7-Jan-2010 11:23 AM
China Southern Airlines affected by high speed rail
China Southern Airlines stated the impact of the Wuhan-Guangzhou high speed rail on airline load factor has not been as detrimental as anticipated, with load factors from Wuhan to Guangzhou declining from 80% to 76% and Guangzhou- Wuhan declining from 80% to 78% (AirNews.cn, 05-Jan-2010). However, the carrier added the rail service has attracted a large portion of its, late booking, high revenue passengers, which is expected to have an impact on the route's profitability. China Southern plans to increase Wuhan-Guangzhou frequency from 7 times daily to 12-14 times daily at the end of Mar-2010. [more - Perspective]