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China Southern’s Ma making his mark
August 9th 2019
Former China Eastern president overhauling commercial functions in Guangzhou. Read More »
New China Southern president, Ma Xulun, is making his mark at the Guangzhou-based airline, which he joined earlier this year. Ma previously held the same job at China Eastern.
Commercial functions are an early target of Ma’s overhaul, observers say. Ma is structuring China Southern to be more flexible with its long-haul network, such as greater adjustments to its off-peak frequency and varying schedule changes rather than rely on IATA’s twice-yearly changeovers. While all Chinese airlines have grown internationally in recent years, China Southern’s expansion was more pronounced as the airline significantly re-balanced from being primarily a domestic airline.
Ma is said to be centralising revenue management as China Eastern did. Previously, China Southern’s revenue management was split among multiple cities.
China Southern is preparing to open a major hub at Beijing Daxing Airport. Ma’s experience running China Eastern’s dual hubs at Shanghai Hongqiao and Shanghai Pudong may provide reflection on running multiple major hubs, even if China Southern’s new hubs will be in different cities.
