Nanjing Lukou International Airport has long been, well, not very good. Yet, hope is on the horizon, as T3 begins to take shape, with a major international airline group possibly key to ending Nanjing’s reputation as a regional hub at best.
The existing set up at Lukou is so restricted that it has allowed itself to be overtaken by surrounding airports, many just an hour or two away by train which have also been in the process of accelerated development while Nanjing has stood stagnant.
Looking to the international segment as an example, Nanjing still only operates international flights to other destinations in Asia with the exception of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, and Paris in France.
In the good old days, however, Lukou used to operate multiple weekly services to and from Frankfurt with Lufthansa, and Helsinki with Finnair. But the Pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict effectively put an end to that with Russia withdrawing flying rights over its territory to foreign airlines.
Yet those were the symptoms for the flights’ cancellations rather than their cause. And this is where T3 stands with a unique opportunity to reposition itself as a larger hub for more international airlines flying to Europe, the USA and elsewhere. It’s an opportunity that comes in just one form; Star Alliance.
While the benefits of the world’s first major airline alliance that remains the biggest today are evident and well known to passengers, the advantages it presents to airports and its member airlines are less so.
Among the many alternative airlines, prioritizing the business of Star Alliance member airlines is of unique strategic value. The Star Alliance’s “Under One Roof” program means that member airlines operate in the same terminals at major airports, while adopting unified product and service standards. This model not only facilitates passenger travel and improves transit efficiency, but also helps airlines reduce operating costs, increase revenue, and improve product and service consistency.
For Nanjing Airport, the choice of Star Alliance as a priority development objective for the T3 terminal building brings has numerous strategic advantages.
Firstly, Star Alliance hubs are extremely scarce in China’s hinterlands. The only real Star Alliance hub in mainland China is Beijing Capital Airport. Yet, there are a large number of SkyTeam hubs, including those in Shanghai, Xi’an, Kunming and Xiamen. In fact, there is somewhat of an excess supply.
Making Nanjing airport the only Star Alliance international hub in the region would also therefore create a differentiated competitive barrier with other nearby hub airports.
With Star Alliance partners including Singapore Airlines, Thai Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, United Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and other leading global operators, a hub at Nanjing could significantly enrich the City’s international airline network, especially as regards services to Europe, the North America, the Middle East and elsewhere.
All this said however, Nanjing faces some pretty steep competition from other nearby regional airports, namely Pudong, Xiaoshan, Nantong New Airport that can be considered Shanghai’s third airport, and other new core hubs all over the Yangtze River Delta.
Then there is the domestic front, on which China Eastern Jiangsu is currently the largest airline based out of Lukou, accounting for nearly a third of the local market share in Nanjing, as aviation platform “Fly the YRD” (飞跃长三角) reports. It’s a pattern that gives China Eastern a strong voice when it comes to time resources, route approvals and ground services.
However, the costs of a high dependence on a single airline are also becoming increasingly evident. Industry insiders have pointed out that if Jiangsu did not hand out subsidies, China Eastern wouldn’t even operate flights out of Nanjing, likely otherwise continuing its expansion at Shanghai Pudong. In fact, it is said that, for many years now, China Eastern has never fulfilled the original objectives of its strategic cooperation agreement signed with Jiangsu.
So looking to the future, T1 can be used as a domestic low-cost and small and medium-sized airlines exclusive terminal, featuring simplicity and efficiency, attracting travelers from the entire Yangtze River Delta by extremely low fares and special tourist destinations.
China Eastern Airlines could continue its domination of T2; the cost of remaining in T2 is the lowest, and its existing seat resources are sufficient for future development. T2 might be considered as an exclusive terminal for China Eastern and its deep-rooted partners, enabling it to make necessary facilities and process modifications to T2 according to demand. That would make T2 a regional hub for SkyTeam.
But then T3. This is not a simple operational question, but a strategic choice that reflects the future, one which is crucial to the development of Nanjing’s airport over as much as the next 30 years. It’s a choice even more important than how to build it.
So what next for Lukou as T3 begins to take shape? Well, if they have their wits about them, the Airport’s operator, Eastern Airports, will get Star Alliance on board asap. Yet, as the saying goes, “Don’t count your chickens until they’re hatched”. Lukou’s shortcomings were displayed in a fantastical fiasco in what was the biggest outbreak of COVID after Wuhan in 2021. Terminal 3 of Nanijng Lukou International Airport is too good an opportunity to pass up; to make amends and present a truly global face to the world.
