Air Transport

Air China returned to the black in the third quarter of 2009 due to strong domestic demand and fuel hedging gains.

The Beijing-based carrier reported a net profit of 885.3 million yuan ($130 million), up from a net loss of 1.97 billion yuan a year before. Revenues from operations increased marginally by 1.32% to 14.1 billion yuan, while operating costs fell by 10% to 13.49 billion yuan, says the Star Alliance carrier.

The airline made an operational profit of 1.27 billion yuan, up from an operating loss of 2.38 billion a year before. It booked a gain of 553.6 million yuan from changes in the fair value of assets, mostly fuel hedging gains, versus a loss of 899.6 million a year earlier.

Earlier in October, Air China reported that its September RPKs rose by 11% from a year before mainly due to the domestic market. In real terms, total passenger traffic increased by 13% to 3.31 million. In the cargo market, its revenue freight tonne kilometres rose by 23%.