NZ Herald Tuesday 28 March 2017 BEIJING (AP) ” American Airlines has agreed to pay $200 million for a stake in China Southern Airlines, one of China’s three major state-owned carriers, in a bid for a bigger share of the country’s growing travel market.
China Southern will expand commercial cooperation, possibly in sales, airport facilities and code-sharing, the airline said in an announcement Tuesday through the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The deal represents 2.76 percent of China Southern’s shares and requires regulatory approval, the airline said.
Foreign carriers are forging steadily closer ties with Chinese airlines to gain a bigger share of China’s travel market, which is growing while travel in Europe and North America is leveling off. In exchange, Chinese carriers get access to the experience and management skills of foreign airlines.
China is forecast to overtake North America over the next two decades as the biggest air travel market. Read more…
