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Hainan Airlines eyes northwest, Central Asia
By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-08-28 00:59
Hainan Airlines Co, China's fourth largest carrier, Friday set up a branch
airline company in the capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region.
Zhao Zhongying, executive president of Hainan Airlines, told China Daily that
the new branch aimed to start regional routes in the spacious autonomous region
and also international flights to Central Asian countries.
Yang Guoqing, vice-minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation
of China, said the airline's expansion was a major step of the country's
initiative in forming a bridge in the air among countries in East and Central
Asia and those in Europe.
Yang based the proposal on the facts that along the China section of the
overland linkage between Asia and Europe, there are 44 airports and nine of them
allow international flights.
The "bridge in the air" plan was among the hottest topics at the two-day
international forum on promoting economic ties among regions along the route,
also named the "New Silk Road (NSR)."
Another was brought by Khalid Malik, United Nations Resident Co-ordinator in
China, who insisted that developing tourism resources along the route would be
helpful in alleviating poverty in the regions.
The country's first shareholding airline company, Hainan Airlines has already
launched five new routes from Urumqi to other cities in Xinjiang.
"Our near goal is to realize direct flights among the major cities in the
autonomous region," said Zhao Yongying.
Zhao said his company, No 1 among domestic airlines in terms of regional
aviation, will invest more capital to tap the massive potential of regional
aviation in China.
"Especially in the western region, developing regional flights is our
priority," said Zhao.
He said air travel will be driven by the country's continuing robust growth
in gross domestic product and personal income.
It will also be driven by deregulation of ticket prices, privatization of
airlines, less restrictive bilateral air services agreements with other
countries, and the increasing number of visas being issued to outbound tourists.
"At the same time, we are already prepared for flights to Central Asian
countries," said Zhao.
But civil aviation authorities say the blueprint for Chinese airlines --
including Zhao's -- is still on the table.
"There are still some barriers to their flights in Central Asian countries,"
said Liu Fang, director with the General Administration of Civil Aviation of
China.
She said the Central Asian countries showed less willingness to allow Chinese
airlines to fly in their countries and barriers in customers and taxation still
remained.
"However, China is more open-minded," said Liu, adding that China did not
charge tax if Central Asian countries exported goods through cargo
flights.
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