CHINA’S three biggest airlines reduced about 70 percent of their capacity in February, data showed Wednesday, as they grappled with the plummeting demand caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines each reported a 73 percent drop in February passenger capacity from a year earlier. Air China, the country’s flag carrier, cut about 68 percent of capacity. Passengers carried in February plunged more than 80 percent for all of the three airlines, while load factors for Air China and China Eastern came in better than China Southern at a touch above 50 percent. Load factor for Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed China Southern in February was at 47.11 percent, representing a decrease of 38.11 percentage points. Both China Eastern and China Southern warned investors of the uncertain impact from the COVID-19 outbreak. All of them said they would further optimize capacity and step up cost-cutting. The aviation industry in China has been one of the worst-affected by the crisis, following travel curbs by nations fearing contagion and shrivelling demand. Chinese airlines reported a total loss of 20.96 billion yuan (US$2.99 billion) in February, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said last week. (SD-Agencies) |