Chinese air carriers transported 14.5 percent more passengers in October from a year ago, the aviation regulator said Wednesday, echoing its earlier predictions that China needs to import at least 100-150 airplanes annually in the coming five years.

Chinese airlines, primarily including the national flag carrier Air China, Eastern Airlines and Southern Airlines, transported a combined 13.2 million passengers last month, the Civil Aviation Administration of China(CAAC) said in a report.

A total of 12.04 million people traveled on domestic flights, up 15.4 percent year on year.

The increase reinforces a CAAC prediction seen in a separate report that China would have nearly 1,600 airliners in use by 2010, representing an increase of roughly 700 from 2005, and the number of civil airports would also increase by 40 to 187.

China has streamlined the management of air traffic with an investment of more than 5 billion yuan (620 million US dollars) in the past five years, the regulator said.

The latest CAAC report said freights carried by Chinese airlines reached 269,000 tons in October, up 8.5 percent from a year earlier.

The regulator said international routes, however, saw slower growth in freight transport, blaming it on fierce competition against foreign rivals and lackluster demand in the global market.

On the two arch routes linking China with the United States and Europe, domestic cargo airlines are dwarfed by foreign rivals not only in terms of flight frequency, but plane capacities, it said.

The downsliding growth of China's foreign trade, amid trade disputes with Europe and the United States and a recent 2 percent revaluation of China's currency, the renminbi, has exacerbated the difficulties of Chinese air carriers on international cargo routes.

The industry expects better performance since China has already reached respective agreements with the United States and European Union on textile trade, which is relieving the pressure of market demand.

But the CAAC said insufficient capacities confronted by Chinese air carriers cannot improve in the short run.

Source: Xinhua