Airline News
China’s ‘Big Three + 1’ continue to disappoint in third-quarter
November 4th 2014
September data points to weak third-quarter results at the mainland’s ‘Big Three’ – Air China, China Eastern Airlines (CEA) and China Southern Airlines (CSN) – and the country’s number four – Hainan Airlines – even though it is traditionally their best-performing quarter. Read More »
Beijing-based Air China said net profit fell to 2.68 billion yuan (US$438.41 million) in the July-to-September period, from 2.94 billion a year earlier, according to a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange last Tuesday.
For the first nine months of the year, Air China's net income totalled 3.16 billion yuan, down 22.3% year-on-year.
CEA’s third-quarter net profit fell 28.5%, compared to the same period a year ago, to 2.04 billion yuan, resulting in a year-to-date ….
Guangzhou-based CSN reported a net profit of 2.27 billion yuan for the three months ended September 30, up from 2.16 billion in the year-ago period. However, its net profit for the first nine months combined has slumped a staggering 49% to 1.26 billion yuan.
The mainland’s accelerated anti-graft campaign has stymied demand for premium travel at a time when a slowing economy was already hurting business travel. In conjunction with a rising yuan, China’s ‘Big Three’ will continue to face difficult times.
Hainan Airlines, now the mainland’s fourth-largest carrier, posted a 1.41 billion yuan net profit in third-quarter results, down from 1.71 billion a year earlier. Net profit for the whole of 2014 to date stands at 1.9 billion yuan, down by 20%.
Nevertheless, the Hainan will continue on its ambitious international expansion course in 2015, as an exposé by CAPA – Centre for Aviation revealed. The Haikou-based carrier is reportedly in the process of requesting traffic rights for nine new long-haul routes out of Beijing – Heathrow, Manchester, Montreal, Nairobi, Oakland, Los Angeles, JFK, San Francisco and Tel Aviv.
Based on Hainan’s current order backlog, and regulatory restrictions, it is unlikely the carrier will open all these routes within the next year. However, its aspirations demonstrate the carrier’s continued efforts in building a somewhat niche long-haul network focused on the B787 to North America.
