Citigroup released a research report stating that the target prices of Air China Limited, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines were lowered from HKD 7.1, HKD 3.3, and HKD 4.6 to HKD 5.35, HKD 2.53, and HKD 3.8, respectively. At present, the valuation does not fully reflect the bullish factors of the forecasted ROI improvement from 2024 to 2026. All three airlines are rated as "buy."

According to the report, the domestic passenger load factor of the three major Chinese airlines rebounded in May compared to April, while the available seat kilometers (ASK) continued to decline monthly due to more transportation demand being shifted to international routes. The recovery of outbound transportation volume for the three major airlines has improved, with Air China Limited (00753), China Eastern Airlines (00670) and China Southern Airlines (01055) non-domestic ASK recovering to 84%, 94% and 82% respectively compared to 2019. As for outbound transportation, the bank forecasts that by July, the ASK of the above three airlines will recover to 88%, 103% and 86% respectively compared to 2019, and in terms of the number of seats provided, the overall passenger carried by the industry will increase to 77% compared to 2019.

The bank noted that the prices of domestic and outbound routes chosen by the airlines have significantly increased in summer and are expected to slightly drop after August, but are expected to remain high during the October gold cycle. The bank's preferred order is Air China Limited, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, with Air China Limited being the industry's first choice. It is believed that this airline will benefit the most from the recovery of outbound routes, the increased market share of routes to Europe and Japan in 2024, and the focus on transferring passenger volume to international routes to improve overall efficiency and costs.