China airlines in deadlock over A380s
Control of two jets on Paris route is sticking point in Air China-China Southern talks
Talks between two state-owned carriers, Air China and China Southern Airlines, over operating Airbus A380s from Beijing seem to have reached a deadlock.
Air China has been looking to lease two A380s equipped with cabin crew from China Southern, the only mainland airline to have bought such aircraft. The Beijing-based airline has said it would like to run the jets on the Beijing-Paris route and would allow China Southern to jointly operate the segment once it is up and running.
"The rationale is to avoid competition and create a win-win situation," Air China chairman Wang Changshun said. The Civil Aviation Administration of China and the alliances to which the two airlines belonged had approved the proposal, he added.
Such an arrangement would mean China Southern would either surrender the commercial control of the two planes, at least in the beginning, or forgo flying A380s on international routes from Beijing.
"We can't accept wet-leasing A380s to Air China," said Xu Jiebo, a director of China Southern. "We have a contingency plan if the talks collapse."
Xu said he expected the talks to be concluded in two months. Besides Paris, the Guangzhou-based airline wants to fly A380s to New York and other destinations in the United States from Beijing.