Chinese Airlines show signs of recovery
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After posting a combined loss of nearly 30 billion Yuan (US$4.4 billion) in 2008, major airlines in the country are showing early indications of a recovery, as seen from their 2009 first-quarter results, reports the China Daily.
Of course, how they fare during the year could be affected by various factors, including the economic downturn that could further depress the travel market and swine flu. Airline companies also have huge projected payments for new aircraft they ordered over the past couple of years.
But, for now at least, the worst seems to be over.
During the first quarter of this year, major carriers made a total profit of 1.3 billion Yuan. Although Air China had reported a net loss of 9.15 billion Yuan in 2008, it bounced back into the black with a 981 million Yuan profit in Q1 2009, down only a slight 5.68 percent from a year ago.
For China Southern Airlines, first quarter saw a net profit of 222 million Yuan.
Even the moribund China Eastern managed to eke out a modest gain of 40.10 million Yuan in the 2009 first quarter.
Shanghai Airlines, China Eastern’s local rival, reported a net profit of 26.27 million Yuan. In contrast, the 2009 first quarter earnings of the relatively high-flying Hainan Airlines plunged by 88.9% from a year ago, to 31.82 million Yuan. Passenger numbers for all airlines increased by 14.6% in the first three months, and average seat utilization per kilometer was 75.9%, up 0.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
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