China Express Airlines successfully listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange on March 2 and became the first A-share listed regional carrier in China.
The Guiyang-based carrier is leading in terms of destinations and routes covered by its feeder routes – it operated in 34.2% of China’s feeder route destinations and accounted for 9.9% of the country’s regional feeder routes, based on the flight schedule of the 2017 summer-autumn flight seasons released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
Accurate market positioning and effective operating strategy have boosted the revenue of China Express Airlines in recent years. The company disclosed that it has generated operating incomes of RMB 1,791.86 million, RMB 2,551.18 million and RMB 3,448.44 million in 2015, 2016 and 2017, while net profits attributable to the parent company were RMB 241.73 million, RMB 345.76 million and RMB 374.23 million, respectively.
Currently, regional airlines in developed countries have entered a relatively mature stage of development, while the regional aviation market in China is still an emerging sector. CAAC data indicated increasing passenger flow at regional airports in China – the growth rate at 16% in 2014 was 1.78 times that of the passenger flow increase at airports for trunk routes; from 2010 to 2015, regional air routes in China had increased by 27% and transportation capacity grown by 116%.
Insiders believe the next 10-20 years will remain a prime period of growth for China's aviation industry. It is estimated that China’s regional airlines will carry more than 100 million passengers by 2020, growing at twice the rate of major airlines.
