China Southern will continue Malaysia Airlines code-shares

China Southern Airlines Co, which has code-share deals with Malaysia Airlines including the missing MH370 flight, will not stop its code-sharing partnership with the Malaysian carrier, the chairman of China Southern said on Monday.

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"It is a usual practice in the international aviation industry for two airlines to share codes and China Southern will not stop the cooperation because of the MH370 issue," Si Xianmin, chairman of China Southern, said at a press briefing in Hong Kong on Monday.

Seven passengers on Flight MH370 bought their tickets from China Southern under the code-share agreement.

Malaysia Airlines said on Friday it was discussing with China Southern the liability for MH370, but Si said it should be the flight operator's responsibility, based on global practice.

As China's largest airline by fleet, China Southern made net profit of 1.98 billion yuan ($318 million) in 2013, down from 2.62 billion yuan in 2012, the carrier said in its annual report presented on Monday.

China Southern made the least profit in 2013 of the four largest carriers in China, although most dealt with a double-digit profit decline during the year.