The Report on China Air Transportation Development released just most recently shows that the aviation industry generated 106.8 billion yuan from its main business last year and posted 3 billion losses.

There was 3.7 billion yuan less revenue and more losses than that in the previous year. As there are more favorable factors ahead this year for China's civil aviation industry, the air transportation turnover this year is expected to rise more than 17 percent.

Last year the civil aviation sector reported a gross turnover of 17.1billion tons/km and conveyed 87.59 million passengers, ranking the fifth and fourth respectively in the world. 79.8 percent of the flights were taken as scheduled, 3.1 percent higher than that of the previous year. 61.4 percent of passengers traveled at public expenses.

Analysis indicates that the air transportation industry will enjoy a more favorable environment in 2004. The system reform on the civil aviation will gradually loosen the economic management policy, which will in turn promote the productive forces of the sector.

Stricter safety control and stress on better services will guarantee the development of the sector. A new, more flexible pricing policy governing the domestic airfare will boost the demand. After reform and restructuring conducted and management regime improved, air transportation companies will have their operation and competitiveness upgraded. Experts of the civil aviation industry predicted a fast growth of China's civil aviation industry in 2004.

The whole industry is expected to reach a turnover of 20 billion tons/km, up 17 percent than the last year, and carry 103.8 million passengers, up 19 percent than the last year. The development pace will obviously be faster than the average of the world's civil aviation industry and than any other transportation means in the country.

(People's Daily March 31, 2004)