Four Chinese carriers have filed applications with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) seeking traffic rights to operate services to Japan.
China Eastern Airlines is seeking to operate twice-weekly services on the Wuxi-Osaka and Hangzhou-Shizuoka routes, using Airbus A320s.
Lucky Air intends to operate a twice-weekly Kunming-Changsha-Nagoya service, using A320s or Boeing 737-800s.
Shandong Airlines meanwhile is seeking to launch a daily Xiamen-Osaka service, using Boeing 737s.
Xiamen Airlines's application says it plans to serve the Fuzhou-Osaka route on a thrice-weekly basis, using Boeing 737s or 787-8s.
The CAAC adds that Lucky Air, Shandong Airlines and Xiamen Airlines intends to start these services as early as June.
FlightMaps Analytics shows that China Eastern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines will compete with Shenzhen Airlines on the Wuxi-Osaka and Fuzhou-Osaka route respectively.
Source: Cirium Dashboard