An Australian Airline With Chinese Characteristics

With major shareholder Air New Zealand opting out and plenty of cash problems, Virgin Australia’s immediate future looked bleak. Now, two white knights have arrived with deep pockets, big global ambitions and the potential to open a highly lucrative door for the Australian carrier into the world’s leading aviation market, China.

The Australian public could well be forgiven for having little knowledge of China’s Hainan Airlines. Or, for that matter, the Nanshan Group.

Hainan had only dipped its toes into this country’s skies briefly between 2011 and 2012 with flights to Sydney from Shenzhen. It returned late last year, this time with seasonal flights to the NSW capital from the home of China’s famed Terracotta Army in Xi’an.