China Southern Airlines (CSA) said yesterday it planned to raise 16 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) in fresh capital by selling 160 million A Share convertible bonds at 100 yuan each. The bonds will have a term of six years, from October 15 2020 and October 14 2026, CSA said in a regulatory filing to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Read More » The proposed bond issuance had been flagged earlier in 2020, with the funds to be used for purchasing aircraft, aviation equipment and maintenance projects (10.6 billion yuan), spare engines (600 million yuan) and working capital (4.8 billion yuan).
China Eastern Airlines (CEA) said yesterday it intends to raise 31 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion) through four state-owned businesses taking a 32% equity in the company as part of its equity diversification. The airline group said in a regulatory filing to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong that China Life Investment would acquire an 11.3% shareholding in CEA for 11 billion yuan, Shanghai Jiushi Group would take a 10.3% holding for 10 billion yuan and China Reform Holdings and China Tourism Group would each tip in five billion yuan for 5.2% of the Shanghai-headquartered carrier.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has added opportunities for people to attend its pop-up dining experience on board two A380s after all seats available for sessions on October 24 and 25 sold out in 30 minutes yesterday. The airline has scheduled two more sessions on October 24 and 25 and announced October 31 and November 1 as new dates for its Restaurant A380@Changi promotion. It has established a waiting list for people who missed out on tickets, which start at S$50 (US$37) for an economy seat, rising to S$600 for a spot in SIA's A380 suites cabin.
The China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, due to be held in Zhuhai from November 10-15 has been "postponed until further notice" due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was announced today. The organising committee said on the event's website it had "full confidence to expect" the airshow would take place "soon". "We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the postponement," it said. In September, organisers announced the airshow had been cancelled only to reverse course hours later and say it would go ahead as planned.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said airlines transported 13.26 million domestic passengers during the country's national day holiday period from October 1-8, which represented 91.07% of levels recorded in 2019. Domestic flights were 109,856, the CAAC said in a statement, up 12.98% from 2019’s national day holiday period. "The bookings and load factors of flights arriving and departing from major tourism cities have approached or reached the levels of the same period last year," the CAAC said.
Japan Airlines LCC, ZIPAir Tokyo, said late last week it would commence its first passenger flights from Friday October 16, with Tokyo Narita-Seoul Incheon decided as the inaugural route. The LCC has been operating cargo-only flights between the two cities since September 12. "Since we had more time to prepare for the start of passenger flights than we had originally planned, we have been working hard to make sure we are ready to welcome our customers. We hope you will enjoy the journey with ZIPAIR," the airline’s president, Shingo Nishida, said in a statement. ZIPAIR plans to fly Tokyo Narita-Seoul Incheon twice weekly with two-class 787-8s featuring lie-flat seats in business class and standard nine-abreast seating in economy class.
The Japanese government is planning to reduce domestic airport fees paid by airlines by 50%, the Kyodo News reported late last week. The reductions apply from August to the end of calendar 2020, with 14 airports eligible for the reduced charges.
