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Asia-Pacific carriers raise prices on flights to Europe
March 6th 2026
Asia-Pacific airlines, offering flights that avoid the Middle East conflict zone, see a spike in demand, leading to higher prices. Read More » The region’s carriers have become an alternative to Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways, which are forced to deal with extensive airspace closures at their home hubs. This leads to fare hikes on flights operated by Asia-Pacific carriers, such as a dramatic increase in one-way economy ticket by Singapore Airlines (SIA) from London Heathrow to Singapore on March 5, compared to prices later in the month, as reported by Bloomberg News.
According to the Chinese media, the shift appears to favor the country’s airlines. “Middle Eastern carriers are rebooking affected passengers onto Chinese airlines such as Air China, China Eastern (CEA), China Southern (CSA), and Cathay Pacific. As a result, fares on Europe–China routes operated by these carriers — particularly Cathay Pacific, known for its agile pricing response — have risen markedly. In some cases, premium cabins such as business class have been sold at full fare for consecutive days,” The China Travel News reported, adding that with the Lunar New Year travel peak winding down — typically the off-season for international routes — the current geopolitical disruption could instead serve as an unexpected stage for Chinese carriers to demonstrate their strength to international travelers. Their big advantage on the flights to Europe is using the Siberian route, which, as the highest-latitude path and the shortest great-circle distance, is the most fuel- and time-efficient option.
There are voices suggesting that the current Middle Eastern conflict may make passengers think more about geopolitical safety when planning future stopovers. As a result, travelers may be inclined to favor Asian carriers. “The security situation counts for a lot. Clearly, the Middle East airlines are under pressure. They definitely will be quite badly affected if this situation is prolonged, while Asian carriers don’t have a security situation, so their hubs are in a good place,” Subhas Menon, Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) director-general, told Bloomberg.
While the current Iranian crisis presents an opportunity for Mainland carriers and Asian hubs to offer their services to passengers, analysts believe passengers will likely return to using Middle Eastern airlines once safe travel is assured. “Asian airlines may see a short-term combination of higher fares, stronger cargo yields and modest market share gains, but this is fundamentally a redistribution of traffic, not a structural rebalancing of global aviation networks,” Linus Benjamin Bauer, founder of aviation advisory firm BAA & Partners, told Bloomberg.
