Air China, the most profitable mainland carrier, reported a 93 per cent increase in net income to 2.18 billion yuan for the third quarter, after excluding the one-off gain from selling its entire stake in Hog Kong Dragon Airlines last year.
If the exceptional gain is included in last year's figures, then profit at the Beijing-based carrier decreased 33 per cent from the 3.3 billion yuan earned in the comparable quarter.
Air China's bigger rival, China Southern Airlines, last week reported a 49 per cent jump in net profit to 1.88 billion yuan, while China Eastern Airlines yesterday posted 976.5 million yuan in the third quarter, nearly double that of a year earlier.
Yuan appreciation, which can reduce dollar-denominated debt, brought significant exchange gains to the mainland carriers.
Revenue at Air China grew 3 per cent to 14.47 billion yuan from 13.94 billion yuan a year earlier.
In the first nine months, net profit climbed 6 per cent to 37.22 billion yuan from 34.8 billion yuan.