Airline News
Guilin Airlines ready to launch as Chinese energy firm invests in Czech carrier
September 11th 2015
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has granted preliminary approval to set up Guilin Airlines. The start-up will become the second local Guangxi airline, after Beibu Gulf Airlines, with a registered capital of 600 million yuan ($94 million). Read More » Guilin Airlines will be a joint venture between the Guilin Tourism Development Co. (60%) and Guilin Aviation Tourism Group (40%), part of the HNA Group. Wang Xidong, a vice-president at Beijing Capital Airlines (BCA), another HNA venture, is charged with getting Guilin Airlines cleared for take-off, initially with three A319s, but with plans to expand to 30 aircraft in three years. Initially, essential staff will be on loan from BCA, including pilots and mechanics. The CAAC said final approval is expected by September 21.
BCA last week launched weekly A330 operations from Hangzhou and Beijing, respectively, to Copenhagen. It is the first Mainland carrier with air links with Denmark and represents fresh competition for Scandinavian carriers, SAS and Finnair. The latter will fly its new A350 daily from Helsinki to Shanghai from October 25, followed by Beijing from November 21.
In a surprise announcement, CEFC China Energy Company said it had acquired 10% of Czech carrier, Travel Service Airlines, which operates 30 A320 and B737NG aircraft on scheduled and chartered operations across Europe. At the announcement of the deal in Prague last week, the firm said it planned to acquire another 39.92% in the carrier. The transaction, with its value undisclosed, gives CEFC access to SkyTeam carrier, CSA Czech Airlines, in which Travel Services holds equity.
"Investing in the largest Czech airline is, for us, a great opportunity to develop CEFC's business in Europe. We will do our part to increase interest in the Czech Republic in the Asian region, both on the part of investors and tourists," said CEFC president, Chan Chau-to. "In the context of the opening of direct flights between Prague and Beijing Capital, and our next planned project with a major Chinese airline, we want to develop Prague Airport into a gateway to the region for tourists and investors from China and Asia."
At China Eastern Airlines, the carrier has started equipping its entire fleet with Thales’ latest integrated surveillance suite – T3CAS 2.0 – the only system at present that meets the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA’s) new standards. The Pudong-based carrier said its 369 aircraft would be upgraded by June 2016. China Eastern is continuing its rapid expansion with the launch of a four-weekly Pudong-Colombo A330 service from September 21, followed by a three times a week schedule from its head hub to Male from September 30, using a B767-300 from its subsidiary, Shanghai Airlines.
In the interim, the carrier will increase frequency on its Fuzhou-Pudong- New York (JFK) A330 route to five times a week from December 12 after people familiar with the matter told China’s World Civil Aviation Resource Net the route had an average load factor of approximately 90% since its launch last November.
