China's civil aviation sector turns a profit

China's civil aviation industry moved out of negative figures and began to report overall profits in 2009. The black ink was partially due to the country's passenger growth rate, which was the highest in the world last year.

China's Civil Aviation Administration said on Thursday that aviation firms reported profits of more than 12 billion yuan in 2009... forcefully turning from 2008's losses of 26 billion yuan.

Profits of the country's airline companies stood at 7.4 billion yuan last year, compared with losses of 31 billion yuan in 2008.

Last year, 230 million passengers took flight in China, representing an increase of over 19 percent from 2008. It was the fastest growth in any sky.

Infrastructure was also a big part of 2009, with six new airports been built, bringing the total number of airports in China to 166.

The Civil Aviation Administration credited the positive numbers to the recovery of the domestic economy, government subsidies, and cost saving measures taken by airlines themselves.

Looking to 2010, the Administration showed its optimistic about the industry's prospects.

Li Jiaxiang, Director, Cival Aviation Admin. of China, said, "In the first half of 2010, I believe that international passenger boardings will increase faster than domestic boardings. We are encouraging airlines to expand in the international market and raise global competitiveness. And we're expecting to see a even higher growth rate this year than last year."

The administration said it will continue the strict approval process on launch of new carriers. It will also to invest more on international services, and is planning to add transport capacity on international routes this year.