2005 was a bad year for the airlines of China. They made serious losses. 2006 was a lot better for despite facing hefty increases in the cost of fuel they moved back into a profit.

National-flag carrier Air China made RMB3.2 billion net profit in 2006, up 87.7% from 2005.

Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines states it earned a profit in 2006, the first for the carrier in eight years, but has not revealed the actual figure. There were losses of RMB1.79 billion in 2005.

China Eastern Airlines had a tough first nine months losing RMB970 million but in the last quarter made RMB492 million profit. As investment bank Morgan Stanley had previously forecast an RMB2 billion loss in 2006 this was a creditable performance.

Hainan Airlines, which reported RMB216 million losses in 2005 states that it will be able to report a profit for 2006. One estimate is that it will be between RMB213 million and RMB355 million.

There is an expectation that these airlines will stay profitable in 2007 as the renminbi continues to appreciate and international oil prices drop.
Source: China.org.cn

China will open new air routes the southern resort island of Hainan, with flight times to Southeast Asia to be cut by over two hours. The new routes will also mean shorter flights for tourists flying in from Japan, South Korea and Europe. It will also mean an immense influx of visitors for Hainan is one of the most attractive sea side places in China.

Tourism authorities are also aiming to develop new markets from Australia and New Zealand.

The General Administration of Civil Aviation’s statement said, ‘The move is a sound step towards building Hainan into a regional aviation hub.’ The new routes will be added ‘at an early date’.

Fascinating that the new routes became possible only after China’s military agreed to open up more airspace to civilian traffic.

The administration said the new routes would be particularly appealing for travelers from Southeast Asia. Travel time from Sanya, the southernmost city in Hainan, to Singapore will be reduced to just over five hours and a half hours, two hours and 28 minutes less than current flights.

Hainan is China’s most southern province and is popular with tourists for its tropical climate, beaches and seafood. Tourism numbers rose 37% last year to 513,000. When these new routes open watch them boom.
Source: AFP

Germany’s Fraport, which operates Frankfurt Airport, possibly the only airport in the world with a blue movie cinema in the basement, has become one of the shareholders of Xianyang International Airport in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. It now has a 24.5% stake.

Fraport will pay RMB490 million for the stake while the state-owned company China West Airport Group will hold 50.9% of the shares. The other two shareholders are China National Aviation Holding Company with a 24.5% stake and Xi’an Airport Logistics of China West Airport Group.

The Xianyang Airport is the largest in northwest China and handled 9.4 million passengers last year.
Source: English.eastday.com