Hainan Airlines have received approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for its joint venture with Urumqi Urban Construction Investment Co to create Urumqi Airlines, a new carrier based in China’s far northwest region of Xinjiang.
The new carrier will have registered capital of CNY3 billion (US$489 million), with Hainan Airlines investing CNY2.1bn, or 70% of the total. Based at Diwobao International Airport, Urumqi Airlines will operate a fleet of 737s serving domestic and regional international routes, plus Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, from Urumqi.