Chinanews client, Beijing, September 2 (Reporter Zhang Xu) A loss of 16.6 billion yuan, this is the report card of the three major airlines in the first half of 2021.
Airlines are still losing money, but the range is narrowing compared to last year.
It's just that when the aviation industry will fly out of the haze, it's still hard to be optimistic.
China Eastern Airlines' first Jinbo-themed aircraft took off from Hongqiao Airport.
Photo by Yin Liqin
The three major airlines lost 16.6 billion yuan in half a year
With the announcement of China Eastern Airlines' interim results for 2021, the first-half results of the three state-owned airlines have surfaced.
In the first half of the year, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Air China lost 5.208 billion yuan, 4.688 billion yuan and 6.786 billion yuan respectively.
It is worth noting that in addition to the tens of billions of losses of the three major airlines, three listed airlines have achieved profits. Among them, Juneyao Airlines has a net profit of 102 million yuan, and China Airlines and Spring Airlines have achieved net profits of 12 million yuan and 10 million yuan respectively. Yuan.
The giants are losing money, why can the three small airlines be "small and beautiful"?
In this regard, civil aviation expert Qi Qi said that the profitable airlines are small in size, have fewer grounded wide-body aircraft, have fewer international routes, and are less affected by the epidemic. The three major airlines must take into account domestic and international routes and allocate resources. different.
"If both parties have similar resource allocations, I believe that the financial statements of the three major airlines will also be greatly improved."
The semi-annual report shows that the operating income of the three major airlines totaled 123.95 billion yuan, all achieving positive growth.
The net loss attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 16.682 billion yuan, which was narrower than the same period last year.
The net cash flow from operating activities totaled 23.52 billion yuan, all of which achieved positive growth in cash inflows.
The first flight of Air China's Guangdong Branch from Guangzhou to Beijing on July 30th. Photographed by Guo Jun
Among them, China Southern Airlines ranked first in operating income, with 51.576 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.37%.
China Southern Airlines stated that the changes in operating income were mainly due to the improvement in the domestic epidemic prevention and control situation during the reporting period and the good recovery of China's civil aviation industry, the increase in the willingness of passengers to travel, and the increase in air transportation.
Eastern Airlines' operating income increased the most, with operating income of 34.71 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.13%.
In terms of net profit, China Southern Airlines suffered the least loss of 4.688 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 42.65%.
In terms of net cash flow, China Eastern Airlines had the largest net cash inflow, at 8.269 billion yuan.
Can you fly out of the haze in the second half of the year?
Why did the three major airlines suffer losses of tens of billions?
Qi Qi analyzed that the epidemic is still the biggest cause of airline losses.
"First of all, in response to the local New Year's call, the passenger flow during the Spring Festival has been greatly reduced; the recovery of international flights is limited; coupled with the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, the airlines' investment in epidemic prevention has also increased, and multiple factors have caused losses."
The Spring Festival travel season is the traditional peak season for civil aviation passenger transport, but this year has been particularly bleak.
Statistics from the Ministry of Transport show that civil aviation sent 35.398 million passengers during the 40 days of Spring Festival Transport, a decrease of 51.5% from 2019 and a decrease of 69.7% from 2020.
Passenger traffic has plummeted, and airlines' passenger load factor has dropped significantly.
Operating data shows that in February, the passenger load factor of the three airlines was less than 65%, of which Eastern Airlines was the lowest at 61.52%; Air China came in second with 61.6%; China Southern Airlines was relatively better at 64.77%.
After the first quarter, the second quarter became a "small spring" for the civil aviation industry.
With the improvement of the epidemic situation and the three holidays of Tomb-sweeping Day, Labor Day, and Dragon Boat Festival, people's suppressed travel demand has been released intensively.
During the May Day holiday, air ticket bookings showed a situation of "both volume and price rising", even surpassing the level of 2019, and airline performance also picked up significantly.
On August 26, Nanjing Lukou Airport resumed domestic flights.
The picture shows the staff in the airport killing.
Photo by Yang Bo
This "Xiaoyangchun" did not last long.
Summer transportation is the second peak period of the civil aviation industry, but the epidemic originating from Nanjing Lukou Airport spread to many provinces across the country, and the civil aviation summer transportation only lasted about half a month and ended early.
Can the civil aviation industry fly out of the haze in the second half of the year?
Qi Qi believes that the uncertainty is greater.
"The performance of airlines in the first half of this year was relatively stable, but the changes in the epidemic have a great impact on performance. Considering the situation in the same period last year, the possibility of a rebound of the epidemic in this winter is possible. Therefore, the recovery of the civil aviation industry in the second half of the year is not optimistic. ."
"
Fly
as you wish
"
, will there be any more?
Looking back on the civil aviation industry in 2020, "Fly with your heart" products are a word that cannot be avoided. You can take an unlimited number of flights in accordance with certain rules for a few thousand yuan. Such a discount makes it difficult to find a ticket for "Fly with your heart" products.
In 2021, XXFLY products will be greatly reduced, and almost disappeared in the second half of the year.
One of the reasons is that the willingness of passengers to travel has increased, and the launch of Free Flight to promote consumption has gradually lost its meaning.
In the first half of the year, the passenger load factor of China Southern Airlines was 73.68%, which was 67.51% in the same period last year; the passenger load factor of Air China was 70.61%, an increase of 3.16% compared to the same period last year; the passenger load factor of China Eastern Airlines was 70.80%, which was 66.71% in the same period last year.
Comparing the two, the passenger load factor in the first half of 2021 was stable with a slight increase.
The flight attendants provide the passengers with hot meals.
Photos courtesy of China Eastern Airlines
Qi Qi also pointed out that "Flying as you wish" products are out of the law of pricing and are not sustainable.
"Under the general background of last year’s epidemic, the products of "XuXinFei" have played a role in promoting the recovery of the industry, but there are also problems such as many consumer complaints and unfair competition. After correcting the deviation, in general, "flying as you wish" is not sustainable, and it is reasonable to disappear."
There is no "fly as you want", but the airline has a lot of auxiliary revenue methods.
In the first half of the year, Eastern Airlines promoted ancillary products such as preferred seats, prepaid baggage, and VIP room privileges; in the field of air travel, according to the ticket purchase needs of different customers, it launched products such as "Miles Miles" and "Introducer Program". The D30 version was announced as sold out.
China Southern Airlines launched the "Two-City Travel" route package, shortening the applicable period and clarifying the positioning of the customer group; Air China sells the elderly rights card, which has a greater discount than the previous youth rights card, and separates new sub-groups in terms of rights and rules. The setting is also more sincere.
Have you ever traveled by plane this year?
(over)