Three Private Airlines To Launch In 2005
Three new private Chinese airlines will launch in 2005,
adding private competition to China's growing airline
industry. The sector, so far, has been largely dominated
by state-owned airlines.
The three airlines are Chunqiu, Aokai and Yinglian. The
market position for each is different. Chunqiu is positioned
to attract tourists and mid-level business travelers.
Aokai will serve routes to Xinjiang and central Asia,
positioning itself as the "Silk Road of the Air",
and Yinglian will serve smaller routes, using planes with
seating capacities of 100 or less.
Chunqiu intends to lease all of its planes, and is planning
to fill at least 85% of its capacity on its planes. It
is planning on taking on some of the budget airlines from
Asia which are entering the market.
Aokai is backed by Xinhua Airlines and Air China, and
several logistics and distribution companies, and has
the strongest logistics background of the three airlines.
The airlines will be be based in Tianjin and Urumqi. It
reportedly has already been able to get several flight
crews from its competitor Hainan
Airlines.
Yinglian will be backed by a private Guangdong logistics
company, and will be based out of Chengdu, and will also
serve western routes. It plans to use only jets with less
than 100 seat capacity.
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