HNA Group is the most acquisitive Chinese conglomerate in China. Through acquisitions, the group quadrupled its size and made its debut on the Fortune 500 list as the world’s 464th biggest firm in terms of revenue. And it aims higher: becoming one of the top 10 by 2025 with holdings of $5–6 trillion in assets—more than double the assets held today by JPMorgan, the biggest bank in the United States. What is its business model like? How did the Group, which started as a small regional airline company in China’s southernmost island, with only two jets, make it? What are the risks behind the buying spree?
Flying High: China’s Aviation Industry is Becoming a Global Force
Seven years ago, around 70% of passengers in US-China air trips were American. But today, more than 50% of travelers are Chinese. Flying used to be a luxury mode for travel in China, but now is for the masses. Data shows that by 2029 China will overtake the US as the world’s largest passenger market. The increasing passenger demand has not only brought Chinese airlines big successes in the past decade but also some real challenges like lengthy delays and poor service. In fact, Chinese airlines are struggling to keep up with growth in demand, and compared to foreign counterparts, they are not as global nor as profitable as they should be.
Rolls-Royce in China: Riding on China’s Growth
Patrick Horgan, Regional Director, North-East Asia, on how Rolls-Royce diversified in China. Unknown to many, China’s engagement with Rolls-Royce, the iconic British multinational company, goes back nearly a century. In 1919 the first airmail service between Beijing and Tianjin was powered by Rolls-Royce engines on a Handley Page aircraft. In 1963, Rolls-Royce sold Dart engines […]
Holding Up an Airline
The peculiar problem of pilot scarcity in China might be resolved with simple economics. From 1968 to 1973 US commercial airliners were skyjacked nearly once a week disrupting the aviation system.[1] Increased security measures eventually reduced such events to a rarity; but in China there is a different kind of hold-up problem disrupting airlines and […]
Invisible Hand Revealed: Helping out the Competition
Why did Boeing buy back used Airbus planes from China Eastern Airlines?
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