Chinese start-up carrier Fuzhou Airlines expects to make its inaugural flight on October 1, to compete against Xiamen Airlines (MF), which has a 50 percent market share in Fuzhou.

Fuzhou Airlines is a joint venture among Hainan Airlines (HU), Fuzhou State-owned Assets Investment Holdings Ltd., Century Golden Resources Group and Ningbo Ruitong Network Technology Co., Ltd. Hainan Airlines holds 60% stake in the joint venture with an investment of 1.2 billion yuan.

Fuzhou Airlines will be based at Fuzhou Changle International Airport (FOC), which is the only airport among the Chinese airports handling more than 5 million passengers with just one base airline - Xiamen Airlines. Fuzhou airport is now capable of handing 13 million passengers after finishing its expansion last year.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has officially given the green light to the launch of Fuzhou Airlines in early 2014. According to its planning, the airline is going to apply for its air operator's certificate (AOC) in the end of April and commence operations in October.

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