The wraps were removed from China's aviation reform plans yesterday
as a top aviation official announced that nine existing state-owned
airlines would be eventually merged into three aviation groups.
Beijing-based Air China will be combined with China Southwest
Airlines and China Aviation Corporation, Shanghai-based China
Eastern Airlines will be merged with China Northwest Airlines and
Yunnan Airlines, and Guangzhou-based China South Airlines will be
combined with China Northern Airlines and Xinjiang Airlines.
Each of the three groups will have assets of more than 50 billion
yuan (US$6 billion) and a fleet of 150 or so aircraft. The names
and logos of the new groups will be taken from Air China, China
Eastern and China Southern respectively.
Liu Jianfeng, minister of the General Administration of Civil
Aviation of China (
CAAC), told the annual working conference that the merging of
the airlines would start soon and that the airlines were being
urged to complete the process at an early date.
He
said the plan had undergone wide-ranging discussion within the
airlines and related regulatory departments in 2001. The State
Council formally approved the plan on January 23 at a routine
working conference.
Liu indicated that the three aviation groups would cut their
economic relations with CAAC after the reform, and his
administration will then regulate the industry with legal and
economic measures, and would no longer act in an administrative
role.
Local airlines, financed by local governments or big state-owned
enterprises, are welcome to join the three groups in the future,
but it's up to them to decide what they do, Liu said.
CAAC plans to delimit the air routes involving the cities of
Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou this year. Airlines whose
headquarters are not located in the three cities, will no longer be
able to fly the three lucrative air routes from the start of this
summer.
From around the beginning of next winter, flights transferring
through the three cities will also be stopped. Liu said the measure
is expected to help stop the disorderly competition on the routes
among the three cities, and establish a clear and rational aviation
network across the country.
Other flights between non-provincial capitals or tourist cities and
the three center cities will also be restricted and cancelled in
the future. CAAC will then encourage local airlines to develop more
short-distance flights between provincial capitals and smaller
cities.
In
line with the tight air route regulations, CAAC plans to limit the
purchase of new airplanes in the near future.
Airlines which have ordered redundant aircraft will be encouraged
to postpone delivery dates or to rent the planes to third
parties.
(China
Daily February 6, 2002)