China's airlines begin to see domestic rebound; international traffic lags

"Following the dramatic slowdown in demand during the second half of 2008, the Chinese airline industry experienced double-digit domestic growth in January and February that is being credited to Beijing's economic stimulation policies. Chinese carriers transported 34.5 million domestic passengers in the first two months of 2009, up 15.3% over the year-ago period. Boardings on domestic routes climbed 21.3% to 16.3 million in January and 17% to 16 million in February, according to CAAC. But industry analysts warned that it is too early to say the industry is recovering, as passenger boardings on international routes and cargo traffic continued to plummet." Next