Airline News
Week in Review: China
January 27th 2015
Shares in Chinese low-cost carrier, Spring Airlines, surged more than 40% on its debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange last week. Mainland investors scrambled to buy into the carrier in the belief it will go far because of its cost-cutting and innovative strategies. Read More » Spring was the first Chinese airline to list on a domestic stock exchange since the 1999 trading debut of Hainan Airlines. One hundred and sixty time over-subscribed, Spring raised 1.8 billion yuan ($290 million) from A-shares, which represent 25% of Spring’s total base of 400 million shares. It will use the funds to double the number of aircraft in its fleet to 100 by 2018, in addition to purchasing additional A320 simulators.
Meanwhile, Hainan Airlines’ ambitions for a five-weekly B787 service linking Beijing with San Jose seem one step closer as the carrier last week applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation to begin service to California’s Silicon Valley airport. Hainan executive director, Joel Chusid, told the Silicon Valley Business Journal the airline had spent months studying the San Jose market before it applied for traffic rights. Service could start in mid-June, Chusid said. Last week, news emerged that Beijing-based Hainan was seeking permission to operate a thrice-weekly Tel Aviv service from September, subject to regulatory approval.
In other news, four more top executives have been removed at Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines, bringing the total to seven arrested in recent weeks on bribery allegations at the nation’s largest carrier by fleet and passenger volume. Those arrested included its chief financial officer and several executive vice presidents.
At press time, another top news story in Mainland aviation was the Sichuan government’s announcement to build a new 69.3 billion yuan ($11.2 billion) three-runway airport, capable of handling 40 million passengers when completed te in the south-western city of Chengdu by 2025.
