China’s big three carriers exceed 100 million passengers in 2017

China’s big three carriers—China Southern, China Eastern and Air China—each reported passenger boardings of more than 100m in 2017 as market demand continued to grow. Last year, China Southern transported 126m passengers, up 10.2% over 2016. Domestic passengers were up 10.3% to 109m and international passengers jumped 11.1% to 15.4m. The Guangzhou-based airline carried 2.3m passengers on regional routes (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). Average passenger load factor was up 1.7 points to 82.2%. China Eastern transported 111m passengers last year, up 9% over 2016. Domestic passengers were up 10% year-over-year (YOY) to 92.6m. International passengers increased 2.4% to 14.7m. The Shanghai-based airline carried 3.5m passengers on regional routes (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). Average passenger load factor decreased 0.17 points to 81.1%. Air China transported 101.6m passengers last year, up 5.1% over 2016. Domestic passengers were up 6% to 83.5m on domestic routes and 13.5m on international routes, up 2%. Air China carried 4.6m passengers on regional routes (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). The Beijing-based carrier’s average passenger load factor increased 0.4 point to 81.1%.<br/>