Premium 2018.9 – China’s evolving regional airline rules

China is seen as the market of great opportunity.  But the Chinese state is being quite deliberate in their approach to the growth of the airline sector, especially with respect to their regional airlines.  As we have seen with the flight test program of the C919, hurrying along is not a Chinese goal.

To get into the airline business in China requires going through several hoops and meeting several requirements.  This means that while the airline business in China may be the aviation equivalent of Nirvana, the path to get there is long and winding.  Which means we all need to temper expectations.