Indonesian budget airline Lion Air says it will set up affiliates in Australia and Thailand, fulfilling plans it announced last year to develop a franchise business like that of Singaporean rival Tiger Airways. Lion has agreed to buy 49% of an unnamed Australian company, even though Australia permits wholly foreign-owned carriers to fly domestically, as Tiger does. The joint firm will fly six aircraft under the title Lion Air Australia, while the Thai operation will be Lion Air Thailand and have four aircraft.

Consolidation of China’s second- and third-largest airlines has become increasingly probable after minority shareholders in China Eastern rejected a proposal for Singapore Airlines and a Singaporean state investment fund to buy into the struggling carrier. The shareholder vote, itself a landmark in Chinese corporate history, has opened the way for the parent of second-ranked carrier Air China to go ahead with its proposed bid for 24%-30% of China Eastern.

BEIJING - China's first lunar probe, Chang'e 1, will face its next challenge Feb. 21, when an eclipse will leave it without solar power for 5.5 hours and freeze its systems at extremely low temperatures.