China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd said it expects to book a net loss for the first nine months of 2008 under Chinese accounting standards. The airline said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that its operations had deteriorated significantly in the third quarter due to a slowing aviation market and a dramatic fall in transport demand from a year earlier.

The upward adjustment in the price of jet fuel also led to a significant increase in operating costs, China Eastern said. In late June, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced to raise jet fuel by CNY1,500 per ton.

In addition, there are clear signs that the global economic downturn and declining aviation demand are likely to persist in the near term, China Eastern added.

In the first nine months of 2007, the company booked a net profit CNY1.04 billion (US$182 million), or CNY0.213 per share.