Guizhou Airlines is preparing for a major expansion of its aircraft fleet and domestic network following an agree- ment for China Southern Airlines to acquire a controlling interest in the Chinese provincial carrier.
The Guiyang-based airline has received the first of three Boeing 737-300s on a seven-year dry lease from China Southern. The remaining two aircraft will be delivered in August and September, replacing Guizhou's four existing Xian Y-7 turboprops.
China Southern now holds a 60% interest in the carrier, with the Guizhou provincial government retaining the balance. "The airline now operates 18 routes and we're going to open up another seven new routes with the 737s, including Guiyang to Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xiamen," says China Southern company secretary Li Yong Zhen.
The move will boost the seven-year-old airline, which has failed to keep pace with the development of other wealthier provincial carriers, such as neighbouring Yunnan and Sichuan Airlines. Guizhou carried only 140,000 passengers and 619t of cargo in 1997.
China Southern's investment exemplifies a wider push by China's civil aviation administration to rationalise and consolidate the country's large number of smaller loss-making airlines.
China Eastern Airlines is reportedly planning to establish its planned new cargo carrier by the end of year as a 70:30 joint venture with China Ocean Shipping.
Source: Flight International
