British Airways is considering flying to new mainland destinations to take advantage of a more liberal air services regime between China and Britain.

BA chief executive Rod Eddington said the carrier was also working hard on the political front to make it easier for mainland citizens to acquire visas for Britain under the mainland's approved destination status (ADS) programme.

"We're increasing frequencies to Beijing and Hong Kong, and are looking at other ports to serve. We will serve more Chinese cities, but the questions are, when and where," Mr Eddington said.

In February, the British and Chinese governments agreed to open the market to more carriers by signing an enlarged air services pact that allows for more frequent flights between the two countries.

It also permits more than one British airline to operate between Britain and Shanghai and Beijing, as well as opening up four other mainland cities.

BA has been keen to break the Virgin Atlantic Airways monopoly on Shanghai, after losing a licensing battle to its rival in 1999 for the route. China Eastern Airlines has also launched services to London.

Mr Eddington said the business case for additional mainland points to be served by BA would be boosted by Britain joining the ADS list.

This year, China and the European Union concluded a tourism accord that put most European countries on the list, giving mainland citizens the right to apply for normal tourist visas. Ireland, Denmark and Britain were the only countries that did not participate in the scheme, partly because of illegal immigration fears.

For countries not on the ADS list, mainlander visitors require an organisation - such as a school - to act as a sponsor and guarantee that they will return on time to China.

But countries such as Italy and France have now seen an upsurge in mainland tourists, with reports of Parisian retailers saying that mainland tourists had spending power akin to that of Japanese visitors in the 1980s.

"Clearly, Shanghai is a business center and we are looking at it ... but can it support two UK carriers? There is also a lot of competition for Shanghai-UK traffic through other European and Middle East hubs," Mr Eddington said. "Timing is often the key."

In September, BA launched the first freighter service between China and Britain, from Shanghai Pudong airport. "That freighter service is an indicator of the importance of the Shanghai market to us," he said.

Guangzhou's new Baiyun airport was "also interesting", Mr Eddington said, but too close to Hong Kong for BA to consider. "Our focus in southern China is on building on Hong Kong frequencies," he said. BA flies 17 times a week between Hong Kong and Britain.

This month, Virgin chairman Sir Richard Branson said the airline was also evaluating new services to a second mainland city.

(CRIENGLISH.com December 28, 2004)