Airlines merger step closer to take off

CHINA Eastern Airlines' merger with smaller rival Shanghai Airlines has received approval from Civil Aviation Administration but is still waiting approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and should be completed by the end of the year, Chairman Liu Shaoyong said yesterday.

General manager Ma Xulun noted that the carrier was still facing huge pressure but would reduce net losses this year and expects to break even in 2010.

The company reported a profit of 1.2 billion yuan (US$174 million) in the first three quarters this year after the economy revived and the price of fuel dropped.

Liu said the company was open to overseas strategic investors.

Meanwhile, China Eastern yesterday launched a strategic deal with Alibaba Group to boost online ticket sales.

Alipay, the country's largest third-party electronic payment platform provider and a member of Alibaba Group, will provide an online transaction platform for China Eastern's official Website.

The nation's third-largest carrier by fleet size has also launched a flagship online store at Taobao.com, the C2C platform under Alibaba, to sell tickets directly to customers.

China Eastern is expecting to boost online booking for individual travelers to 30 percent from less than 5 percent in the next five years, while its sales through traditional distributors at travel agencies now account for 70 percent of its total sales, said Ma.

"Online booking can help us cut marketing costs and raise efficiency of our capital," Ma added. He said cooperation with traditional distributors such as Ctrip and Elong would not be affected.

Email Story    Printable View    Blog Story    Copy Headline/URL