China’s State Airlines Are Aviation’s Unlikely War Losers

Chinese airlines flooding Europe with flights that bypass the Middle East should be among the Iran war’s few beneficiaries. Instead, investors are ditching their shares over concerns the carriers have little defense against soaring fuel costs.

Air China Ltd., China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co. have tumbled at least 26% in Hong Kong trading since the conflict began on Feb. 28. The state-owned airlines are among the worst-hit stocks on the Bloomberg World Airlines Price Return Index since the war started.