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)