Bradley Perrett covered China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. He is a Mandarin-speaking Australian.
Before joining Aviation Week in 2006 he was a macroeconomics, politics and aerospace journalist with Reuters. Perrett holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Macquarie University, Sydney. He left Aviation Week in 2020.
The provincial government of Qinghai, striving to create a hub for far-western China at Xining, will subsidize enhanced services operated by Xiamen Airlines. Xiamen has agreed to provide evening services at Xining Caogjiabao Airport and set up a night base. The carrier will increase its domestic services and “create regional international products,” which likely means connections between Xining and services to foreign destinations from the carrier’s main base at Xiamen, on the country’s southeast coast.
New Chinese carrier Qingdao Airlines will begin flying this month after taking delivery of its first aircraft, an Airbus A320. The A320, powered by CFM56 engines, is fitted with eight business and 144 economy seats, says Airbus, announcing the delivery of the aircraft, which Qingdao Airlines is leasing from China Aircraft Leasing Co. of Hong Kong. The carrier ordered A320ceo and 18A320neo aircraft last year, but deliveries will not begin until 2016. It planned at the time to begin services this year with leased aircraft.
The maintenance facility that Gulfstream and HNA Group run at Beijing airport should more than double in capacity over the next two years, says Mark Burns, Gulfstream president for product support. The Beijing operation, with about 40 people now, can work on three to four aircraft at a time, says Burns. Within two years, it should have about 100 people working on eight to 10 at a time.
