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China's two air carriers yesterday reported stable growth in both passenger and cargo operations during the past year, and said they planned to expand their presence by introducing more aircraft and services.
China Eastern Airlines Co. Ltd., the Shanghai-listed arm of the China Eastern Group, carried a combined of about 12 million passengers on its domestic and international flights in 2002, an increase of 15.7 percent from a year earlier.
Cargo and mail handled by the carrier was about 360,000 tons, up 20 percent over 2001.
The other carrier Shanghai Airlines Co. Ltd., also listed in Shanghai, reported carrying about 4.05 million passengers, a 22 percent increase year-on-year on about 37,000 flights. It also handled 120,000 tons of cargo and mail, up 29 percent year-on-year.
Analysts said small Chinese carriers grew faster than airline groups because of their operation flexibility compared with over-staffed and inefficient groups.
Separately, China Eastern will expand its domestic service in the third quarter through promoting City Express service, its key brand for express and frequent flyers.
Planes will take off every hour linking Shanghai with cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Kunmin and Xi'an.
Currently, the service is only available on flights to Beijing and Hong Kong.
(Shanghai Daily January 2, 2002)
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