China’s airlines have reported a sharp drop in profits in the past six months, prompting the Beijing-based airline to raise the price of its award tickets and warn its travellers to take extra precautions.
In the fourth quarter of this year, China Airlines lost $13.2 million on flights in the first six months of the year, compared with $14.9 million in the same period last year, according to data from the China Airlines Association.
In the same quarter last year it earned $19.3 million, the data showed.
The association said that in the quarter ended on March 31, China’s domestic airlines had lost $23.4 billion.
The Beijing-listed China Airlines is the largest operator in the world with 8,300 flights per month.
The airline is the biggest in the Middle East and Asia, with operations in Pakistan, India, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The airline also operates a major service, Beijing-bound services to Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, and Hong Kong.
China’s airlines face a new threat from another airline, Air China, which has been trying to establish itself as the country’s top airline, especially in China’s rapidly expanding airline market.
Air China, based in Shanghai, is the only major airline with a major seat, and has been expanding its service to Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Its flagship route, connecting Shanghai and Singapore, is now operated by four airlines, Air Asia, AirAsia-Siam and Asia Pacific Airlines.
Airline analyst Peter Zhang told the South China Morning Post that China Airlines had been losing money since its launch in 2014.
“They have not only to invest in upgrading the plane, but also the entire system,” Zhang said.
China Airlines has faced several setbacks.
In September, the airline said that it was cutting flights to Hong Kong, a move that was expected to cause the price for the airline’s award tickets to soar.
In October, the Chinese government launched an investigation into allegations that the airline had been using Chinese-made components in some of its planes.
China has also been struggling to compete with foreign carriers in the Chinese aviation market.
Its biggest carrier, Air Canada, recently announced plans to sell its stake in its Canadian subsidiary to a consortium led by China’s State Councilor Liu Zhenyao, who had been running the airline since its founding in 2006.
In December, Air India, the world’s third-biggest carrier, announced that it would be taking a $3.6 billion investment from Chinese state-owned aviation giant Wanda Group.
