The country's total air traffic rose for the first time in five months in October, thanks to a surge in domestic passenger numbers, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said yesterday.
Despite gloomy figures in most sectors, an 11.3 percent rise in domestic flights, to 17.08 million, helped the industry as a whole achieve growth of 4 percent for the month, the administration said on its website.
The number of international passengers fell 17.4 percent to 1.26 million, while domestic and international cargo throughput were also down, it said.
Li Lei, an analyst with CITIC China Securities Co, said the increase in combined passenger/cargo numbers followed four months of decline.
According to CAAC figures, total air traffic fell 2.2 percent in June, year on year, and 5.2 percent in September.
Li Xiaojin, a professor at the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin, said the May 12 earthquake sparked the downward trend, as it dampened people's enthusiasm for travel.
The Olympics and Paralympics also had a detrimental effect on business travel, he said.
"Although there is still a global economic downturn, the other negative factors have disappeared, so the air transport industry is slowly starting to climb out of the mire," Li Xiaojin said.
However, over the full year, the industry is still down, Li Lei said.
While the month is still young, the industry's recovery in December is unlikely to "meet expectations", he said.
According to figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) published yesterday, in the first three quarters of the year, the global air transport industry reported net losses of $4 billion.
In its Oct-Nov Airlines Financial Health Monitor, the IATA said that although fuel prices have more than halved since July, the cost benefits have yet to filter down to the airlines.
In September and October there was also an increase around the world in the number of aircraft being left on the ground, it said.
In an interview with the Shanghai-based China Business News yesterday, an airline industry insider said: "While some State-owned carriers are being bailed out by their governments, many smaller, private firms are facing a life or death situation."
If the situation does not improve, some smaller players might simply "disappear", Li Lei said.
Source: China Daily
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