SHANGHAI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - China Eastern Airlines expects its 2023 results to show a reduced loss of up to 8.3 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), it warned on Tuesday, citing a slower than expected recovery in overseas travel after the end of COVID-19 curbs.
The Shanghai-headquartered carrier, which is due to report full-yer earnings in March, forecast a loss between 6.8 billion yuan ($947.3 million) and 8.3 billion yuan, representing a huge improvement from the record 37.4 billion yuan loss in 2022.
Rivals China Southern Airlines and Air China have reported similar loss expectations for 2023, with the former forecasting losses of 3.5 billion to 4.7 billion yuan and the latter saying it is likely to report a loss of 900 million to 1.3 billion yuan.
Air China last Friday also cited increased competition in the domestic market and fluctuations in oil prices and exchange rates as reasons for why it had remained in the red.
In the third quarter all three airlines reported their first quarterly profits in more than three years.
($1 = 7.1787 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Brenda Goh Editing by David Goodman)
