Charter air service takes off

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 ◆ Charter air service takes off

The Shandong Rainbow Business Aircraft Co was officially established recently.

One subsidiary under Shandong Airlines, the new company will offer chartered planes for business, tourism and utility services in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and adjacent countries, said Bai Weisan, the new company's chairman.

The company now has four CRJ-200 airplanes and will acquire another four luxury airplanes -- Challenger 604s -- in the coming years. Bai said his company signed a contract last year with Bombardier Company of Canada to buy the Challenger 604s. The first airplane will be delivered on March 8.

"The charter service, which is popular in developed countries, is still young in China," Bai said.

In China, only Bai's company and the Deer Jet Co under Hainan Airlines provide such services at present.

Ni Li, a State Information Centre economist, said more than 90 per cent of the world's top 500 companies use chartered airplanes to improve their business efficiency. Now, many of the top 500 companies have established subsidiaries in China.

"This means the demand for chartered airplanes will surge in the future," he said.

Domestic companies with strong financial strength are also considering using chartered planes to improve their efficiency.