China Southern Airlines Takes over Provincial Aviation CompanyChina Southern Airlines, one of China's major civil aviation companies, Friday took over a provincial aviation company.This is the first time that a national pillar aviation company took over a local aviation company since the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, also known as CAAC, announced that China would form three big airline groups-- Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. The local aviation company, Zhongyuan Airlines, was founded by central China's Henan Province in 1986. The total asset of the local company was 1.46 billion yuan. The company has five Boeing 737s and two home-made aircraft in operation. It offers more than 100 flights each week. It has had no air crashes in the past 14 years. China Southern Airlines is one of the biggest airlines in China. It provides over 2,600 flights each week and has flown more passengers among all other civil aviation companies across the county in the past twenty one years. The merger will make China Southern Airlines more competitive and be conducive to an orderly development of civil aviation in central China. The three new groups will include ten airlines run by the CAAC, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, China Northern Airlines and Yunnan Airlines. In addition to these ten companies, China has 24 local airlines. The three groups expect to have assets worth more than 40 billion yuan each, and almost equal market shares. |
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