SHANDONG AIRLINES Q1 PROFITS UP

Shandong Airlines has reported a first-quarter net profit of CNY169.5 million ($26 million), up 79.5% over net income of CNY94.39 million in the year-ago period. The carrier credited “the robust growth of domestic market demand stimulated by a fast-growing Chinese economy” for the improved result. First-quarter revenue climbed 35.6% year-over-year to CNY2.03 billion while expenses jumped 32% to CNY1.53 billion, which was mainly attributable to higher fuel prices. Fingures for RPKs, load factor and FTKs were not released by the airline. As of March 31, SC operated a fleet of 49 aircraft. It has plans to expand it to 100