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China Southern, Air France discuss forming cargo airline
POSTED: 10:01 a.m. EDT, May 18,2007
China Southern Airlines has issued a statement saying it has been in talks with Air France about setting up a cargo airline, reports Xinhua.
While China Southern conceded joint venture talks were underway, the statement released by the company stressed that discussions were still at an early stage.
China Southern is the only one of the top three carriers on the mainland that does not have a cargo unit. China Eastern and Cosco established China Cargo Airlines in 1998, Air China has had Air China Cargo since 2003 and Shenzhen Airlines established Jade Cargo International with Lufthansa in 2005.
China Southern vice general manager Xu Jiebo told The Shanghai Securities News last year that his company was seeking co-operation with Air France-KLM and other Sky Team member airlines.
Analysts believe that China Southern prefers European and American airlines as partners because it hopes to promote sales of cabin space for cargo planes on their way back to China from abroad. |
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