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Hainan Airlines increases stake in Tianjin Airlines
February 10th 2017
Hainan Airlines last Friday said it had increased its shareholding in Tianjin Airlines from 39% to 87% for 5.55 billion yuan (US$807 million). Read More » The remaining shares are held by two Tianjin-based investment vehicles, Tianjin Chuangxin Investment Partner Co., which has an 8.5% stake, and Tianjin Bonded Area Investment Co., which holds a 4.2% stake.
Following the transaction, Tianjin Airlines’ registered capital increased to 8.2 billion yuan.
Established in 2009 as a domestic carrier, Tianjin Airlines operated more than 250 routes to 120 international and domestic destinations last year. In 2015, it carried more than 11 million passengers.
It currently operates a fleet of 23 A320s, two A330-200s, 40 E190s, nine E195s and 14 E145s.
On Tuesday, the airline said it had inked a twelve-year lease contract with HNA Group sister firm, Bohai Leasing, for an additional A330-200 at a monthly rental of US$760,000.
The airline added its first long-haul services in 2016, with twice-weekly Tianjin-London-Gatwick, twice-weekly Tianjin-Moscow and thrice-weekly Tianjin-Auckland flights, all operated by A330-200s via Chongqing. It plans to add Xian-London in May, Tianjin-Melbourne in September and Tianjin-Paris at the end of the year.
On the regional front, Tianjin Airlines this week filed applications with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for traffic rights between Tianjin, Ningbo, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Wuhan and Kalibo, gateway to the Philippine resort island of Boracay. It has already been granted four-weekly A320 frequencies from Nanjing to Kalibo starting from March.
