With the nation easing restrictions on private
investment in airlines since early last year, the General
Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) is now preparing to issue
licenses to the country's first private airlines. The Oriental
Morning Post reported on Tuesday that Shanghai Spring
International Airlines (SSIA), funded by Shanghai Spring
International Travel Service, will start service this June.
The top posts for flight and maintenance operations
have been filled, although the company is still having trouble
recruiting experienced pilots. Nevertheless, the parent company is
confident that flights will begin as scheduled.
SSIA ambitiously plans to own as many as 400
aircraft by 2020. Three A320s leased from Airbus will go into
service as soon as they arrive in Shanghai.
The airline is targeting the travel and tourism
sector, and its routes will mainly be to such sightseeing and
resort destinations as Kunming, Guilin, Beijing and Hainan. Routes
and schedules are currently pending approval by CAAC.
However, pilot recruitment has proved a headache
since the company was founded last June. It has declared that it
intends to hire experienced pilots "at all costs."
Two China Eastern Airlines captains have declared
their intention to move to SSIA, the Post quoted an insider
as saying. A Jiangsu Province labor arbitrator recently ordered the
two to pay China Eastern 338,000 yuan (US$40,000) and 388,000 yuan
(US$46,000), respectively, if they resign to join the new airline.
Both reportedly plan to make the move when their new employer pays
the compensation.
The company has ordered six planes, and to keep
them all flying it will need a total of 16 cockpit crew.
Shanghai Spring International Travel Service began
running charter flight services eight years ago. When its
subsidiary goes into operation, it will be able to provide more
flexible schedules for its customers, particularly in peak
seasons.
SSIA, like the three other private airlines expected to take to
the skies this year, has vowed to keep operating costs low in order
to offer low-cost services to its customers.
The other three private carriers are Okay Airways, based in
Tianjin; Eagle Airlines of Chengdu; and Huaxia Airlines in Gansu
Province.
(China.org.cn by Wang Zhiyong, February 24, 2005)