CHINA: Spring Airlines What About

Spring Airlines Co., Ltd. is a low-cost carrier with its headquarters in the Homeyo Hotel in Changning District, Shanghai, China.

While the company adopted the English name "Spring Airlines", the Chinese name literally means "Spring Autumn Airlines."

Spring Airlines is the aviation subsidiary of Shanghai Spring International Travel Service. It reported a net profit of 950 million yuan ($143 million) in 2016

The airline was given approval to be established on 26 May 2004. Its first aircraft, an Airbus A320 formerly of Lotus Air, was delivered on 12 July 2005, at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

Spring Airlines started operations on 18 July 2005 and the first flight on that day was between Shanghai and Yantai. Daily flights to Guilin were also initiated.

To keep operating costs low, Spring sells tickets exclusively from its ch.com website and some designated ticket offices, bypassing travel agents.

Spring no longer offers complimentary on-board meals nor complimentary water; however passengers are able to purchase meals and beverages on board. In December 2006, the airline offered a 1-yuan promotional price which caused trouble with government officials.

In late July 2009, Spring's plan to establish overseas routes was granted by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of the People's Republic of China, making it the first budget airline in China to explore the international market.

The airline plans to operate short-distance routes linking mainland Chinese cities to Hong Kong and Macau, as well as neighboring countries such as Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

On July 29, 2010, Spring Airlines launched its first international route linking its home city Shanghai and Japan's Ibaraki Airport, about 80 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.

2 months later, on September 28, the airline successfully introduced its first flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong with almost full passengers on board.

Spring's daily flights from Shanghai to Macau commenced on 8 April 2011 with further international destinations following in the second half of 2011.

Since January 2015, the company has been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Spring Airlines also operates a subsidiary in Japan and is the first Chinese airline to do so.

In 2015, Spring announced plans to build a 250-300 room hotel at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya, Japan, a rare instance of a low-cost carrier entering the hotel business.

As of May 2019, the Spring Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:

- Airbus A320-200: 80

- Airbus A320neo 06

On June 6, 2014 at Xiamen Airport, an Airbus A320 operated by Spring Airlines experienced a runway excursion on the right side of the runway and struck a runway light.

The pilot then attempted to go around, causing a tail strike. There were no injuries, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage.


Tourism Observer

CHINA: Chinese Woman Delays Spring Airlines Takeoff Because Of Her Mising Daughter

A woman from China stopped a flight with 160 flyers from taking off while she waited for her daughter.

Passengers were left outraged on a recent international flight after a woman allegedly stopped cabin crew from closing the doors for takeoff.

In footage provided by witnesses, the woman can be seen sitting on the jet bridge while being spoken to by a member of staff.

An eyewitness on the flight, travelling from Bangkok to Shanghai, has claimed that the woman was holding up the flight because her daughter had not arrived yet.

The daughter is believed to have been late for the flight because she was shopping in duty free.

She also alleges that the daughter who was shopping called airport police to stop the plane from taking off without her.

Chinese budget carrier Spring Airlines has since confirmed the incident did occur, however, did not disclose details of the genders of the people or their relation.

The flight, which was meant to take off at 3:30 was delayed by 30 minutes.

The passengers are believed to have agreed to sacrifice their journey following the incident.

According to media reports, some of which included a video clip posted on Wednesday, flight 9C8892 of China's Spring Airlines from Suvarnabhumi to Shanghai was delayed for 30 minutes.

They said a mother lay down on an aerobridge to prevent the flight carrying 160 other passengers from closing its door and taking off because her daughter was still shopping inside the Bangkok airport.

The flight eventually took off after the pair agreed to switch to another flight.

The video clip was initially distributed through China's social media. Reports said many local people condemned the behaviour and demanded aviation organisations blacklist the two people.


Tourism Observer

CHINA: Spring Airlines Buys US$122M Into China Southern Airlines

Spring Airlines, a low-cost carrier, has subscribed to China Southern Airline’s A-share non-public offering in a deal worth 846 million yuan (US$122.78 million), becoming the fifth largest shareholder of the company.

Spring Airlines has subscribed for a total 140.53 million A shares in China Southern Airlines, at a price of 6.02 yuan per share.

It accounts for 1.63% of the share capital after the completion of the issuance.

It is the second time that domestic private airlines have invested in one of the three major state-owned aviation enterprises after the Juneyao Group and its private airline Jixiang Airlines bought into China Eastern Airlines in July.

Spring Airlines said it is actively responding to the call of the state to deepen the reform of state-owned enterprises’ mixed ownership, strengthening strategic cooperation between state-owned capital and private capital, and further stimulating capital vitality.

Spring Airlines Co., Ltd. is a low-cost carrier with its headquarters in the Homeyo Hotel in Changning District, Shanghai, China. While the company adopted the English name Spring Airlines, the Chinese name literally means Spring Autumn Airlines.

Spring Airlines is the aviation subsidiary of Shanghai Spring International Travel Service. It reported a net profit of 950 million yuan or $143 million in 2016

The airline was given approval to be established on 26 May 2004. Its first aircraft, an Airbus A320 formerly of Lotus Air, was delivered on 12 July 2005, at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

Spring Airlines started operations on 18 July 2005 and the first flight on that day was between Shanghai and Yantai. Daily flights to Guilin were also initiated.

To keep operating costs low, Spring sells tickets exclusively from its ch.com website and some designated ticket offices, bypassing travel agents.

Spring no longer offers complimentary on-board meals nor complimentary water; however passengers are able to purchase meals and beverages on board. In December 2006, the airline offered a 1-yuan promotional price which caused trouble with government officials.

In late July 2009, Spring's plan to establish overseas routes was granted by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of the People's Republic of China, making it the first budget airline in China to explore the international market.

The airline plans to operate short-distance routes linking mainland Chinese cities to Hong Kong and Macau, as well as neighboring countries such as Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

On July 29, 2010, Spring Airlines launched its first international route linking its home city Shanghai and Japan's Ibaraki Airport, about 80 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.

2 months later, on September 28, the airline successfully introduced its first flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong with almost full passengers on board. Spring's daily flights from Shanghai to Macau commenced on 8 April 2011 with further international destinations following in the second half of 2011.

Since January 2015, the company has been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Spring Airlines also operates a subsidiary in Japan and is the first Chinese airline to do so.

In 2015, Spring announced plans to build a 250-300 room hotel at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya, Japan, a rare instance of a low-cost carrier entering the hotel business.

The Spring Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:

* Airbus A320-200 - 80 Aircraft

* Airbus A320neo _ 1 Aircraft

On June 6, 2014, an Airbus A320 operated by Spring Airlines experienced a runway excursion on the right side of the runway, and striking a light in doing so, the pilot then attempted to go around, but had a tail strike because he pulled up too much at Xiamen, according to another pilot at Spring Airlines.

There were no injuries, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage. An investigation has been opened by China's Accident Investigation Board.


Tourism Observer

CAMBODIA: China To Surpus Vietnam In Supplying Tourists To Cambodia

Cambodia Association of Travel Agents says China will soon overtake Vietnam as the main source of the country’s tourists.

But there are major concerns over capacity management and how the country’s tourist industry will cope with the shortage of Chinese speaking guides.

The association president, Chhay Sivlin, says that the strengthening of relations between Cambodia and China and the government’s strategy to promote more Chinese tourist arrivals, will accelerate tourist arrivals over the next two years.

A flood of cheap Chinese tours could swamp popular tourist destinations especially in Siem Reap, the main tourist destinations, famed for Angkor Wat a World Heritage site.

But the dominant thread in tourism announcements, made by the private sector and government, is the underlying pressure to reach numerical targets that could compromise the quality of the travel experience and the environment.

The preoccupation is with expansion and catching up with neighbors. The main drivers are airlines that serve the destination from China, many of them offering cheap charter flights that bring in low-revenue package tours.

“Ministry of Tourism still needs to increase direct flights in order to reach the country’s target of welcoming 7 million tourists by 2020, including 2 million Chinese visitors,” he said.

Meanwhile, China came in second with 830,003 visits increasing 19.5% from 694,712 visits, according to Ministry of Tourism’s Statistics and Tourist Information Department figure.

In 2016, 13 airlines launched direct flights from different destinations in the region to Cambodia. The majority of the airlines are from China followed by Japan and Thailand.

Chinese airlines increasing flights, last year, included Hainan Airlines, Lucky Air, Tianjin Airlines, Spring Airlines and Beijing Capital Airlines.

Many opportunities for Cambodian tourism companies, more and more Chinese spend their holiday in their country, and they are becoming more and more rich and like to spend their money.

In 2013, China has overtaken South Korea to become the 2nd largest tourist source to Cambodia, with 305 500 visitors, up 47%, up according to the data from the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.

Vietnam remained topped the chart among the top ten tourist arrivals to Cambodia with 584,800 tourists during the January-August period this year, up 12 percent year-on- year.

It added that during the first 8months of 2013, Cambodia has received a total of 2.77 million foreign tourists, up 19 % every year.

The minister said the country has set a target to attract between 1.5 million and 2 million Chinese tourists by 2020.

Chinese are rich now, more and more Chinese have been visiting abroad every year.

Close ties between Cambodia and China is an essential base to attract more Chinese to Cambodia.

Excellent ties between the two countries and improving Cambodian tourism quality and services will encourage more Chinese to this Southeast Asia nation in coming years.

Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon attributed the rise of Chinese traveller to attractive sites such as the Angkor Wat temple, a World Heritage Site, the beautiful coastline, like one of the top most Beautiful Bays.

Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temples, one of the world heritage sites. This Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world and attracted 1.57 million foreign travellers in the first nine of the year, +6% compared with the same period in a year earlier.

During the January-September period this year, the monument welcomed 201,000 Chinese, +60 %.

“China is leading the growth of tourists to the site this year thanks to Cambodia-China excellent ties, broader promotion of the Angkor to the world, and more direct flight connection between Cambodia and China,” Chhoeuy Chhorn, administration chief of the Siem Reap provincial tourism department said.

Last year, the temples attracted 2.06 million foreign visitors, up 28 percent year-on-year.

Shopping

Chinese tourists use to do a lot of Shopping and purchase gifts, and local products.

Entertainement

They also like entertainement and will eat local food, sing in KTV and go to bars. They enjoy massage, and local SPA beauty services.

Hotels
You still have a lot of travellers with low budget, but more and more rich Chinese Business men travel in Cambodia and like nice hotels.

Internet
80% of Chinese people will search information online before their travel , and 66% will use Internet to book flight, hotel and prepare their trip.

You will find a lot of usefull information on many websites about Cambodia, and users’ experiences.
Look this for example

About 830,000 Chinese tourists visited Cambodia in 2016, a 19.5-percent rise year-on-year, according to a Cambodian Tourism Ministry report on Thursday.

Chinese holidaymakers accounted for 16.6 percent of the 5 million international tourists traveling to the Southeast Asian country last year, the report said.

It added that China ranked the second largest source of tourists to Cambodia after Vietnam, whose 959,600 people visited the kingdom last year, down 2.8 percent year-on-year.

Cambodia targets 2 million Chinese tourists by 2020.

Last year, the country launched a white paper which listed steps to be taken by tourism authorities to facilitate visits by Chinese tourists, such as providing Chinese signage and documents for visa processing, encouraging local use of the Chinese yuan currency, encouraging the use of Chinese language, and ensuring that food and accommodation facilities are suited to Chinese tastes.

Cambodia is famous for the 12th century Angkor Archeological Park in northwestern Siem Reap province. Besides, it has a 450-km pristine coastline stretching across four provinces in the country's southwestern part.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon estimated last month that tourism industry earned gross revenue of more than 3 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, accounting for 13 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

CHINA: South Korea And China Misunderstandings, Airlines Most Affected

Escalating tensions between China and South Korea over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system are now threatening to engulf air travel as some carriers start to suspend popular services between the two countries.

Eastar Jet, a South Korean budget airline, said on its website that flights from Cheongju to China’s Harbin, Ningbo and Jinjiang will be stopped temporarily starting as early as March 15 through Oct. 28 because of “worsening relations.”

Seoul-based Jin Air, a unit of Korean Air Lines Co., said it is reviewing its flights from Jeju to Shanghai and Xian and preemptively restricted bookings to avoid disruptions.

Spring Airlines Co., China’s biggest budget carrier, canceled flights from Ningbo to Jeju March 15 through 26, and a spokesman said it was due to “changing market conditions.”

Jeju Air, a Korean low-cost operator, said the airline’s request for charter flight in March to Ordos in Inner Mongolia was rejected by the Chinese authorities.

Travel curbs imposed by China on mainlanders with plans for a vacation in South Korea are likely to cut revenue at airlines, travel agencies, package tour operators and cruises by about $5 billion, according to estimates by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The China National Tourism Administration verbally ordered local travel agencies to stop selling tours to South Korea starting March 15, the state-run Korea Tourism Organization said last week.

More than 8 million Chinese visited South Korea last year and Chinese make up 85 percent of tourists to the resort island of Jeju.

Some sea-cruise operators are also pulling back. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said Thursday on its Chinese website that it will cancel port calls to South Korea and replace them with some in Japan for vessels that sail as early as March 17.

Costa Cruises, controlled by Carnival Corp., is also scrapping calls to South Korean ports and re-routing them to Japan.

China is concerned that the U.S. missile shield — called Thaad — will alter the balance of power in the region, and is lashing out by squeezing South Korean businesses on its soil and by discouraging citizens from traveling to popular tourist destinations such as Jeju Island. The Lotte Group, the Korean conglomerate that offered land to house Thaad, said this week that as many as 55 of its retail stores in China were suspended.

The U.S. military said this week that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system was aimed solely at defending Seoul against potential missile attacks by North Korea.

Spring Air’s spokesman said tourism and airlines should be “markedly affected” by the ongoing situation between China and South Korea, adding the carrier’s schedule after March 26, when the summer-autumn flight season kicks off, will be adjusted accordingly.


However, the stoppage of services wasn’t widespread. China Eastern Airlines Corp. said ticket sales to South Korea remain normal.

In response to the shuttering of Lotte Mart’s businesses in China, the foreign ministry in Beijing said Monday that the government welcomes “the investment and operation of foreign companies” and protects their “lawful rights and interests in accordance with the law, as long as their businesses abide by laws and regulations.”

South Korean Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said March 5, he was “deeply concerned about the measures taken in China,” and that the government will seek recourse in international law should China violate its trade commitments.

Civil Aviation Administration Of China Improves Standards For New Airlines

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is expected to raise the bar on approving new entrants in the domestic airline industry in light of market saturation and possible excessive competition.

The regulator is reportedly revising relevant provisions of the “Public Transport Enterprises Operation Permit Regulations,” which would disqualify more than half of new applicants. According to an industry insider, out of the dozen airlines that have submitted applications, only one or two would be able to secure approval in this year’s second half.

Earlier this year, the regulator tightened its grip on approving new entrants because of some aviation safety incidents.

Only two Guangzhou-based cargo carriers—AVIC Cargo Airlines and Longhao Air—have received approval from the regulator in the first half.

It is noteworthy the new approved entrants all have a registered capital of more than CNY100 million ($15.08 million), up from CNY10 million previously, which reflects how much the standards have been raised.

As early as 2004 CAAC began allowing privately run companies to launch carriers, which resulted in the prosperity of domestic privately run carriers, including Shanghai-based low-cost carriers Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines. However, to limit growth CAAC decided to bar most new domestic entrants from the market until 2010, except for cargo carriers and those that either operated China-produced aircraft or are headquartered in West China.

In 2011, the regulator began to loosen its grip on approving domestic airline entrants and opened the door for more new carriers in 2013, which enabled many airlines to spring up, mainly local carriers launched by domestic airlines in conjunction with different local governments.

HONG KONG: Passengers Kept Awake And Hungry At Hong Kong International Airport

A combination of military drills and bad weather in eastern China left thousands of passengers headed for Shanghai and nearby cities stranded at Hong Kong International Airport for more than 12 hours.

At least 13 flights scheduled for Shanghai Pudong International Airport from 10.55am were still grounded at the airport by 9pm. Passengers with Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Hong Kong Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, and Spring Airlines were affected.

No flights departed for Shanghai Pudong International Airport from Hong Kong after 10am because of a combination of air traffic restrictions over eastern China caused by a military drill in the morning and rainy weather in the afternoon, according to airport ground staff.

Zhang Jun, a Dragonair passenger who was having his 50th birthday, was one of many passengers who had been waiting since 4pm. “My biggest birthday wish is to leave now,” he said, standing next to the airline’s counter as it was besieged by angry passengers.

Zhang said he is a frequent traveller to Shanghai but has never seen delays of this kind.

“I have lots of experience with delays on the mainland caused by air traffic control. What I cannot accept is being given new departure times every two hours. If there is no departure time, tell us there is no time.”

A Cathay manager at the scene denied the departure times were arbitrarily set but said they were based on possible departure slots from Shanghai air traffic control.

Passengers in transit who had come from long-haul flights from New York, New Delhi and Singapore complained Cathay Pacific and Dragonair had kept them awake too long without offering any place to rest, nor any food or drink while waiting, endangering their health. They were unsatisfied with the airlines’ explanation of the situation and demanded compensation.

“We are a group of 19 seniors. Many of us have not slept for nearly 24 hours. Now it’s 10pm, we do not want to leave anymore and just want to be put in a hotel and rest. They kept lying to us by giving us new times and keeping us waiting here,” said Ren Hongxing, a 70-year old man from Shanghai who was returning from a Malaysia-Singapore tour via Hong Kong.

Passengers on his flight had boarded and waited for four hours on the aircraft before being offloaded. A delay certificate issued by Dragonair said the flight - originally scheduled for 1pm - was delayed because of “adverse weather” and “air traffic flow control”.

Dragonair ground staff said “Shanghai has given us no time. We do not know if and when a flight could take off.”

Air traffic controls over eastern China last summer caused delays of up to 15 hours at the Hong Kong international airport.

Cathay cancelled CX5808/KA808, a Shanghai Pudong bound flight originally scheduled for 4:55pm, at around 10pm. By 11pm, passengers on the 10:55am CX 5804/KA804 flight had boarded the plane but still did not take off.

Hundreds of passengers from three other Shanghai-bound flights were still waiting near midnight in the hope of getting a chance to depart.

As of 9am Wednesday morning, all flights had been rescheduled and many were still waiting to depart.

CHINA: China’s Airports And Airlines Worst In Flight Delays

Mainland facilities and carriers lag far behind the international competition as management fails to keep up with the demand for travel.

Chinese airports and airlines were the worst in the world for being on time last year, according to a US-based company that tracks air travel around the globe.

Among the world's 61 largest airports, the seven worst performers for on-time departures were all mainland airports, with Hangzhou's Xiaoshan, Shanghai's Hongqiao and Shanghai's Pudong facilities taking the bottom three spots, according to FlightStats, a US-based data provider on air travel.

Just 37.74 per cent of flights left on time from Xiaoshan, 37.17 per cent from Hongqiao and 37.26 per cent from Pudong.

Those three were closely followed in the survey by Shenzhen Baoan, Guangzhou Baiyun, Chongqing Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport.

Out of the world's largest 61 airports, Japan's Haneda Airport was the best with an on-time rate of 89.76 per cent. The best performer among the 374 world airports of all sizes looked at by FlightStats was another Japanese airport, Itami, with an on-time rate of 94.56 per cent.

Zou Jianjun, from the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, said management of China's facilities had not kept up with demand and the network was concentrated in a few areas.

"Flight lines are too centralised in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and it's a big challenge for their managers," he said. "Even if a small mistake happens at any of these major airports, it's quite possible that flights in other cities will be affected."

The results were no better within the region, with Chinese airports languishing in the bottom half of the 121 Asia -Pacific facilities of all sizes examined last year. Hong Kong International Airport also slipped, down from No22 in the region in January 2013 to 80th last year.

There were no mainland or Hong Kong airlines in the world's top 10 for on-time arrivals last year, FlightStats said. The world leader was KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which had 88.66 per cent of its flights arrive on time.

The results reflect the all-too-common experience of cancelled or delayed flights at mainland airports, experts said.

Zhang Wuan, spokesman for Shanghai-based budget carrier Spring Airlines, said the poor showing by mainland airlines and airports was the result of the rapid growth in civil aviation.

About 390 million passengers took flights on the mainland in 2014, double the total for 2009, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The Civil Aviation Data Analysis website said that about 65 per cent of mainland flights left on time last year.

The website said that if all the extra time that passengers and crew spent waiting on the tarmac for flights to take off on the mainland in 2014 was added up, it would amount to about 232 years.

Even notified flight delays added up to about 183 years, it said.

Poor management at airports and carriers was compounded by bad weather last month during the peak Lunar New Year travel season, a traditional time for family reunions.

FlightStats said there were 92,839 delays by mainland airlines compared with 32,428 delays by carriers in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.

Most mainland airlines' on-time arrival rates were about 50 per cent last month, with Shenzhen Airlines recording a rate of as low as 37.4 per cent and an average delay of 64 minutes. Xiamen Airlines was even worse with 33.82 per cent on-time arrival rate and an average delay of 70 minutes.

JAPAN: Haneda Expands China Flights To Handle Influx

Haneda Airport has steadily expanded from mostly domestic flights into a full-fledged international airport over the past five years. With its prime downtown Tokyo location, it offers easier access to the capital for passengers on long-haul flights from a wide range of overseas destinations, including major cities in Asia, the U.S., Europe, Oceania and the Middle East.

China, in particular, is making the effects of its bulging economic muscle felt in the skies over Japan, and Haneda is now responding to the soaring number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan. On Oct. 25, the airport's daytime slots for flights to and from mainland China will increase sharply.

Chinese budget carriers, such as Spring Airlines, have also started using the airport by obtaining early-morning and late-night slots.

"This is the kind of growth in passenger traffic we have never experienced before," said a marketing executive at All Nippon Airways, a unit of ANA Holdings, marveling at the explosive increase in the number of Chinese passengers flying to Japan that began in February.

Surge in travelers

In August, some 590,000 people from the Chinese mainland traveled to Japan, a 2.3-fold jump from a year earlier, according to the Japan National Tourist Organization. The ANA's flights on routes between Japan and China are running at around 85% capacity, higher than those for its services involving destinations in the U.S. and Europe, which have been the airline's traditional cash cows.

In response to the deluge of Chinese visitors, the transport ministry decided to expand Haneda-based air routes to China, implementing a plan that had been suspended for some time due to strains in the relationship between the two countries.

Haneda's daytime slots for flights to and from China will be increased to 140 per week, with the added slots allocated to major Japanese and Chinese airlines.

From Oct. 25, both ANA and Japan Airlines will start operating two Haneda-based round-trip flights to Beijing and Shanghai. They will also launch a new daily round-trip flight between Tokyo and Guangzhou. The new services will increase transport options and boost travel convenience for tourists flying between Japan and China's coastal areas.