(Yicai Global) June 6 -- Losses at airlines in the Asia-Pacific region will likely halve to USD6.9 billion this year from USD13.5 billion in 2022 after China eased its Covid-19 controls, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Despite narrowing their losses, carriers will still face some pressure on operations in the Chinese mainland, Dr. Xie Xingquan, the IATA's vice president for North Asia, said in an interview with Yicai Global.

The desire to travel and the demand for air tickets have risen in the mainland market, but so has air capacity, affecting the load factor and ticket prices, Xie noted. “Air ticket prices quickly fell after the May Day holiday, but costs have not dropped significantly,” he said.

International flights have not recovered to half the level of 2019, and Chinese carriers operating a larger share of such flights face greater pressures. Optimistic projections have China's overseas air traffic recovering to the level of 2019 by the first quarter of next year, according to Xie.

“Airline financial performance in 2023 is beating expectations,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said yesterday during the industry body's annual general meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.

“Stronger profitability is supported by several positive developments,” the former chief executive of International Airlines Group said in a statement. “China lifted Covid-19 restrictions earlier in the year than anticipated. Cargo revenues remain above pre-pandemic levels even though volumes do not. And, on the cost side, there is some relief.”

The IATA also raised its profit forecast for global aviation to USD9.8 billion from USD4.7 billion in December. Revenue will likely jump 9.7 percent to more than USD800 billion in 2023, surpassing the figure for the first time since 2019, but down 4.1 percent from that year.

Editor: Martin Kadiev