Chinese Airlines Face Losses: Jet fuel surge, weak fares hit Q3 margins; stocks sink this year

China's leading airlines are experiencing significant financial losses amid rising jet fuel prices and weak domestic fare competition. (Pic Credit: ANI) China's three biggest airlines are heading towards another year of losses after reporting a sharp deterioration in their third-quarter financial performance, with soaring jet fuel prices, weak domestic airfares and typhoon-related disruptions weighing on earnings during the peak travel season.Air China and China eastern airlines are on course to record their seventh consecutive annual net loss since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. China Southern Airlines, which returned to profitability in 2025 for the first time since 2019, is also expected to slip back into the red.Air China's third-quarter net profit dropped 92.6% year-on-year to 270.6 million yuan ($40.62 million). China Eastern reported a quarterly net profit of 64 million yuan, marking a 98.2% decline from the corresponding period last year.China southern, meanwhile, posted a net loss of 609 million yuan for the July-September quarter, compared with a profit of 3.84 billion yuan a year earlier.All three carriers recorded losses during t...