AIR CHINA PROFIT UP 150%

Air China confirmed yesterday that its 2010 net profit rose 150% to 12 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) from 4.9 billion yuan in 2009 on the back of a 63% rise in ticket revenues. Operating revenue was up 60.5% on 2009 at CNY82.49 billion. Meanwhile, operating expenses climbed 55.9% to CNY71.56 billion including a 66% increase in fuel costs to CNY24.1 billion. Traffic increased 40% to 105.7 billion RPKs on a 33.9% lift in capacity to 132.1 billion ASKs, pushing load factor to 80%, up 3.5 points compared to 2009. Passenger numbers rose 45.4% to 60 million. Cargo traffic volume was