Air China, the mainland's largest airline, saw its turnover surge to 38.29 billion yuan in 2005, an increase of 14.23 per cent year-on-year, on the back of a huge increase in both its passenger and cargo volumes.

Net profit of the Beijing-based company reached 2.4 billion yuan, a slight increase of 0.85 per cent over the previous year despite soaring oil prices that resulted in a substantial rise in the cost of jet fuel.

Air China's fuel cost shot up by 40.97 per cent to 11.78 billion yuan in 2005, representing 34 per cent of total operating cost.

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