Air China released March 2026 operating data showing solid passenger growth and improved aircraft utilization. Revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) climbed 19.9% year on year to 27.46 billion, outpacing a 10.7% expansion in available seat kilometres (ASK) to 31.82 billion. This lifted the passenger load factor by 6.6 percentage points to 86.3%.

Domestic services remained the backbone, with ASK up 11.7% and RPK up 16.9%, driving a 3.8-point improvement in domestic load factor to 85.5%. International routes delivered the sharpest recovery: RPK rose 27.6% on an 8.5% capacity increase, pushing the international load factor up 13.3 points to 89.0%. Regional traffic advanced 19.8% on a 10.7% capacity gain, resulting in a 5.9-point load-factor improvement to 77.8%.

Cargo dynamics diverged from passenger trends. Available freight tonne kilometres (AFTK) grew 4.1% to 1.13 billion, yet revenue freight tonne kilometres (RFTK) slipped 2.9% to 399.20 million. Consequently, the cargo load factor eased 2.6 points to 35.4%.

The carrier transported 14.31 million passengers in March, up 15.1% year on year, while total cargo and mail carried decreased 2.0% to 120,911 tonnes.

Network expansion continued late in the month. New international links included daily Beijing Capital–Brussels and thrice-weekly Chengdu Tianfu–Brussels services. Domestically, routes such as Beijing Capital–Yulin, Beijing Capital–Jiaxing, Wenzhou–Zhanjiang, Hohhot–Yichang and Shanghai Pudong–Lijiang were launched, and the Beijing Capital–Pyongyang service was reinstated.

Fleet optimisation progressed with the induction of one C919 and the retirement of one Boeing 737 series aircraft. As of 31 March 2026, Air China operated 960 aircraft, comprising 423 self-owned, 252 under finance leases and 285 under operating leases.

For the first quarter of 2026, the Group recorded 80.72 billion RPK (+13.7% YoY) on 95.17 billion ASK (+7.6% YoY), resulting in an 84.8% cumulative passenger load factor (+4.6 ppts). Cargo traffic totalled 1.20 billion RFTK, up 6.6% year on year, with a 34.4% cargo load factor (+1.0 ppt).