BISHKEK (TCA) — China Southern Airlines and Air Kyrgyzstan, the country’s only state-owned airline, are considering establishment of a joint venture, Kyrgyz media reported on January 5 with reference to the Ministry of Transport and Roads of Kyrgyzstan.
At a meeting between representatives of the relevant Kyrgyz ministries, members of the Air Kyrgyzstan board, and the general director of the Bishkek office of China Southern Airlines, the parties spoke for establishment of a joint venture with the Chinese company.
China Southern Airlines’ representative said the Chinese side is interested in establishing a joint venture. In this case, the Chinese would renew the air fleet of the Kyrgyz air company and expand its flight destinations.
The Kyrgyz side said it is going to sell a 49-percent stake in Air Kyrgyzstan and the Chinese company expressed its interest in participation in the contest to acquire it.
The Chinese representatives said that should the joint venture be established, Air Kyrgyzstan within five years will get five to six aircraft of Western production, as well as an aircraft for Kyrgyzstan’s first persons.
China Southern Airlines is the sixth largest airline in the world and Asia’s largest. The airline is based in Guangzhou, and its major hubs are the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and the Beijing Capital International Airport. A relatively young airline, China Southern was established in 1988 and has grown in the decades since then to serve far more than a hundred destinations. The airline operates domestic China flights and international routes around the world.
