Cutting the number of in-flight magazines from four to two may not matter much to the average passengers.

However, such a move can save an airline millions of dollars a year.

And for cash-strapped China Eastern Airlines, which reported massive losses on Tuesday, such a move is vital in order to stave off the impact of soaring fuel prices.

The Shanghai-based carrier's net loss in the first half of 2006 almost tripled to 1.7 billion yuan (US$213 million), while its fuel costs rocketed 86 per cent year-on-year on the back of rising fuel prices and an expansion of its fleet.

According to Xu Bin, deputy manager of China Eastern's system operations department, the airline's cost control centre, cutting the number of in-flight magazines has already saved at least 43 million yuan (US$5.4 million) in the first half of this year.

"Fewer magazines do not simply mean less subscription fees. It is the equivalent to a fully loaded Airbus 300 plane and the huge amount of fuel it would consume," he said.

Xu explained that, as the airline currently has a fleet of 199 planes with 27,800 seats, two magazines per seat would result in an additional weight of 40 tons.

"We can't do much about rising oil prices, but we can always take measures to use less oil and control our costs," said China Eastern Board Secretary Luo Zhuping.

Another major measure taken by the airline is the establishment of an airline operations control (AOC) system.

The system, which was introduced from the United States in 2004, results in greater overall efficiency.

In the past, a plane's oil tank was filled with a fixed amount of fuel before take-off, with the figure only adjusted on a seasonal basis.

However, the AOC system means that the amount of fuel is now adjusted according to the plane's daily requirements.

In another measure to cut costs, pilots are being urged to fly higher to reduce air pressure and close down some unnecessary equipment during flights.

An awards system was also set up to encourage staff to introduce cost-saving measures, said Xu.

China Eastern said in its interim report that it would introduce five A330-300s, two A321s, one A319, one B747 freighter, four B737-700s and three ERJ145s to its fleet in the second half of this year.

The growth of international oil prices has continued with two major hikes in the first half of the year, reaching a peak of US$78 a barrel this month.

Chinese airlines suffered an aggregate loss of 2.57 billion yuan (US$321 million) in the first half of this year, more than four times the figure in the same period last year.

(China Daily August 31, 2006)