ANA Holdings reported a net profit of Y57.4b ($546m) for the six months through Sept. 30, up 6.4% from a Y53.9b profit a year earlier. Revenue dropped 2.9% year-on-year, although this was offset by a 3.5% decline in costs. Domestic revenue fell by 1.7%, with the softer travel demand to the Kyushu region following the Kumamoto earthquakes in April cited as a major factor. Domestic capacity was down by just 0.3% for the period. In international markets ANA’s revenue dropped by 0.2%, with capacity rising 11.9%. The carrier reported “solid demand” for business traffic to Europe, North America and Asian countries. However, tourist demand from Japan to Europe was down following terrorist attacks in that region. International inbound demand remained strong, with the revenue fall caused by the higher yen and the decreased fuel surcharges. International cargo revenue dropped 28.3%. For the full fiscal year through March 31, ANA expects revenue of Y1.7t, Y70b lower than earlier estimates.<br/>
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Air China reported a net profit of CNY3.8b in Q3, up 62% over a net income of CNY2.3b in the year-ago quarter. Third-quarter operating revenue rose 2% to CNY32b while operating expenses increased 6% to CNY23.1b. The Beijing-based carrier credited steady market demand growth, especially during the peak summer holidays season, and low fuel prices for the carrier’s much-improved performance. Passenger revenue was up 9.2% to 50.5b RPKs against a 7.6% increase in capacity to 61b ASKs. Passenger load factor was 83%, up 1.2 points over the year-ago quarter. Looking ahead, Air China said, “In spite of the challenges facing the global aviation industry—exchange rate fluctuations, fuel price uncertainty and geo-political risks—the overall market supply and demand trend looks to be positive.”<br/>
It has served up Peranakan delights before and now Singapore Airlines is offering customers a taste of home in the form of bak chor mee (minced meat egg noodles) and braised duck. A special menu of Teochew dishes was launched on Monday), and will be available on selected flights departing from Singapore across all cabin classes for a four-month period, according to the airline. The flag carrier said that conceptualisation of the menu started more than half a year ago. “In the lead up, SIA's inflight services team conducted extensive research, curated dishes from many renowned Teochew restaurants in Singapore as well as conducted numerous meal tasting sessions,” said VP of inflight services, Angeline Khoo. <br/>