The carrier has also carried out cost savings measures across the board, including ordering 46 energy-efficient jets to phase out old aircraft, adopting lighter dining cars which can save 250 kilograms for long-haul routes, using lighter containers, and carrying fewer beverage. However, one airline - US carrier Continental Airlines - is bucking the trend. It will launch its first daily non-stop flight from Shanghai to New York on March 26, 2009.

The carrier said despite problems plaguing airlines, it would target the booming tourism market between China and the US.

The US Department of Commerce has estimated that 579,000 Chinese tourists will visit the US in 2011, up from 320,000 last year.

"There is no daily non-stop flight between Shanghai and New York, the two biggest aviation markets in China and the US, so we believe our new route will be a success," said Mark Erwin, president of the carrier's Asia-Pacific region.

China Eastern has run four weekly flights on the route since 2006.

"We believe that Shanghai has a booming demand from business clients as a financial center and these clients can fly to more than 60 cities via our hub in New York," said Erwin.

The load factors for its Hong Kong-New York and Beijing-New York flights have been between 80 percent and 90 percent. The carrier said it was confident the Chinese market would continue to grow. Passengers, This Is A Boarding Call

Passenger volume and load factor for China's three largest carriers in August:

Air China, the country's flagship international carrier, delivered 2.77 million passengers in August, dropping 16.6 percent from a year earlier.

Its load factor decreased 13 percentage points to 71.1 percent.

China Southern Airlines, the country's largest carrier by fleet size, handled 4.98 million passengers in August, down 16.17 percent from a year earlier.

Its load factor dropped 8.73 percentage points to 71.69 percent.

China Eastern Airlines, the country's third-largest carrier, transported 2.92 million passengers in August, diving 23.06 percent from a year earlier.

Its load factor dropped 8.63 percentage points to 69.43 percent.

The weak performance has largely been blamed on tightened visa regulations during the Beijing Olympic Games.

(Shanghai Daily September 24, 2008)