A profit warning was issued today (Monday) by Air China as it disclosed an expected loss of up to 2.7 billion yuan (£300 million) for 2024.
The Star Alliance member airline cited an “increasingly complex and volatile” operating environment.
The Beijing-based carrier, dual listed on the Hong Kong and London stock exchanges, said: “In 2024, the recovery of the civil aviation market gained momentum. The company seized market opportunities, made every effort to enhance efficiency, refined production organisation to improve fleet efficiency, strengthened capacity and pricing controls to stabilise yield quality and implemented strict cost controls to promote cost savings.
“As a result, the company’s operating quality and efficiency continued to improve, achieving a significant reduction in losses year-on-year.
“However, amid an increasingly complex and volatile operating environment, intensified competition in the domestic market, heightened uncertainties in the international market and price fluctuations in factors such as oil and exchange rates, the company remained in an operating loss position in 2024.”
Air China serves Heathrow and increased frequency from Gatwick to Beijing last June after resuming flights from the UK airport in 2023 following a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.