China's first private airline ready to resume flights

BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Chinese media) -- Okey Airways (Okair),

the country's first private air carrier, hoped to resume operation as soon as

possible but was not sure about the exact date, the company's chief executive

officer Liu Weining told Chinese media Wednesday.

"Shareholders and staff were all against suspension"

and "really looked forward to the restart", he said, noting there would be a

conference focusing on the issue. But no other details were given.

Wednesday's Beijing News newspaper reported that the

firm was expected to resume operation on Jan. 15, 2009, after it had ceased

service on Dec. 6 because of disputes among shareholders.

The company said it was preparing to resume business

and planned to file an application next week. The carrier expected to lose

nearly 100 million yuan in business during the Dec. 6 to Jan.15 suspension

period, according to the report.

An unnamed official from the Civil Aviation

Administration of China (CAAC) said Okair had not submitted any application to

resume operation to CAAC.

Wan Junjin, Okair's legal representative and chairman

of Juneyao Group, the biggest shareholder, applied to the CAAC North China

Regional Administration for suspension. The regional office approved the

application and ordered the company to suspend its service from Dec. 15 to Jan.

15, 2009.

But the company suspended passenger service on Dec.

6, 10 days ahead of schedule as a result of financial and management problems,

according to a spokesman of Juneyao Group, a major shareholder of Okair.

Its partners - including airports, fuel suppliers and

Fedex Express - all terminated their contracts with Okair.

Okair started cooperation with Fedex on freight

service in 2006and they signed a five-year contract. However, their cooperation

came to halt after only one year and nine months.

"I felt so depressed about the loss", the newspaper

cited an unnamed company senior official as saying, noting air companies faced a

tough time this year but the private carrier had gained profits for its

cooperation with Fedex.

Last month, Juneyao Group, which held a 63 percent

stake in Okair, applied to the CAAC North China Regional Administration for

withdrawal from the aviation firm, offering the explanation of fears over

safety.