Shanghai’s big three ground service providers fight for market share at airports

About 60 foreign and domestic carriers currently service airports in Shanghai. In 2008, the two airports in the city handled 451,039 take-offs and landings, 51 million passengers and 3 million tons of freight. Besides the Shanghai-based carriers such as China Eastern and Shanghai Air, other domestic and foreign airlines also heavily rely on the city’s airports for ground transport, freight transport and miscellaneous support services.
According to a recent survey, China Eastern beats Shanghai Airport Authority in market shares for ground handling business. Throughout 2008, China Eastern serviced a total of 38 carriers, compared with 22 serviced by the airport authority’s subsidiary. For China Eastern, this translated into a 62.9% market share at Pudong and a 40-percent share at Hongqiao. The airport authority, meanwhile, captured only 34 percent of the market.