China's aviation market showed signs of recovery in the first half
of this year even though the period was marred by two fatal
accidents involving domestic airlines.
Officials with the General Administration of Civil Aviation of
China (CAAC) said yesterday that the total income of domestic
airlines in the first six months reached 47.3 billion yuan (US$5.7
billion), 6.9 per cent higher than the same period last year.
Passenger figures also increased 14.4 per cent during the period to
40 million.
Two fatal crashes -Air China and China Northern Airlines in April
and May - slowed domestic business, but international travel
brought in 240 million yuan (US$29 million) for China's three
largest airlines: Beijing-based Air China, Shanghai-based China
Eastern and Guangzhou-based China Southern, officials said.
The Chinese national football team's appearance last month in the
World Cup finals held in South Korea and Japan persuaded many
people to fly abroad to watch, and revenue, therefore, increased in
the second quarter.
Statistics show that nearly 100,000 football fans took round-trip
flights to attend the World Cup matches in South Korea.
The revival of China-Europe air routes in the first two quarters of
the year helped solidify the positive trend.
Flights from Beijing and Shanghai to European countries enjoyed
high seat-load records in the first half of this year. Air China
even temporarily transferred stewards from domestic flights to the
European routes to handle the crowds efficiently.
CAAC officials said the busy traffic is expected to continue,
judging by how quickly tickets are already being sold for upcoming
flights.
"Summer and autumn are the traditional peak periods for domestic
airlines, and we believe our airlines will make good use of these
opportunities," one aviation official said.
(China
Daily July 18, 2002)