CHINA: Air China Cargo Bans Shark Fin Transportation

Air China Cargo has become the first mainland carrier to ban the transport of shark fin, dealing another blow to the international trade.

The carrier, which is part of Air China and responsible for cargo shipment on freight planes and the airline’s commercial aircraft, did not specify when the policy change would take effect.

Some 36 airlines have now joined the ban globally.

In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the cargo company said it was committed to playing a bigger role in global sustainability.

“We understand the community’s desire to promote responsible and sustainable marine sourcing practices, and this remains important to Air China Cargo’s overall sustainable development goals,” the statement read.

“Therefore, on the issue of shark fin, we reiterate our ‘No Shark Fin’ carriage policy.”

[Pressure has been growing on carriers to impose the ban on the trade, even though shark’s fin soup is a popular traditional Chinese dish. Photo: Sam Tsang]

Last year, budget carrier HK Express became the first local carrier to implement a ban, followed in recent months by Cathay Pacific and Dragonair.

Other major airlines observing the ban include British Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and American Airlines.

Also in July, mainland China’s biggest shipping and ­logistics company, China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco Shipping), pledged a total ban on shark fin transportation.

The shipping giant is the fourth-largest container operator in the world with a 7.7 per cent market share.

Alex Hofford, a wildlife activist from conservation group WildAid, said Air China’s action to save sharks would be far-reaching.

“Scientists estimate that fins from up to 73 million sharks a year are used for shark’s fin soup, with much of the trade in shark fin destined for China,” he said.

“Air China’s ‘No Shark Fin’ commitment is therefore hugely significant because, despite government efforts, China [including Hong Kong] is a country where significant demand for shark’s fin soup still exists.

“It’s a bold move and this is likely to have a huge and lasting impact on shark populations and marine ecosystems worldwide,” he added.

Hofford said full enforcement of the ban by airlines and shipping lines was vital to ensure its effectiveness in protecting shark populations.

He urged vigilance against deliberate mislabelling of shark fin cargo to stop people from circumventing the ban.

Focus has now turned to mainland China’s other major airlines, especially one of the biggest global carriers by revenue – China Southern Airlines. The company is based in Guangzhou, an area singled out as a major shark fin trading hub, WildAid said.

According to the group, research suggested that Chinese consumption of shark fin fell by 50 to 70 per cent in recent years.

CHINA: Government To Merge Sectors Of 3 Largest Carriers

China Southern Airlines
Type Scheduled Carrier
Base Guangzhou
Aircraft 516
Destinations 208
Routes 867
Daily Flights 1732

The Chinese government is considering merging certain sectors of the country's three largest carriers - Air China (CA, Beijing Capital), China Southern Airlines (CZ, Guangzhou), and China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) - into one, informed sources have revealed.

As part of the country's 13th Five-Year Plan covering 2016 to 2020, China's Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) last month unveiled far-reaching reforms which aim, through the consolidation of state-owned companies, to create globally-competitive multinational corporations capable of turning a profit by 2020.

As such, the merger of the three airlines' passenger operations is only one aspect of consolidation under review with others said to include combining only two of three's passenger operations. In June, the deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Zhou Laizhen alluded to the creation of Asia's largest air-freight transport company through the proposed merger of China Eastern's China Cargo Airlines (CK, Shanghai Hongqiao), Air China Cargo (CAO, Beijing Capital), and the cargo division of China Southern Airlines.

Historically, all three carriers stemmed from China's previous, de-facto state enterprise - CAAC (Beijing Capital) - which Beijing unbundled into six trunk operators - Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, China Northern Airlines (CJ, Shenyang), China Southwest Airlines (SZ, Chengdu), and China Northwest Airlines (WH, Xi'an Xiguan) - in 1987 as part of Deng Xiaoping's market reforms. However, to better streamline operational efficiencies, China Southwest was eventually merged into Air China in 2002, China Northwest into China Eastern also in 2002, while China Northern was absorbed by China Southern in 2004.

The privately-owned HNA Group has unveiled a similar policy with plans to transfer control of four carriers - Tianjin Airlines (GS, Tianjin), West Air (China) (PN, Chongqing), Capital Airlines (China) (JD, Beijing Capital), and Hong Kong Airlines (HX, Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok) - to Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) in a bid to improve profitability, boardroom excellence, and avoid horizontal competition among its subsidiaries.