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BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
22 July, 2005: China Eastern Airlines Corporation, the country's third-biggest airline, filled more seats in June by as much as 67.5 per cent, buoyant on a rising urban income.
China Eastern filled 67.5 per cent of seats with paid passengers in June, compared with 63.7 per cent in the same month last year. The number of passengers rose 11 per cent in June to 1.55 million.
China's passenger traffic rose 13 per cent in the first half, as both China Eastern and its rival Air
China Ltd ferried comparatively more travellers due to a surge in country's economic growth. The increase was also due to a rise in disposable income in the country.
China Eastern filled 53 per cent of cargo space in June, lower from 55.9 per cent a year earlier, as an increase in capacity wasn't matched by higher demand. Cargo volume fell 5.4 per cent last month to 51,480 metric tonne. However, the airline did not giver any specific reason for the decline in passenger traffic.
In the first six months of the year, China Eastern filled 65 per cent of seats with paying passengers, up from 63 per cent in the same period in 2004. It filled 58.5 per cent of overall passenger and cargo space, down from 60.1 per cent.
China Eastern Airlines flew 8.75 million passengers in the first half, a 5.6 per cent increase from a year earlier. Cargo volume rose 2.7 per cent to 318,960 tonne.
BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
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