China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) and low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan Ltd (台灣虎航) saw sales hit a new high last year on the back of the booming global tourism market during the post-COVID-19 era.
CAL generated NT$209.09 billion (US$594 million) in consolidated sales last year, up 2.56 percent from a year earlier after its consolidated sales last month grew 1.82 percent year-on-year to NT$18.79 billion, the company said in a statement on Monday.
The company’s revenue generated by passenger flight operations rose 0.82 percent from a year earlier to NT$10.81 billion last month, as the load factor for destinations such as Seoul, Tokyo, Hokkaido, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur hit almost 90 percent, CAL said.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
CAL also benefited from strong demand for cargo services which helped the carrier generate NT$6.398 billion last month, up 2.42 percent from a year earlier, due to the year-end shopping spree in the US and Europe as well as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related devices.
Tigerair Taiwan also this week posted NT$16.899 billion in consolidated sales last year, up 2.90 percent from 2024, marking the second consecutive year the carrier has broken its annual sales record.
Tigerair Taiwan said as the tourism market continued growing, the company raised the number of flights by 13.9 percent last month. In the fourth quarter of last year, the average load factor hit almost 90 percent, it said.
Meanwhile, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) said its consolidated sales last year rose 24 percent from a year earlier to NT$44.05 billion.
It came as revenue last month from the airline’s passenger flight division rose 9 percent from a year earlier to NT$3.29 billion as the number of passengers hit a new high, while cargo services revenue rose 37 percent from a year earlier to NT$499 million as it shipped more electronic components and AI-related goods.
Last week, EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) reported its second-highest consolidated annual sales of NT$220.33 billion for last year, down 0.31 percent from 2024.
The airline’s load factor to destinations in North America, Europe, Southeast and Northeast Asia and China topped 90 percent last month, while air cargo services received a boost from strong demand during the Christmas season, it said.
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