Nearly 10,000 flights were suspended in late January to Chinese destinations

Global travel and data analytics specialist Cirium says that nearly 10,000 flights have been suspended since the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus in China in January 2020.

Cirium statistics show that 9,807 scheduled flights within, to and from mainland China did not fly from January 23, 2020. The data spans the period from the day before the first reported flight cancellation to 28 January – the latest day for which figures are available.

The analysis reveals that 92% of all scheduled flights to and from Wuhan – ground zero for the current outbreak – did not fly between January 23 and 28. Of the 2,606 flights that were set to fly in and out of the city during this period, a total of 2,406 services did not take place.

Peter Morris, Chief Economist at Ascend by Cirium, said: “Cirium data clearly shows the dramatic impact that coronavirus is having, with nearly 10,000 scheduled flights to, from and within China being suspended between January 23 and 28.”

Rahul Oberai, MD, APAC at Cirium said: “While the industry is playing its part to help prevent the spread of the virus, the outbreak will inevitably cause significant disruption of schedules and travel patterns in the short and medium term.

“The precedent of the SARS outbreak indicates to us that the underlying demand for travel driven by GDP growth will in time produce a robust recovery. Cirium is closely monitoring the flights and traffic data to keep the market fully informed on developments.”

According to Cirium, a total of 90,607 domestic and international flights were scheduled to operate across mainland China over the six-day period between January 23 and January 28. The 9,807 flights which were cancelled represent 10.8% of the country’s overall scheduled flights.

Cirium’s data also shows that during this period Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines was the most heavily affected carrier by total number flights that did not operate. A total of 1,591 of its services were affected, 1,529 domestic and 62 international.

This was followed by China Southern Airlines with 1,510 flights which did not take off, 1,425 domestic and 85 international. Xiamen Airlines suffered 837 unoperated flights, including 828 domestic and nine international services.

In terms of percentages, 9 Air – a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines – was hit hard. Approximately 77% (46 in total) of all the carrier’s planned international flights did not fly, in addition to 27% (140 in total) of its domestic services between January 23 and January 28.

The airports that experienced the highest number of scheduled flights that did not operate were, as expected, Wuhan (2,406 out of 2,606), as well as Beijing Capital (920 out of 9,113) and Guangzhou (829 out of 8,236), followed by Shanghai Hongqiao and Xi’an to a lesser extent, Cirium said.

The routes with the largest number of unoperated flights were all domestic, with the Beijing-to-Shanghai service topping the list. This was closely followed by routes to and from Wuhan, particularly the highly-popular Wuhan-to-Beijing route.

Cirium’s insights are based on data from the Cirium Core – its aviation and air travel data analytics source. Its dedicated team of expert data analysts continue to assess the impact of the coronavirus on the domestic and international air travel industry in and out of China.

The Wanda Reign Wuhan is officially open

Wanda Hotels & Resorts has officially launched the Wanda Reign Wuhan as of 29 March. Wanda Reign is Wanda Hotels & Resorts' premier luxury hotel brand, and offers a host of private services for its guests.

Source: Wanda Reign website

The "Imperial Welcome" programme offers the use of a Bentley for example, while the "Reign Butler" combines Chinese hospitality with British butler traditions to provide bespoke personal assistant services throughout a guest's stay, including support for schedule management, nutritional advice, and shopping guidance. 

Located in Wuhan's East Lake Scenic Area near shopping and tourist landmarks, the Wanda Reign Wuhan is 30 minutes away by car from Wuhan Tianhe airport and 15 minutes from the Wuhan high-speed railway station.
The Wanda Reign Wuhan features marble and crystal interiors and has 413 rooms and suites. An embossed mural, the focal point in the hotel lobby, draws inspiration from the scenery of Wuhan East Lake, China's biggest urban lake. The 10m high and 60m long wall space is sculpted with white marble, Chinese jade and finished with gold threading. 

The "Bed of Reign" is handcrafted using pure New Zealand wool and US Talalay* latex by experts, while the "Dream Catcher" series is all about comfort. All the rooms and suites feature interactive TV, electronic cats' eyes, smart lighting systems, and automatic toilets. The hotel's presidential suite is embellished with embroidery with gold foil on silk, artistic cloisonne ornaments, and copper artwork. 

The book of Liki* (禮記), a Chinese classic, can be found in every guest room. The book records the oriental charters and regulations as well as rites and morality of ancient Confucian culture. The Wanda Reign is also the first hotel to use Hermes toiletries, which adds further prestige to the whole experience. 

The Wanda Reign Wuhan houses three restaurants featuring different cuisines. An international buffet and a la carte menu is offered at Cafe Reign; Huaiyang cuisine combined with the essence of Cantonese and local dishes is served at the River Drunk Huaiyang Restaurant; and contemporary fusion Japanese and French cuisine is available at He Restaurant. 

The 1,500 sq m pillar-less grand ballroom and seven function rooms are equipped with simultaneous interpretation systems, video conference systems and digital video conference systems. On the top floor of the hotel, Club Reign provides  members with a gathering place to relax. 

Wanda Hotels & Resorts is expanding aggressively. On its calendar are grand openings for the Wanda Realm Guangzhou in May, Wanda Realm Chifeng (Inner Mongolia) in June, Wanda Realm Jinghua and Wanda Realm Jining in July, Wanda Realm Changzhou in August, and the Wanda Vista Lanzhou in October.

"To be a leading global luxury hotel management group in China is our vision. Till the end of 2013, Wanda Hotels & Resorts has built and managed 54 five-star hotels, and expects to expand this number to 100 hotels by 2015. New Wanda Reign hotels will soon open in Shanghai, Chengdu and other international cities. 

"We believe that the three different hotel brands of Wanda Hotels & Resorts will satisfy the needs of different guests and all of them will enjoy consistent hospitality from our heart. As the premier luxury brand hotel in China, the Wanda Reign Wuhan will elevate the hospitality of Wuhan to a higher level," Ilja Poepper, Vice President Sales & Marketing of Wanda Hotels & Resorts said.

*Liki or Liji, also called the Book of Rites, is one of five Chinese classic texts that was used for Confucian education. Confucius lived from 551 to 479 BC.

*Talalay is a manufacturing process for the latex used in mattresses that is said to create a relatively more consistent and supple latex that continues to be bounce back to its original shape after years of use.