For airlines in the Asia-Pacific region, 2023 should be the year that international capacity returns almost to pre-pandemic levels. But even though COVID-19 restrictions have eased, there are still some major hurdles on the path to recovery that the industry must overcome.

Asia-Pacific airlines have generally lagged those in other global regions in terms of international capacity recovery. As of Nov. 28, international weekly seats in this region were at 54% of 2019 levels, according to data from CAPA – Center for Aviation and OAG. This was much less than the 98% in North America and 86.5% in Europe.

• Rebuilding international fleets and networks will be a priority
• The Mainland China question looms over the broader region

While the post-pandemic rebound has been slower to start in the Asia-Pacific, this also means there is greater scope for rapid improvement in the region than elsewhere.

Recovery challenges include fuel prices, inflation, the possibility of global recession, uncertainty regarding the reopening of the important mainland China market and system bottlenecks caused partially by workforce shortages.

It is also hard to predict what travel demand will look like as 2023 progresses. Demand is strong now, due to a combination of pent-up appetite to travel after the pandemic and limited capacity. But next year both these factors will ease.

Airlines are balancing their strategies between maximizing short-term capacity and ensuring they do not add too much in…