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The industry reported a loss of 640 million yuan (80 million US dollars) for the first six months, but recovered to post profits of 5.5 billion yuan in the third quarter, 600 million yuan up on the same period last year.

The industry earned total revenue of 65.4 billion yuan in the third quarter, up 22.2 percent year on year, thanks to double digit growth in both cargo and passengers.

Analysts said this year's profits would surpass last year's 2.6 billion yuan even though most airlines would lose money in the slack fourth quarter.

Earnings per share are estimated at between 0.33 yuan and 0.34 yuan for Air China, the country's leading airline company, said Feng Zhigang, researcher with Guotai Junan Securities Co Ltd.

However, Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines will lose 1.1 billion yuan this year, making it temporarily the poor cousin of the country's major airlines, said Ma Xiaoli, said a researcher with CITIC Securities.

One factor pushing up profits is the appreciation of the yuan. A stronger yuan means lower operating costs for airline companies that spend large amounts of foreign currency each year purchasing jet fuel from overseas and having aircraft repaired overseas.

As the yuan rises, airline companies have seen their foreign debts shrink.

Profits in the civil aviation industry grow 700 million yuan for every one percent rise in the yuan's value, said Ma.

The government raised jet fuel prices by 500 yuan per ton to 5,800 yuan per ton in May, but airline companies were allowed to charge passengers extra fees - five percent to seven percent of the ticket price - to cover the rising costs.

The rise in the fuel price led to an increase of four billion yuan in airline companies' operating costs, said Guo Dongmou, analyst with China Merchants Securities Co Ltd.

But the fuel surcharge boosted their total revenue by six billion yuan, the China Securities Journal reported Monday.

Ma also attributed the industry's rising profits to two deals, saying that Air China received 1.967 billion yuan from a shareholding realignment with Cathay Pacific Airways, China National Aviation Company, CITIC Pacific and Swire Pacific and that China Southern Airlines sold three planes for 290 million yuan.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)