Chinese airlines shed weight, add flights over Russia to trim fuel costs amid Iran war

An Air China plane at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.

Photo: Shutterstock From controlling the weight of aircraft to sending more flights to Europe via Russian airspace, Chinese airlines have adopted a range of measures in response to the surge in oil prices resulting from the Middle East conflict that threatens to crimp their razor-thin margins.

A number of carriers, including China Eastern Airlines, have been enforcing more precise and complex cost management measures in recent weeks to save fuel, according to industry insiders.

They include stricter load and weight control, taxiing on one engine instead of two, and increased optimisation of fuel load planning.

Pilots are also told to fly higher while cruising, because thinner air can reduce aerodynamic drag and fuel burn.

Some airlines have even removed unessential items like in-flight magazines from their planes. “Small per-flight savings, even insignificant amounts like 50 to 100kg (110 to 220lbs) of fuel, can add up … if you multiply them by thousands of flights per week,” a pilot with budget operator Spring Airlines said. “This can mean tens of millions of yuan in savings.” Fuel prices are continuing to soar amid shock waves from the US-Israel war on Iran, which has entered its fifth week, with Tehran effectively blockading the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping chokepoint that handles about a fifth of global oil flows.

The average price of jet fuel for the week ending March 27 was US$195 a barrel, up from US$99.4 a month earlier, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Fuel accounts for 35 to 38 per cent of the operating expenses of China’s “big three” carriers – Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern – HSBC analysts said in a report released last month.

Even before the oil shock, China’s aviation sector was reeling from a lingering, Covid-induced slump.

Airlines and airport operators reported a combined profit of 6.5 billion yuan (US$940 million) last year, down from 54.1 billion yuan in 2019, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed.

According to their annual reports, only one of the big three, China Southern, reported a profit for 2025, thanks partially to a fall in fuel prices last year.

Now, with costs quickly mounting, they are in for more trying times.

As global carriers raise fares, including Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, which increased its fuel surcharge by 34 per cent from the start of this month – the second increase

原文链接: 南华早报