Bangkok--12 Dec--CAPA China’s airline industry load factors surged to just under 80% during the annual Summer traffic peak this year. In the three months to 30-Sep-07, the continuing high traffic growth rate pushed combined load factors to 79.4%, helping most major airlines turn stronger profits than last year, according to a Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) report. As the highly congested Beijing International Airport was forced to start capping aircraft movements, pressures on airlines to improve load factors have grown, helping a move towards improved profitability. The CAAC reported an industry-wide (including airports) profit of RMB13.72 billion for the first three quarters of 2007, treble last year’s level. And, despite a near-10% year-on-year increase in fleet size for the three periods, from 1,099 aircraft at the end of 2006 to 1,200, Boeing and Airbus will be looking to China for further sales next year. Domestic passenger numbers for the third quarter alone continued to increase at a remarkable 15.3% year-on-year, to 47.3 million. International traffic, still less than 10% of total, grew at 17.4%, to 4.6 million. Combined load factors were up 2.4 ppts year-on-year. Freight also grew faster internationally during 3Q07, at just under 21%, to 297,000 tonnes, compared with a domestic growth rate of 8.3%, up to 755,000 tonnes. At an industry load factor of 80%, the likelihood of suppressing “natural” growth increases and, as the major airlines become more profitable, they will be pressing Beijing to permit ever larger aircraft orders. In this strong expansionary climate, higher fuel prices have been readily absorbed and yields necessarily improved. But the problem remains of accommodating such rapid growth on a now-substantial base and systemic operating problems are continuing to grow. On time departures are below 80% across the sector and all major airports are heavily congested. In these conditions, airport and airways investments — and improvements - become increasingly critical.