The parent company of Air China used a newspaper advertisement to plead with the directors of China Eastern to review its rejection of a proposed alliance between the two carriers.

The advertisement was placed in the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. (This is not a newspaper which has traditionally given full approval to the actions of the government of China. In the advertisement China National Aviation Corp (CNAC), parent of flagship carrier Air China, insisted its bid was sincere.

The advertisement said, ‘CNAC has been highly sincere in seeking a strategic partnership with China Eastern Airlines.
‘CNAC hopes that the board of directors of China Eastern Airlines will seriously review and give full consideration to the proposal.’

CNAC called on China Eastern to hold a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the details.

China Eastern, the country’s third largest carrier, has once again rejected the alliance and said the bid ‘lacks sincerity, planning and mutual trust and it would be hard to create a basis for cooperation’.

China Eastern added it would continue seeking strategic investors to strengthen its core business which means there may just be a glimmer of hope for the deadlocked plan to tie-in with Singapore Airlines (SIA).

In theory, at least, SIA and Temasek Holdings, Singapore’s state-linked investment firm, signed a preliminary deal in September to take a 24% stake in China Eastern for $923 million.

Minority shareholders rejected the bid after CNAC proposed to buy 2.985 billion new Hong Kong listed shares in China Eastern. China Eastern will receive at least US$1.9 billion US dollars in cash under CNAC’s proposal.

CNAC also suggested the two carriers integrate their cargo business to set up a joint venture and cooperate in codesharing, optimisation of route networks, maintenance and ground service.

What was not said by any party involved was why it was so important. And, in a sense it is simplicity itself. China Eastern has Shanghai sewn up. Air China does not; it has Beijing. If Air China can get a slice of China Eastern then it has the two main points of entry into the country covered. At the same time, Cathay Pacific has a strong interest in Air China which would be transferred to the new alliance.

A footnote: the thought appears to be that SIA would make a massive difference to the inflight service on China Eastern which, in truth, needs all the help it can get.

But Air China has for some time had some of its cabin crew under the training of Cathay Pacific. If there is a difference, it is not noticeable to the eye of a cynical passenger. Eventually it will all settle down and the airlines of China will realize that if they are to do battle in an itnernational sphere then the cabin service has to be up to that of other, competing airlines. At the moment it is not.
Source: AFP

Etihad Airways, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will start flying to Beijing on March 30, making it the third Gulf carrier coming to China. While not quite, as yet, competing with Emirates in the luxury stakes it is a very pleasant and well run airline. The writer has flown it several times in economy and was very satisfied.

The airline will fly four times a week connecting Beijing and Abu Dhabi. Beijing will be Etihad’s eighth destination in its rapidly expanding flight network in the Asia-Pacific region.

Etihad will join Dubai-based Emirates Airlines and Doha-based Qatar Airways to provide Chinese travelers with access not only to the Middle East, but to Europe and Africa as well. The theory they are working on is that airport hubs in the Gulf area are growing into the world’s major air travel junctions.

This is not essentially true. One of the problems that these airlines have is convincing travelers that they have well equipped air travel junctions. Many business travelers simply will not make that connection.

James Hogan, Etihad’s chief executive,’There is a huge appetite from business and leisure travelers for flights to Beijing, especially ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games. Our forward bookings are already ahead of our expectations.’
He also said Etihad is looking to increase its frequency to daily flights to Beijing and will fly to Shanghai as well in the near future.

The UAE is home to nearly 200,000 Chinese and more than 2,000 Chinese companies.
Source: China Daily

Beijing Capital International Airport has held its last and largest drill before the trial operation starts February 29.

More than 8,000 passengers participated in the three-hour drill, checking in more than 7,000 pieces of luggage on 146 domestic and international flights.

Organizers said the main purpose of the drill was to test procedures of departure, arrival and transfer, as well as VIP security.

Most participants were university students and other volunteers selected by an online survey. The number of flights involved was nearly double that in the previous drill and was close to the estimated daily average expected when the terminal goes into operation.

Six airlines will use Terminal 3, including Sichuan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Qatar Airways, Qantas Airways, British Airways and El Al Israel Airlines.

After Terminal 3 ís opening, the airport will have the capacity to carry 82 million passengers annually, against the present 35 million. The expansion cost RMB27 billion ($3.65 billion).
Source: Shanghai Daily

Every now and again it is a good thing to step back, take a deep breath and see the situation in a quick snapshot. Looking at air travel in China:

A new airport will be built in Beijing and scheduled to open by 2015. Even with a third terminal opening at Capital International Airport opening next month, Beijing will need a new airport as Capital with its third terminal will probably be as big as it can be and still be manageable.
97 new airports will be built by 2020.
Total airline passenger traffic in China rose to 185.19 million in the year 2007, up 16%. Cargo traffic increased 13% to 3.95 mln metric tons.
Takeoff and landing fees will drop 40% for foreign carriers and 20% for domestic carriers from March 1 this year. Currently, foreign carriers pay about twice as much as their Chinese counterparts in airport fees.
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines has signed an order for 30 single-aisle 737s from Boeing Co. for about $1.94 billion. Delivery of the new planes is scheduled between July 2011 and November 2015
Air France has acquired a 25% stake of China Southern’s catering unit through Servair, its inflight catering unit.
China Air still seems keen on getting China Eastern. China Eastern still appears to be keen on this not happening.

Source: Shangaiist

US Airways has been awarded a license for a US-China air becoming the sixth US carrier to be granted the permit.

The Arizona-headquartered US Airways will be competing with American, Continental, Northwest, United and Delta Airlines.
And the competition will be tougher because the US Department of Transportation time also awarded additional US-China passenger flights to American Airlines, Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines.

US Airways will fly between Philadelphia and Beijing, while American, Continental and Northwest each will use their new rights to add a daily flight to their existing US-China services.

American Airlines will begin a Chicago-Beijing service, while Continental will operate a new flight between Newark/New York and Shanghai, and Northwest will fly between Detroit and Shanghai.

This will all come into play relatively quickly and the number of daily flights between the United States and China will double over the next five years. The aim is to get to something like 23 passenger flights a day to China by 2012.

China is the fastest-growing aviation market in the world after passenger traffic hit 160 million in 2006, up 15% on the previous year.

CAAC estimates that passenger volumes will maintain double-digit growth up to 2010.
Source: People’s Daily Online