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Aeroflot Group reported first-half 2016 profit of RUB2.5b (US$39m), reversed from a net loss of RUB3.5b in H1 2015. First-half revenue reached RUB223.8b, up 26.8% year-over-year. Total passenger traffic revenue grew 28.7% to RUB188.1b. Revenue from charter flights more than tripled to RUB7b. Operating costs, excluding fuel costs, rose 23.7% to RUB155.8b in the first half. Operating lease expenses were up 42.2% to RUB28.4b. “We maintained tight control of operating costs to offset the ongoing effects of exchange rate fluctuations. In the first half of 2016, total operating expenditures rose at a slower pace than revenue: passenger revenue per available seat-kilometre increased by 18.9%, while costs per available seat-kilometre rose 8.6%,” Aeroflot Airline deputy CE Shamil Kurmashov said. <br/>

China Southern Airlines kicked off the country’s airline earnings by saying its profits were dented by currency losses while low-fare carrier Spring Airlines reported a 19% jump. Net income at China Southern fell 10% in the 6 months to June to CNY3.12b (US$467m) from CNY3.48b a year earlier, the airline said Monday. The foreign-exchange loss of CNY1.5b in the period, a 10-fold surge, compares with the CNY5.95b reported for all of 2015. China Southern also said it will consider hedging jet fuel, breaking from a past strategy that has provided a cushion against a surprise yuan devaluation in Aug 2015. Chinese carriers are projected to double their fleet in the next 20 years. China Southern expects the industry to maintain a passenger volume growth of as much as 10%. <br/>