China will lift jet fuel surcharges for the second time in a year on domestic flights to help air carriers cope with the impact of soaring oil prices. China will lift jet fuel surcharges for the second time in a year on domestic flights to help air carriers cope with the impact of soaring oil prices. Starting from September 1, the surcharge for each passenger flying less than 800 kilometres will rise to 60 yuan (US$7.5) from the current 30 yuan (US$3.7), the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), the industry regulator, said on on Friday. Those flying further will pay a 100 yuan (US$12.5) surcharge, up from 60 yuan, it said. The move came as the price of aviation fuel has risen 50 per cent since March to more than 5,800 yuan (US$725) per ton. Mainland airlines posted a combined loss of around 2.5 billion yuan (US$310 million) in the first half of this year, largely due to surging fuel prices, the CAAC said last month. The losses were more than quadruple those in the same period last year. China Southern Airlines, the country's largest carrier by fleet size, reported a net loss of 835 million yuan (US$104.4 million) for the first half of this year, about level with the loss incurred a year earlier. Shanghai Airlines posted a net loss of 163.27 million yuan (US$20.4 million) in the first half, compared with a 13.35 million yuan (US$1.66 million) profit last year. Crude oil prices in the international market have been over US$70 for weeks. Prices are expected to continue to rise this year, analysts say. High oil prices and the impact of a traditionally slow season for travel in the fourth quarter will hurt airlines' profitability in the second half of the year, they said. "Given rising fuel prices, it is reasonable that the government allows airlines to increase fuel surcharges to protect the aviation industry," an official said. By Cao Desheng (China Daily) (Agencies)

為了緩解油價上漲對航空公司造成的壓力，中國將再度上調國內航線的燃油附加費。 中國民航總局上周五發出通知，自9月1日起，800公里以下航段的燃油附加費將由每位乘客30元漲至60元；800公里以上的航段由每位乘客60元漲至100元。 此項措施的出臺源于航油價格持續上漲。從今年3月開始，航油價格上升50％，漲至每噸5800元。 據中國民航總局上月介紹，由于油價上漲，大陸航空公司今年上半年報損25億元左右，是去年同期的四倍之多。 國內機隊規模最大的南方航空公司今年上半年凈損失達8.35億元，與去年同期基本持平。 上海航空公司今年上半年凈損失1.6327億元，而去年同期則贏利了1335萬元。 幾周以來，國際市場的原油價格一直處于每噸70美元之上。 分析家預測，原油價格年內將繼續上漲。油價高居不下，再加上第四季度一直是國內的旅游淡季，航空公司下半年的收益將受到嚴重影響。 一位官員說："由于油價持續上漲，為了保護航空業，政府允許航空公司提高燃油附加費是在情理之中的。" (英語點津姍姍編輯)