of the side business depends on the scale of the airline company. The earning from livestreaming sales may be significant to small-sized budget airlines, but the profit may be insignificant to big companies," he said.

He added the attempt of China Southern is different, as the company is trying to change their business model.

Some airlines have promoted freight transport to balance the loss from passenger routes, Li from the Civil Aviation University of China said.

The demand for freight transport grows when epidemic control tightens, he added.

Before the pandemic, the revenue from freight transport accounted for about 5 percent of an airline's total income. Affected by the epidemic, passenger trips decline and freight routes rise. Earnings for freight transport have doubled and even tripled in some cases. The industry is also developing general aviation to hedge their losses.

Though attempts to diversify have had some success, the key to rebooting the industry is epidemic control and allowing the flow of people and goods, Li said.