Photo: Courtesy of China Eastern Airlines

Chinese airlines industry is still in loss, as the latest data showed that the three major airlines are in big loss in the first three quarters, and the giants make pessimistic expectations for this year's full-year performance.

On Friday, three giants China Southern Airlines, Air China, and China Eastern Airlines all released financial reports, showing that they achieved total revenue of 156.104 billion yuan ($23.33 billion) in the first three quarters of this year with negative growth, and the total loss stood at 26.68 billion yuan.

Among the three major airlines, only China Southern Airlines achieved a profit in the third quarter of this year, with a net profit of 711 million yuan, comparing with a loss of 671 million yuan for Air China and 563 million yuan for China Eastern Airlines. 

The major airlines all believed the losses were attributed to the COVID-19 outbreak. The overseas demand is weak, bringing in a gloomy expectation. 

China Eastern Airlines said the net cash flow from operating activities decreased by 99.53 percent year-on-year, mainly due to the impact of the epidemic, bringing the shrinking air passenger demand and the decrease in the company's operating income. 

China Southern Airlines said the scale of passenger transportation on international routes is still at a low level due to the epidemic overseas, although China's civil aviation is showing a steady recovery with the effective control of the epidemic.

Air China said domestic air passenger transport market has accelerated its recovery since the third quarter, but the scale of passenger transport on international routes is weak, and it expected that the performance of the group in 2020 will still be affected heavily.
Chinese airlines industry is still in loss, as the latest data showed that the three major airlines are in big loss in the first three quarters, and the giants make pessimistic expectations for this year's full-year performance.

On Friday, three giants China Southern Airlines, Air China, and China Eastern Airlines all released financial reports, showing that they achieved total revenue of 156.104 billion yuan ($23.33 billion) in the first three quarters of this year with negative growth, and the total loss stood at 26.68 billion yuan.

Among the three major airlines, only China Southern Airlines achieved a profit in the third quarter of this year, with a net profit of 711 million yuan, comparing with a loss of 671 million yuan for Air China and 563 million yuan for China Eastern Airlines. 

The major airlines all believed the losses were attributed to the COVID-19 outbreak. The overseas demand is weak, bringing in a gloomy expectation. 

China Eastern Airlines said the net cash flow from operating activities decreased by 99.53 percent year-on-year, mainly due to the impact of the epidemic, bringing the shrinking air passenger demand and the decrease in the company's operating income. 

China Southern Airlines said the scale of passenger transportation on international routes is still at a low level due to the epidemic overseas, although China's civil aviation is showing a steady recovery with the effective control of the epidemic.

Air China said domestic air passenger transport market has accelerated its recovery since the third quarter, but the scale of passenger transport on international routes is weak, and it expected that the performance of the group in 2020 will still be affected heavily.