Air China expects nine-month loss on fuel, Olympics

Air China staff

Air China, the nation's largest international carrier, said it dropped to a nine-month loss because of higher fuel costs and travel disruptions caused by the Olympics and natural disasters.

The Beijing- based airline made a profit of 3.49 billion yuan ($511 million) in the first nine months of last year.

Air China joins China Eastern Airlines in reporting a probable loss in the period after the government forced carriers to curb flights to Beijing during the Olympics in order to ease pollution and congestion.

Hundreds of flights were also canceled nationwide earlier in the year because of snowstorms in January and to help with relief efforts after the May Sichuan earthquake.

Li Lei, an analyst at China Securities in Beijing, said, 'The third-quarter results will be dreadful, wiping out profits from the first half. There's not much doubt that carriers will post full-year losses as well.'
Source: Bloomberg