China’s three largest state-owned airlines continue to suffer loss in first half on slow recovery of international flights, yuan weakness

 

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Air China, the country’ flagship carrier, said it’s expected to record a net loss of about 3.2 – 3.9 billion yuan for the first half of the year, narrowing significantly from a net loss of 19.4 billion yuan for the same period last year. 

The company attributed the loss to the weaker-than-expected recovery of international flights and the fluctuations in the yuan’s exchange rate.

China Southern Airlines said it’s expected to record a net loss of 2.5 – 3.3 billion yuan for the first half, compared to a net loss of 11.49 billion yuan a year earlier. 

As the recovery of international flights recovered slower than expected, the domestic market saw an oversupply, the Chinese yuan depreciated sharply and oil prices remained high, the company’s business operation remained under huge pressure and suffered losses in the first half, it said.

China Eastern Airlines said it’s expected to post a net loss of 5.5 – 6.9 billion yuan for the first half of the year, narrowing from the 18.7 billion yuan loss a year earlier. 

The company recorded 51.95 million passenger trips during the first half, surging 178.3% from a year earlier and representing 81.16% of the levels seen in the same period of 2019, it said.