Air China expects to post 9 month loss

Air China said that higher fuel costs and travel disruptions caused by natural disasters and the summer Olympic games will likely result in a nine-month loss for the airline, Bloomberg reported. China’s largest international carrier said in a statement filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange Wednesday that it will also book a loss from wrong way bets on fuel prices after recent drops in the price of oil. The airline’s passenger numbers in September fell by 4.5% marking the seventh straight month of declining traffic. Passenger numbers fell 4% to 25.3 million in the first nine months of the year. Air China is more affected by fluctuations in fuel prices than other Chinese carriers because it has the largest overseas network. Carriers pay subsidized rates for fuel on domestic routes.