Guangzhou Baiyun airport

The expansion plan for the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Guangzhou Baiyun will construct a third runway and another terminal, which will involve a total investment of RMB 14.036 billion, but the company did not reveal the exact date of construction.

The airport targets to handle 40 million people by 2010. Last year, Guangzhou Baiyun handled 30,958,467 people, making it the second busiest airport in mainland China in terms of passenger traffic.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is one of the three largest air hubs in China and the main hub of China Southern Airlines.
Source: China Knowledge

Air China Cargo

Krief Group is tipping China’s Air China Cargo to open an Israel route in mid-2009.

Krief, the Israeli agent for Air China, said there already is 600 tons of air freight a month sent between Israel and China, with an equal share between imports and exports, although most is routed through Europe via various airlines.

Krief said a direct air cargo route would boost trade, especially Israeli exports to China.

Air China is able to overfly Arab countries, which Israel’s El Al cannot do, making a service economical. El Al previously operated a route, but found the costs to be prohibitive.
Source: AirCargo Asia Pacific

Shanghai Airlines crew

Shanghai Airlines flew into the black in the first half of this year on rising traffic and a government subsidy.

Its net income was RMB23.41 million ($3.41 million), or RMB0.022 a share, in the six months against a loss of RMB134.51 million a year earlier. Its revenue grew 26% to RMB7.03 billion.

It attributed the growth to booming traffic during the period. The Shanghai-based carrier flew 4.88 million passengers in the first half, a rise of 14.07% from a year earlier, and it carried 8.9% more cargo at 1.66 million tons.

Tao Wei, an analyst with China International Capital, said, ‘The carrier’s profit is better than our expectations in the first half, but its load factor on international routes was only 60%, much lower than the average.’

The carrier also started flying on eight new routes in the first six months, including chartered flights from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Songshan Airport in Taiwan.
Source: China View

China Southern Airlines

Liu Shaoyong, the chairman of China Southern Airlines said the outlook for the carrier is bleak, following a difficult first half of 2008.

He said that airlines are ‘generally saddled with three major burdens, including insufficient market demand, fierce competition and high oil prices. . . . As such, the group expects to undergo a long period of hardship.’

This year China Southern’s shares have fallen 81% making it the worst performing company in the Shanghai CSI 300 Index.

Luckily, the renminbi appreciated against the US dollar in the first half of 2008 by 6.6% — delivering the carrier a $384 million foreign currency gain.
Source: eTravel Blackboard

Air cargo Shanghai

China’s air cargo market will continue to grow despite a recent slowdown in exports as the US economy contracts.

Speaking at a recent air cargo forum in Shanghai, air cargo company executives said China’s market was moving towards a more balanced trade, maturing with quality services and eco-friendly efficiency.

Alexander Kopkov, air cargo manager of ATC International Freight and Forwarding (Shanghai), noted that China did not only lead the region in the international air market, but that its development and global integration was boosting the economies of neighboring partners such as Russia.

Air transport volume between China and Russia, which has been increasing over the past few years, was the deciding factor in ensuring Russia’s air cargo market maintained a two-digit growth over the next decade and a half, Kopkov said.

Sebastian Chan, vice-president of supply chain operations at UPS China, agreed, noting that the domestic market was taking on increasing importance, as seen by the high numbers of imports and the investment in domestic transportation in China. More on this HERE.
Source: CargoNews Asia