Caissa Travel suspends purchase of Tuniu shares from JD.com
>> Major Chinese travel group Caissa Travel said it had walked away from the deal to buy shares of online leisure travel firm Tuniu from e-commerce platform JD.com. Caissa Travel stated that it decided not to close the deal because Tuniu had been losing money, which would have a negative impact on the earnings of publicly listed Caissa Travel.
Skyscanner to change CEO
>> Trip.com Group's metasearch brand Skyscanner announced that its current CEO Bryan Dove is stepping down for family reasons. Moshe Rafiah, vice chair of Skyscanner and CEO & founder of Travelfusion, will take over as CEO of Skyscanner as well. Trip.com Group took over Travelfusion in 2015 for over USD 100 million and bought Skyscanner for USD 1.75 billion in 2016.
Hong Kong’s Ocean Park saved as lawmakers approve giant relief fund
>> Hong Kong’s ailing Ocean Park will be bailed out by the taxpayer after the legislature approved an HKD 5.4 billion (USD 692 million) relief fund for the attraction to stay afloat for another 12 months. But the park still faces a bumpy ride to pick up business as the coronavirus pandemic has brought the city’s tourism industry to a standstill.
Chinese airlines operate more flights than US counterparts
>> May 2020 is the first ever month in which Chinese airlines operate more passenger jet flights than their US counterparts, according to airline data firm Cirium. Chinese operators had completed nearly 200,000 flights with passenger-configured widebodies, narrowbodies and regional jets, compared with fewer than 170,000 for carriers based in the USA.
China has achieved this milestone because its airlines have recovered to an activity level 35% below last year, whereas US operators remain 74% down as a result of the collapse in passenger demand due to the coronavirus crisis.
Singapore, China to open essential travel corridor in early June
>> Singapore and China plan to reopen essential travel for business and official purposes between the two countries early next month. The so-called “Fast Lane arrangement” will be first applied between the Southeast Asian city-state and six Chinese provinces and municipalities - Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang - before being gradually expanded.
Chinese airlines resort to short-term debt for lifeline
>> Major Chinese airlines have been resorting to short-term financing to stay afloat after their revenues all but stopped amid travel restrictions aimed at containing the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, and their parent companies have issued an unprecedented RMB 90.5 billion (USD 12.7 billion) worth of short-term notes since January.
Hong Kong airport transit from June excludes mainland flights
>> Cathay Pacific Airways said on May 30 that the reopening of transit services for passengers at Hong Kong International Airport from June 1 will not include those traveling to and from mainland China. Transit through the airport has been barred since March 25 as part of measures taken to help control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
