CA*/CZ™/FM/HU/MF/MU™/ZH | Mainland China-Based Carriers

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Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/548/5480312.html

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New Winter-Spring Flight Schedule of China Southern Airlines (34 New Routes Set to Open)
(2011/11/02)
Press Release

China Southern Airlines launches its 2011/12 Winter-Spring Flight Schedule from October 30, with over 500 scheduled routes in the new flight season. Compared to the last season, 34 new routes (26 domestic routes and 8 international/regional routes) are set to open, providing travelers with more options and convenience.

Convenient Transit Links between International Flights

The Flight Schedule will be carried out from October 30, 2011 to March 24, 2012, covering a total of 21 weeks. In the new flight season, there are more than 500 scheduled routes, including over 380 domestic routes, over 95 international routes and over 20 regional routes.

In the new flight season, China Southern Airlines will continue to make full use of its hubs and increase the proportion of international flights to promote the optimization of the overall route network. China Southern Airlines is focusing on the improvement of the transit links between the international routes, along with the enhanced transit links between domestic routes and international routes. Hub concentration reached 71.1%, up 5.7% year-on-year. For instance, Guangzhou-Osaka or Guangzhou-Seoul flight can be easily connected with flights to Southeast Asia, arriving at 11 cities including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Kathmandu, Delhi and Siem Reap. In addition, the Beijing - Guangzhou - Brisbane, Beijing - Guangzhou - Perth route and Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh can also achieve a two-way link, enabling passengers to transit more conveniently.

More Options for Outbound Tour

In the new flight season, China Southern Airlines endeavors to accelerate its international development, planning to open a number of new international/regional routes and add some new international/regional flights according to the seasons and market conditions. Calculated by seat-km input, the proportion of international flights in the total flights will increase to 26.8% in the Flight Schedule.

In Oceania, spring and summer tourist season has come in the southern hemisphere. China Southern Airlines will extend the Guangzhou - Brisbane route to the Beijing - Guangzhou – Brisbane route, with four flights per week. Beijing - Guangzhou –Perth route will be added, with three flights per week. Guangzhou - Melbourne route will be adjusted to 2 flights per day during the peak season, and Guangzhou – Auckland route will also have a daily flight in the new flight season. With flights to Australia increased to a maximum of 35 flights per week and flights to New Zealand increased to 7 flights per week, the total flights of China Southern Airlines to Oceania will reach 42 flights per week, laying a solid foundation for China Southern Airlines’ Guangzhou hub as the first transit portal from China’s mainland to Oceania.

In Europe, Beijing - Urumqi - Istanbul (Turkey) route is set to open on November 22, with 3 flights per week. Guangzhou - Beijing - Amsterdam route is available with a daily flight as usual. Services are also available in Guangzhou – Paris route with a daily flight, Guangzhou - Amsterdam route with 3 flights per week and Guangzhou - Urumqi - Moscow route with a daily flight.

Meanwhile, China Southern Airlines has made adjustment on the flights to Singapore, Bangkok, Phuket, Hanoi, Siem Reap and other cities in Southeast Asia as well as Japan and Korea.

Cross-Straits Flights Increased to 54 Flights per Week

With more cross-strait economic, cultural and tourism exchanges, China Southern Airlines has increased cross-straits routes and flights in winter-spring flight season. According to the Flight Schedule, 20 flights from the major cities of China’s mainland to Taiwan will be added, along with the new Haikou – Taipei route. New flights include: Changchun – Taipei with 3 flights per week, Changsha - Taipei with 3 flights per week, Dalian - Taipei with 2 flights per week, Guilin - Taipei with 5 flights per week, Harbin - Taipei with 3 flights per week, Nanning - Taipei with 3 flights per week, Shenyang - Taipei with 3 flights per week, and Zhengzhou - Taipei with 4 flights per week. The round-trip flight from Changchun – Taichung will be operated as scheduled flight instead of seasonal charter with daily flight available.

With 54 cross-straits flights per week, China Southern Airlines flights can take passengers from Taipei directly to Pudong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Changchun, Dalian, Harbin, Shenyang, Guiyang, Guilin, Nanning, Wuhan, Changsha, Zhengzhou, Haikou, and passengers from Taichung directly to Changchun.

Domestic Flights for Snow Tour and Warm Winter Tour

To satisfy the travelers’ need in winter and spring, China Southern Airlines has adjusted and optimized its domestic flight schedule.

Over 20 new routes are set to open: from Sanya to Shenyang, Tianjin, Zhenghzou, Yinchuan and other cities; from Urumqi to Lanzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Fuzhou, Sanya and other places; from Guangzhou to Xuzhou; from Shenzhen to Taiyuan, Ningbo and Harbin; from Shantou to Changsha and Chengdu; from Shenyang in Northeast China to Baotou, Taiyuan, Changzhou, Jinan, Wenzhou, Hefei, Nanning and other cities. Besides, Guangzhou – Chongqing – Jiuzhai route and Guangzhou – Zhenghou – Baotou route will be added, making it more convenient for passengers travelling from Chongqing to Jiuzhai and from Zhengzhou to Baotou, with the travel time significantly reduced.

In addition, China Southern Airlines will add flights to tourist destination cities such as Hainan and other cities in East, Central and Southwest China, with 10 round-trip Guangzhou – Hangzhou/Guangzhou – Haikou flights, 8 Guangzhou – Nanjing flights, 7 Guangzhou – Chengdu flights and 9 Guangzhou – Zhengzhou flights every day.

For more details, please call China Southern Airlines’ 24-hour sales service hotline 95539 or visit the portal website at www.csair.com.

[deasine]

Perth-Guangzhou-Beijing flights: now on China Southern



China Southern is now flying business travellers directly from Perth to Guangzhou and Beijing, with this week's debut of flights from WA on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
The Guangzhou-based airline, the largest airline in Asia and the fifth-largest in the world, uses Airbus A330-300 planes on the route.


Perth airport rolled out a double water-cannon welcome for China Southern's first flight to WA.

In addition to heading to Guangzhou, passengers can continue on to Beijing aboard the direct flight.

Not 100% sure about the difference is between nonstop and direct flights? Check out our handy primer explaining how nonstops and direct flights differ, and which one you should pick.



The A330s have China Southern's new first and business class seats installed in the pointy end, and you'll see those international standard seats all the way to Beijing: another advantage of the direct flight.



In business class you'll find a 1.9m angled-flat bed in a 2-2-2 arrangement.



First class class is a more spacious 1-2-1 arrangement, but at the back of the plane is the usual Airbus 2-4-2 economy class cabin layout.

Linking into Perth is a key business route for China, with Western Australia's Deputy Premier Kim Hames highlighting that WA contributes 70% of Australia's Chinese exports, with an impressive 33% of existing passengers from Perth to China travelling on business.
China Southern now flies from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to its hub in Guangzhou, just over 100 km from Hong Kong. Guangzhou is, of course, a key business class destination in its own right, and as China's second-busiest airport it has extensive connections to other Chinese cities.

Since China Southern is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, travellers can earn and burn frequent flyer miles across the SkyTeam network -- although we're yet to see an Australian-based SkyTeam member airline.

With Perth Airport already undergoing a three-year $515 million overhaul, China Southern could eventually use its Airbus A380 superjumbos on the route, since the airport upgrades will include A380-capable gates.

(AUSBT, 2011)

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Air China in In-flight WiFi First

Air China Ltd, China's largest airline, will become the first in China to provide in-flight WiFi, when it begins offering the service on a Boeing 737-800 on its Beijing to Chengdu route from Nov. 15.

A successful test of the service was conducted on a flight over Beijing on Friday.

Air China received approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China to operate the WiFi, said Bao Lida, a spokesman for the Southwest Branch of Air China.

Access will be free, but Internet searching will be limited to certain entertainment and tourism services including shopping, room reservation and car rental. Passengers will only be allowed access while the plane is in the air.

They can use laptops and tablet computers to visit the Wireless Local Area Network, although not mobile phones, which must be turned off for safety reasons for the duration of the journey, said Bao.

Air China plans to roll out the service to other planes in its fleet.

(CRJ English, 2011)

[hkskyline]

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/548/5487872.html

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Airport van hits parked plane in Xiamen
Updated: 2011-11-11 17:29
China Daily


An airport van collides with a parked Shandong Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Xiamen airport, Fujian province, Nov 11, 2011. [Photo/chinanews.com]


An airport van collides with a parked Shandong Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Xiamen airport, Fujian province, Nov 11, 2011. [Photo/chinanews.com]

A Shandong Airlines van collided with a parked plane at Xiamen airport early Friday, causing the aircraft to be grounded for repairs but no injuries, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The incident happened at 7:24 am, when the van belonging to Shandong Airlines Xiamen branch hit the forward landing gear door of the carrier's Boeing 737-800 in the tarmac.

There were no passengers onboard the aircraft when the collision occurred and no one was injured, Xinhua said in its report.

The plane, which was due to carry flight CA1802 (CA is the IATA code of Air China and the company has codeshare agreement with Shandong Airlines), was scheduled to fly to Beijing at 8:15 am. The flight was canceled, and most of its passengers were put on other flights.

A picture posted on the website of China News Service shows that the right side of the van was seriously damaged in the collision, while the nose gear of the jet was pushed to the right by the hit.

The cause of the incident is still under investigation, Xinhua said.

[hmmwv]

What the heck was the driver thinking? Do you absolutely have to squeeze through between the landing gear and the bridge?

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Chopper deal in the air, but costs still high
Updated: 2011-11-15 07:56
By Zheng Xin (China Daily)

BEIJING - Emergency-response centers in the capital are in talks to improve the coverage of airlift rescue.

The 999 Emergency Center and the 120 Emergency Medical Center are both negotiating with Beijing Capital Airlines to provide a helicopter service.

"The helicopters play a significant role in search and rescue," said Li Jianren at the 120 Center. "Considering the medical insurance system and the size of the city, however, it will still take a few years before we have a free airlift rescue."

Apart from the police chopper kept by the city's public security bureau, which is used for large search and rescue operations, the only operations the public can turn to when they need an urgent airlift are commercial companies offering pleasure rides.

At more than 30,000 yuan ($4,700) an hour, the service is not an affordable option for most people. If the emergency centers cut a deal, that is likely to cut the cost, but only slightly.

"We haven't come up with a final price for an airlift rescue, but it will probably be about 20,000 to 25,000 yuan (an hour), much lower than a commercial lease," said Song Liang, a spokesman for Beijing Capital Airlines.

With maintenance fees and salaries for pilots and other personnel, he said the company will not make any profit charging 25,000 yuan an hour. "The helicopters are there. We just want to make full use of them and help more people in need."

The 120 Emergency Center is also talking to the city's public security bureau about putting medical equipment on some of its helicopters, which would go some way toward providing a free airlift service.

"We should make full use of public resources," said Ma Yanming, spokesman of the Beijing Health Bureau, although he added that the biggest obstacle is the lack of comprehensive medical- insurance system.

As no insurance companies cover helicopter rescue, the expensive service is not available to many patients, Ma said.

The health bureau and Beijing Capital Airlines are both in negotiations with insurers to expand their policies to include the cost of airlifts.

Li at the 120 Center said it is important for China to come up with a complete medical-insurance system that makes airlift rescue cheaper.

"Due to the small demand in China, to involve the insurance companies in helicopter rescue will take time," he said. "The flight restrictions enforced within the Third Ring Road also remain an obstacle."

[hkskyline]

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/525/5258071.html

[deasine]

HNA’s global focus sets it apart from Chinese rivals

By Jeremy Lemer in New York and Simon Rabinovitch in Beijing
HNA Group, an opaque Chinese business group, is taking a path largely avoided by its compatriots by stepping up acquisitions around the world.

Within the last four months, it has agreed to buy a US shipping container leasing company, a chain of mid-range European hotels and a Turkish cargo airliner, and has made it to the shortlist of bidders for luxury hotels in Asia and airport stakes from Athens to Sydney.

Armed with a war chest of more than $6bn of credit lines from domestic banks, HNA says it is just gearing up for the big time.

“The international merger and acquisition strategy has two or three years to run,” Adam Tan, executive director of HNA Group, told the Financial Times earlier this year. “I am focused on deals outside of China because after the financial crisis some companies were hurt [and] when there is distress you can get something cheap.”
The group’s global acquisition strategy sets it apart from mainstream corporate China almost as much as does its peripheral location on the southern tropical island of Hainan. Although China has built up foreign exchange reserves of more than $3,200bn, state-owned firms have been cautious in venturing abroad, sticking mainly to the natural resources sector.

HNA’s international focus comes after years of domestic growth, during which the company turned Hainan Airlines, its flagship asset, into one of the leading carriers in China. Early investors included George Soros, the billionaire financier.

To help stimulate and support its travel business, the company bought hotels, and thanks to the booming Chinese real estate market, those investments have given the company a substantial asset base to borrow against and fund expansion.

Today, HNA says it has revenues of about $10bn and assets worth more than $30bn that span from shipping to entertainment. Finance appears to dominate the group, however, and HNA Capital says it manages Rmb170bn ($26.7bn) in assets.

Yet despite HNA’s increasingly high profile, the company remains something of a mystery, with a convoluted corporate structure. HNA’s portfolio includes a handful of public companies, 14 airlines and dozens of subsidiaries, joint ventures and holding companies.

Its ownership structure is equally opaque. For example, Hainan Airlines, HNA’s flagship asset which is listed on the Hong Kong exchange, counts Grand China Air, an HNA subsidiary, and an arm of the Hainan provincial government among its top shareholders.

Whatever the company’s background, its ambitions are impressive. In August HNA made its biggest overseas acquisition yet, agreeing to buy a container leasing business from General Electric for $2.5bn including debt.
The move attracted attention from international bankers who had previously labelled the group “tyre-kickers” – perennial lookers but never buyers – but amplified concerns about its sprawling corporate structure.
Mr Tan insists that while HNA’s interests are diverse, its approach to management, modelled on GE, ties the group together as a cohesive “catering-lodging-travelling-logistics-tourism-shopping-entertainment” service chain.

“The key is expert management. In every single division you need to have the best people managing it. I don’t know much about the logistics business but that is fine. I have hired good people who have spent many years in the sector,” Mr Tan says.

Future plans include acquisitions in the US, expansion of its air network into South America and Africa, and a strategy to use its recent $620m investment in NH Hoteles, a Spanish chain, to develop a four-star hotel chain within China.

Mr Tan says the company is mindful of the concerns of local workers and politicians and is well aware of the adverse reaction that some Chinese takeover deals have provoked in countries like the US.
“If the government is not enthusiastic that is fine. We don’t have to do anything…There is no need to do deal where the unions or the country is unhappy,” he says.

HNA also intends to bulk up in financial services. At the moment about 20 per cent of revenues come from interests in insurance and leasing, Mr Tan says, but HNA is trying to build a credit card business as well.

Mr Tan expects logistics and manufacturing to also make up an increasingly large proportion of the company’s sales. HNA purchased a Chinese shipyard during the financial crisis and recently raised capital to help it expand.

“In five years I don’t know – maybe we will be ranked 300 [in the world] maybe we will be ranked 400, maybe we will fail and we will be kicked out of the Fortune 500. We don’t know yet. But we hope at least we can be in the Fortune 300,” Mr Tan said.

(via Financial Times)

I really wonder whether if joining an alliance is HUs top-priority anymore. It seems to haven't had much luck in that regard. Despite the lack of Chinese carriers in OW, OW's entry seems to be at a standstill given CX, being one of the founders of OW, objects HU's entry (and for good reason given how close HUs hubs are to CX, plus, how Hainan owns CX/KA's competitor HX). ST is over-saturated with Asian carriers: MU and CZ are amongst the Chinese carriers of ST, and there will be little distinction between HU and other carriers if it joins. So really, what's left is *A, but even then, I'm sure CA wouldn't exactly welcome its entry either, given they have competing hubs at PEK.

And given their agressive expansion of cargo and tourist-related companies and assets (all-inclusive style?), they seem to want to model carriers in the gulf states, namely Etihad and Emirates.

[ddes]

I agree that joining an alliance is not a top priority. In fact, I think they're laying seeds for the future. There will come a time when China will demand a new consolidation of airlines again, a merger between CZ and MU is just waiting to happen, and I'd imagine CA will want greater control of CX. A strong portfolio and network will allow HNA Group to survive the next round of consolidation. I'm not saying it'll happen soon, but it'll definitely happen.

I see HNA Group modeling itself after Swire, rather than the Middle East carriers actually.

[hkskyline]

All this alliance talk is for foreigners flying into China. For ordinary Chinese, they'll still choose the big Chinese airline groups regardless of alliance unless they want to pay extra to fly a foreign carrier. Seems the alliances fail to see it from the Chinese consumer's point of view.

[deasine]

See ST's press release on their forum topic.

Xiamen Airlines to join SkyTeam

Xiamen Airlines has officially been accepted to the SkyTeam alliance, with full entry slated for the end of 2012.

The news came shortly after China Airlines joined SkyTeam in September (see story here), strengthening the alliance’s coverage of the Chinese market.

By joining SkyTeam, Xiamen Airlines will offer passengers access to the alliance’s strong network of 173 countries served by 15 member carriers.

“SkyTeam has long recognised the region’s huge economic potential. Xiamen Airlines’ membership in SkyTeam will strengthen our offer in the southeastern part of China and the cross-strait markets,” said Michael Wisbrun, managing director of SkyTeam. “While we further capitalise on the expanding network, our members in China will work together to enhance alliance-wide benefits for our customers.”

The Xiamen-based carrier operates both regional and domestic networks, but 90 per cent of its destinations are within Mainland China. It aims to launch long-haul international routes to Australia, Europe and North America in 2014.

“Membership in SkyTeam will enable us to expand our intercontinental network offering, in cooperation with our partners in the alliance,” said Che Shanglun, the president of Xiamen Airlines.

For more information, visit www.skyteam.com or www.xiamenair.com.cn (In Chinese only).

Alisha Haridasani

(via Business Traveller)

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Xinhua Insight: China to further open up its low-altitude airspace

ZHUHAI, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China will further relax a ban on the use of low-altitude airspace in 2012 on a trial basis, air traffic authorities has said.

Starting from January, airspace below 1,000 meters in northeast, central and south China, as well as six pilot cities, will be open to general aviation flights, said Zhu Shicai, an official with the state air traffic control commission.

Zhu made the remarks Thursday at the International Forum on China Business/General Aviation, being held Nov. 17-18 in the city of Zhuhai in the southern province of Guangdong.

The six pilot cities are Tangshan, Xi'an, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Kunming.

"It is wise for China to reform its airspace management. The massive general aviation market in China will benefit the purchasers and enterprises on the industry chain home and abroad," said Steve J. Brown, senior vice president of the U.S. National Business Aviation Association Inc., at the forum.

General aviation refers to flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial.

CLEAR SIGNALS

The new policy definitely signals the determination of China to boost general aviation, which is on the list of the country's strategic emerging new industries, said an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

A series of measures have been taken to provide a favorable environment for the development of the general aviation, said Shi Libo, director with the transportation department with the CAAC.

China's State Council and the Central Military Commission jointly released an order to open up part of the country's low-altitude airspace for the first time last year.

The central government said in its 12th Five-Year Plan for 2011-2015 period that it will promote the general aviation industry's development, reform the airspace management system as well as increase the efficiency of the allocation and utilization of airspace resources.

The low-altitude airspace over regions and cities to be open to general aviation flights on a trial basis accounts for 31.6 percent of airspace over China's total land territory, said Zhu.

By 2015, China will carry out nationwide reform on low-airspace control and management, and draw up a set of management and supervision policies, as well as create new industry standards, Zhu added.

General aviation also receives financial support from the central government, said Shi. Special projects on general aviation airport will be carried out in the near future, providing financial support to infrastructure construction as well as professional training.

"Under new policies, the general aviation industry will fuel economic growth," said Shi.

ROOM FOR GROWTH

It is estimated that by 2012, China would need 10,000 to 12,000 aircraft in the general aviation field, according to civil aviation authorities. The related industries would form a huge market valued at about 1 trillion yuan.

Due to control over low-altitude airspace, the general aviation industry has developed slowly in the country.

At present, China has only 113 registered licensed general aviation firms, compared to 3,000 in the EU.

The number of China's general aviation aircraft only accounts for three per thousand of the global total, according to Xu Zhanbin, deputy general manager of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

With the opening of the country's low-altitude airspace, the huge development potential and room for development of the general aviation industry is emerging, insiders said.

The China Aviation Industry General Aircraft CO., Ltd(CAIGA), a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China started a 23.6 billion yuan GE project in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, in 2009.

The company also has purchased the U.S.-based Cirrus Industries Inc., the world's second largest general aviation aircraft manufacturer, in this June, said Qu Jingwen, president of CAIGA.

The world is casting their focus on China's signals to boost the general aviation industry. There has been a big acceleration of general aviation in China, said Jean-Noel Robert, chairman with the Asian Business Aviation Association.

"Comparing to the amazing wealth in China, there are huge gaps between the anxious need in enjoying the flying fun and practical business need. China is such a massive expanding market that everyone can find the potentials," he said.

[deasine]

Air China Launches Trial of Gogo's In-Flight Entertainment Equipment

ITASCA, Ill., Nov. 18, 2011 – Gogo, a leader of in-flight connectivity and an innovator of in-flight entertainment solutions, has reached an agreement to provide a trial of its wireless in-flight entertainment equipment on Air China. The first live trial on a commercial flight was conducted on November 15 on a Boeing 737 en route from Beijing to Chengdu. Live trials are expected to continue through the first quarter of 2012.

"We are excited to bring Gogo's wireless in-flight entertainment system to Air China and look forward to working with them on providing affordable entertainment options to their passengers," said Michael Small, Gogo's president and chief executive officer. "As the first international air carrier to offer Gogo's in-flight entertainment equipment, this represents a significant milestone for Gogo and for Air China."

"Gogo has a proven track record of providing wireless solutions to the aviation industry and currently is the only company to have a wireless IFE solution in market and available to consumers," said Zhang Yang, Air China assistant president. "We look forward to working with them as we become the first Chinese air carrier to leverage their equipment to bring a wireless entertainment option to our passengers."

Gogo's wireless in-flight entertainment system offers airlines a light weight, easy to install solution that can be installed on an aircraft overnight.

About Gogo:
By allowing travelers to get online, in air, Gogo keeps them connected to life. Using Gogo's exclusive network and services, passengers with laptops and other Wi-Fi enabled devices can get online on all domestic AirTran Airways, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines flights, on all domestic mainline Delta flights and on select Air Canada, American Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways flights.

Back on the ground, Gogo's 350+ employees in Itasca, IL and Broomfield, CO are working to continually redefine flying as a productive, socially connected, and all-around more satisfying experience. Connect with us at www.gogoair.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gogo and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gogo.

(via Engadget

[Vicvin86]

[Equario]

http://www.airliners.net/photo/China...F6N/2021100/L/

[hkskyline]

Regular direct flights launched between China's Chongqing, Maldives

CHONGQING, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- A regular direct route between the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing and the Maldivian capital of Male commenced Friday, local Chinese airport authorities said.

The new round-trip route (5M162/5M163) is operated by Mega Maldives Airline every five days, using a Boeing 767-300ER with a capacity of 250 passengers, according to a spokesman with the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport.

The 6.5-hour flight departs from Chongqing at 11 a.m. and arrives at 3 p.m. local time in Male. Passengers from the Chinese mainland will be able to apply for a visa on arrival.

The flight marks the airline's third regular service route between mainland Chinese cities and the Maldives, following flights departing from Beijing and Shanghai.

Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport has opened more than ten international air routes to date, including ones to Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and Phuket. Next week, the airport will launch a direct flight to Doha, Qatar.

[hkskyline]

Deep reforms called for in China's booming general aviation sector: EUCCAP official

ZHUHAI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Large-scale development in China's general aviation industry requires deep reforms in both regulations and business models, said authorities with the EU-China Civil Aviation Project (EUCCAP) on Wednesday in Zhuhai, a city in south China's Guangdong province.

With the country's policy signalling a boost for its general aviation industry, there is an urgent need to readjust its airspace and aviation safety management modes to suit booming social demand, said Frederic Campagnac, EUCCAP team leader.

Gaps in specific rules in accordance with general aviation industry standards, such as the construction and management of airports, airstrips and other infrastructures, are still waiting to be filled, he added.

Campagnac made the remark at an ongoing workshop which aims to introduce the general aviation sector of the European Union to about 100 of China's aviation specialists from Nov. 22 to Dec. 1 in both Zhuhai and Beijing.

The workshop will contribute to the design of future EU-China cooperation activities in this field, he said.

The workshop will focus on topics regarding regulations, aerodromes and air traffic management, as well as safety, maintenance and operations for aircraft and helicopters in the general aviation sector.

China has listed the general aviation sector as one of the country's emerging strategic industries and has provided a favorable environment for its development.

The State Council, or China's Cabinet, and the Central Military Commission jointly released an order last year to open up part of the country's low-altitude airspace for the first time.

The central government said in its 12th Five-Year Plan for the 2011-2015 period that it will promote the general aviation industry's development, reform the airspace management system and enhance the efficiency of the allocation and utilization of airspace resources.

"The 12th National Five-Year Plan raised a clear proposal to actively propel the development of the general aviation industry," said Meng Ping, director general of the National Defense Committee Office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Drawing lessons from the EU's experiences and obstacles it has encountered will help China avoid detours and jump directly to the most effective development patterns in the general aviation sector, he added.

At the end of 2010, China counted just over 1,000 aircraft and 1,700 pilots in the general aviation sector. Meanwhile, the EU had 22,000 general aviation aircraft and 90,000 general aviation pilots, not including ultralight aircraft and glider activities.

EUCCAP is a three-year, 3.7-million-euro project jointly funded by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the European Union, along with the CAAC.

[hkskyline]

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/550/5504449.html