China's civil aviation industry reported net profits of more than 5 billion yuan (625 million U.S. dollars) in the third quarter of the year, reversing the sector's loss-making trend in the January-June period.

Saturday's quarterly reports from Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, the country's three major airlines, declared net profits of 3.345 billion yuan, 492 million yuan and 1.288 billion yuan respectively from July to September.

China's flag carrier Air China attributed its net profit increase to membership of the Star Alliance, an international airline grouping of 18 aviation companies.

Joining the Star Alliance member has helped save resources and cut costs, it said.
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines and Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines reported that booming summer holiday flights had driven up net profits.

China Eastern said it carried 9.47 million passengers and transported 232,700 tons of cargos in July-September, an increase of 19 percent and 11 percent respectively year on year. Business revenue grew 46 percent year on year to 26.7 billion yuan in the first nine months of 2006.

China Southern said it transported 223,000 tons of cargo from July to September, up 4.1 percent from the same quarter of 2005. The company's business revenue increased by 18.5 percent to 34.9 billion yuan in the first three quarters.

In the first six months of this year, the civil aviation industry reported an overall loss of 640 million yuan, but airline losses amounted to 2.57 billion yuan.

An analyst with Zhongxin Jiantou said the civil aviation industry was unlikely to face new losses this year. Falling oil prices and the potential further appreciation of the Chinese currency would turn the situation around, he predicted.

But the profit increase will slow because the fourth quarter is usually a slack season for airlines.

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