Okay Airways Company Limited, the first private airline in China, set up its Hunan branch in Changsha on the afternoon of December 12. Following China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, it becomes the third airline establishing branches in Hunan. Vice Governor of Hunan Province Zhang Jianfei attended the plate-conferring ceremony.
According to Liu Weining, president of Okay Airways, the destination of the company’s first flight was Changsha in 2005, and in 2011 three Boeing B373 airliners were arranged for flights starting from Changsha. The company, as one of the main carriers at Changsha Huanghua International Airport, has made great efforts in recent years in promoting transport capacity for Hunan’s main and branch lines via increasing flights from Hunan to China’s major cities, launching branch flights from Changsha to Zhangjiajie, Huaihua, Yongzhou and Tongren, and opening international flights from Changsha to Cheju.
Okay Airways plans to allot 10 airliners stationed at Changsha Huanghua International Airport in 2015, 15 in 2018, and 20 in 2020. International and regional flights starting from Hunan are also expected to be launched to form an international airline network centering on Changsha, radiating to large and medium-sized cities in China and other countries, connecting branch lines in neighboring provinces and facilitating countries and regions in Southeast Asia.
Translator: Wang Xiaolu
Source: Hunan Official Web Portal