Regional Round-Up
China Eastern invests in Wuhan
May 1st 2012
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines (CEA) announced last month it would join the local provincial government in investing more than US$200 million in China Eastern Wuhan Airlines. Read More »
The Wuhan based airline, which is 60% owned by CEA and 40% held by the local provincial government, will use the funds to add five aircraft to its fleet of 45 and launch regional services beyond China.
It has started its first international service, to Singapore, and intends to add routes from Wuhan to several Southeast Asian destinations as well as Korea and Japan. Separately, CEA and Qantas Airways have announced plans to invest up to US$200 million in a regional low-cost carrier, Jetstar Hong Kong.
The April announcement met with strong opposition in Hong Kong. The proposed carrier’s opponents argued the venture should not go ahead as the joint owners’ principle places of businesses are not in Hong Kong and were therefore in breach of the Special Administrative Region’s Basic Law.
