China Eastern air cargo revenue up 175 per cent

CHINA Eastern Airlines handled 2,122 million tonne-kilometres of cargo and mail in the first six months of the year, an increase of 95 per cent. Freight revenue was CNY4.2 billion (US$618 million), an increase of 174.83 per cent from the same period last year.

The carrier attributed the success of its cargo division to the increase in price and freight volume driven by the strong recovery in the freight market especially internationally.

The airline as a whole recorded a 49.2 per cent increase in first-half net profit compared to last year, rising to CNY1.94 billion ($285 million) from CNY1.3 billion ($191 billion) last year.

First-half revenue rose 92.2 per cent to CNY33.64 billion ($4.95 billion) from CNY17.5 billion ($2.57 billion).