Chinese airlines earn nearly $1b in September

Chinese airlines earned nearly US$1 billion in September, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Total operating revenue climbed 46% to US$4.1 billion, while operating expenses rose 10.7% to $3.16 billion.
China’s airlines carried 22.6 million passengers in September, up 17% year-on-year.
International passengers rose 31.6% while domestic passengers increased 16%. The average load factor improved 6.5 points to 80.9%. September cargo traffic volume increased 9.1% to 515,700 tons.
China’s airlines operated a total fleet of 1,560 aircraft as of Sept. 30, 16 more than at the end of August.
ScandAsia.com reports that, based on CAAC figures, total passenger boardings in the first nine months increased 17.8% from a year earlier to 200.7 million. Domestic passengers over the nine months grew 16.6% to 186.2 million, while cargo traffic volume jumped 29.9% to 4.1 million tons.