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Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico will launch their joint venture a little later than planned, as they work to finalise the paperwork for the immunised partnership. The carriers are still finalising some of the details of what they call a “joint cooperation agreement” with regulators in Mexico and the US, a spokeswoman for Delta says. The tie-up was to launch April 1, said Delta CE Ed Bastian in January. Now, the joint venture is expected to begin this spring, or before the end of Q2, says the spokeswoman. Delta and Aeromexico received final antitrust approval for the partnership in Dec 2016. The immunity allows them to coordinate schedules and fares, share revenues and expenses, and jointly market flights in both Mexico and the US. <br/>

China Southern Airlines reported a net profit of CNY5.06b (US$734m) in 2016, up 30% over a net income of CNY3.9b in 2015. Operating revenue for the year rose 3% to CNY114.8b while operating expenses increased 5.5% to CNY96.4b. Industry analysts cited continuous market demand growth, lower oil prices and reduced exchange losses as main reasons for the company’s improved performance. The carrier’s fuel expenses fell 9.4% to CNY23.8b and its financial costs dropped 25.4% because exchange losses were CNY3.3b, down CNY2.4b over 2015. Passenger capacity rose 8.7% to 256b ASKs against an 8.7% increase in passenger revenue to 206.1b RPKs. Passenger boardings grew 4.8% to 114.6m and load factor stayed flat at 80.5% year-over-year. <br/>