TAIPEI (Dow Jones) – China Airlines Ltd., Taiwan's largest airline by revenue, and smaller EVA Airways Corp. both posted net losses for the January-September period Friday, though the losses narrowed due to cheaper fuel prices.

During the third quarter, both Taiwan airlines were set back by weak passenger traffic demand and depressed air cargo rates, the companies' operating data showed.

China Airlines said Friday its net loss for the nine months ended Sept. 30 was NT$4.99 billion (US$153.2 million), sharply narrower than a net loss of NT$12.41 billion a year earlier.

Revenue fell 27% to NT$70.63 billion from NT$97.16 billion a year earlier.

"Cross-strait direct flights helped in the third quarter but our passenger yields still fell 10% because of lower ticket prices," said China Airlines Vice president for finance John Chang.

Chang said losses narrowed because fuel costs fell. West Texas Intermediate crude oil averaged US$68 per barrel in the January-September period, down 40% from US$114/barrel in the same period of 2008, he said.

China Airlines didn't give a figure for its third-quarter earnings, but based on its first-half results, its July-September net loss narrowed to NT$2.62 billion from NT$5.88 billion a year earlier. The company had a net profit of NT$594.6 million in the second quarter.

Revenue in the third quarter was NT$25.9 billion, down 23.2% from NT$33.74 billion a year earlier, but up 19.7% from the second quarter's NT$21.63 billion, according to the company's monthly revenue filings.

The company's cargo yield, or the ratio of revenue to cargo flown, improved to 7.19 in the third quarter versus 6.41 in the second quarter, according to the company's monthly operational statistics.

EVA Airways said Friday its net loss for the nine months ended Sept. 30 was NT$3.90 billion, narrowing from a net loss of NT$10.47 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell 27% to NT$51.27 billion from NT$70.10 billion.