Jetstar Hong Kong (Hong Kong International) has moved to invite local Hong Kong-based investors to come onboard the project as a means of speeding up regulatory approval, which has seen the airline defer its launch date from June, to later this year owing to ongoing bureaucratic delays. The company - owned by China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) and Jetstar Airways (JQ, Melbourne Airport), a unit of Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) - lodged its application for an operating licence more than six months ago but has since been told by city officials that further setbacks could be assuaged should it find local investors, using Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International) and its shareholding as a point of reference. Analysts in the industry however, point to the delays as being a possible protectionist move by government to remove the threat to local carrier, Cathay Pacific. They claim that JetStar's establishment could set a dangerous precedent for other LCCs looking to open up a base at Hong Kong International.