Where have all the passengers gone?
China’s airline industry will most likely end up in the red in 2008 as it confronts a slowing domestic economy and the prospects of a global recession according to industry executives and analysts.
Flag carrier Air China and Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines have both warned they would post losses for the first nine months of the year, blaming high fuel costs and the weak economy.
A sharp slowdown in the appreciation of the yuan since mid-July is also set to undermine earnings in the second half of the year.
Business was also hurt by the devastating Sichuan earthquake in southwestern China in May, as well as travel restrictions and stepped-up airport safety checks that deterred air travel before and during the Beijing Olympics in August, which dealt a particularly severe blow to Beijing-based Air China.
Source: CargoExpress Asia
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