Airlines' Oct profits hit turbulence

Profits of domestic airlines tumbled 38 percent year-on-year to 1.5 billion yuan ($246 million) in October, half that of September's 3 billion yuan, China Business News reported on Tuesday.

In spite of revenue rising 3 percent to 34.3 billion yuan in October, profits fell in the traditional low season, China Business News reported, citing data collected by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Low ticket prices were blamed. However, two gauges saw an upturn.

Both the revenue ton kilometer, and revenue passenger kilometer, rose at a double-digit rate, while cargo and mail volume also increased in the same period.

The yuan's appreciation against the dollar is another cause for the lower profits, which yielded 1 billion yuan less foreign-exchange gains for domestic airlines.