Chinese Low-cost Carrier Spring Soars Amid COVID Downturn –

BEIJING: Chinese budget carrier Spring Airlines is leveraging its low-cost position to attract customers with cheap fares as the countryࢀ™s domestic aviation market recovers, pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy that could soon turn profitable. Domestic capacity at Shanghai-based Spring rose over 50% in September compared with a year earlier, while passenger traffic was up 47% and the airlineࢀ™s load factor, or percentage of seats filled, neared 90% as it redirected planes from closed international markets. Springࢀ™s market share has doubled from 2% a year ago to 4%, according to broker Jefferies. The private airlineࢀ™s success in the Chinese market, traditionally…