Tibet to Launch Own Airline

Aug. 26 – Tibet is following other provinces in China and is to have its own airline, with operations set to start from August next year.

The company, which has just recently been granted state-level approval, has been formed and is a joint venture between the Tibet Autonomous Region Investment Co. holding the majority stake of 51 percent and Tibet Sanli Investment and Tibet Ruiyi Investment holding 39 percent and 10 percent shares, respectively.

Tibet Airlines has already purchased three Airbus A319s, and hopes to introduce services from August 2011. Tibet is currently served by six airlines operating 16 routes, including Air China and Sichuan Airlines who make up the bulk of the traffic and scheduled weekly flights also being made by China Southern, China Eastern, Shenzhen Airlines and Hainan Air. Read the rest of this entry »

China Industry: Aug. 13

Aug. 13 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

Air transport
Cathay Pacific Airways intends to start flying more often between Hong Kong and Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France and Japan from November. The company also intends to operate 11 flights a week to Paris by December. Tony Tyler, chief executive of the company, said that the carrier wants to boost its passenger capacity by approximately 4 percent.

China West Air has received its first Airbus A319 airplane, Datamonitor reported. The airline intends to use the aircraft on domestic services between Chongqing and Wenzhou and between Shijiazhuang and Yantai. Read the rest of this entry »

Beijing Plans New International Airport

BEIJING, Jun. 22 – The Beijing municipal government has been assessing the district of Daxing to the south of the city as a potential location for a new international airport, municipal city planners have stated.

Recognizing a capacity shortage in cargo and passenger facilities provided by Beijing Capital Airport in the next 10 years, the municipal government plans to convert the suburban Daxing District into a logistics hub for Beijing and nearby Hebei Province. The plans will need state-level approval. Read the rest of this entry »

Direct Flights Between China and Hawaii Coming Soon?

Apr. 28 – With Hawaiian Governor Linda Lingle scheduled to visit China for the Shanghai Expo, speculation is growing that there soon could be direct non-stop flights between China and the Aloha State.

The visit, which will coincide with Hawaii Week at the Shanghai Expo from June 6-12, may result in the introduction of direct flight services from Beijing to Honolulu. Currently, no such service exists, with Mainland Chinese tourists having to make stopovers in Hong Kong, Tokyo or Seoul. Read the rest of this entry »

China Industry: Apr. 9

Apr. 9 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

Wind power
Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S retained the number one spot in BTM Consult’s Wind Market Update 2009 report as Chinese manufacturers sneaked into the top five.

Vestas captured 12.5 percent of the global market, while GE Wind, the wind power unit of U.S. industrial giant General Electric, followed with a 12.4 percent share. Read the rest of this entry »

Terminal 2 Opens at Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport

By Joe Drury

Mar. 19 – Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport opened the doors of a new terminal on March 16, two months before 70 million mostly Chinese visitors will begin flocking to the city for the 2010 Expo.

The five-year US$2.2 billion Hongqiao Airport Expansion Project created a new 3,300 meter-long runway along with the terminal and will boost Hongqiao’s annual handling capacity by an estimated 40 million passengers and one million tons of cargo by 2015. Read the rest of this entry »

FedEx Launches First Direct Boeing Cargo Service from Shanghai to United States

SHANGHAI, Jan. 15 – Shipping giant FedEx will launch its first Boeing 777 cargo service from Shanghai to its hub in Memphis, Tennessee.

The new service will give clients in Shanghai, Suzhou and Kunshan a two-hour improvement in cut-off times easing international shipping reports The Associated Press. Read the rest of this entry »

China Industry: Jan. 5

Jan. 5 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

Air transport
Taiwan-based China Airlines intends to launch a flight from Taipei to Miyazaki, Japan in 2010. The air carrier will fly on this route two times a week on Thursdays and Sundays. With the new route, China Airlines is boosting the number of its weekly flights to Japan to 81. The company will operate flights to eight destinations in Japan: Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Miyazaki, and Ryukyu. Read the rest of this entry »

China Industry: Dec. 16

Dec. 16 – This is a regular series of relevant industry news from around China.

Air Transport

China Eastern Airlines said it would conclude its merger with Shanghai Airlines Co. by the end of the year. China Eastern, the third-largest airline in the country said in July it would purchase smaller competitor Shanghai Airlines through a RMB9 billion equity exchange, getting hold of half of Shanghai’s market. Read the rest of this entry »

Clarification on Foreign Exchange Payments for Reinvestment

Dec. 15 – The State Administration of Tax and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange have jointly issued a circular which provides additional clarification on tax certificate requirements for service industry items and transactions.

The circular expands the list of items that do not require tax certificates, including payments made by contractors for overseas engineering/construction projects, payments to overseas freight forwarders for international air or land transportation, accommodation and traveling expenses paid by domestic travel agencies on behalf of outbound Read the rest of this entry »

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