Okay Airways (BK, Tianjin) is courting foreign carriers over their interest in acquiring equity in the privately-held Chinese carrier.
President Li Zongling told Reuters that the carrier was looking for a "reputable" foreign operator to acquire at least 10%+ in equity. Chinese law does, however, cap foreign ownership of local carriers at 25%.
As such, talks have thus far been held with unspecified European and Asian firms, he said, adding that Okay is also open to Chinese firms, both state-controlled and privately-held, joining its shareholding.
He reaffirmed Okay Airways' previously announced plan to go public between 2020 and 2021 with proceeds to be used to bolster its Beijing/Tianjin dual hub.
Although Li sees limited benefit in joining an alliance at present, he did confirm Okay is in talks with a Southeast Asian carrier to set up a joint venture company in the region. Once up and running, the JV would enable both sides to boost their Asian network footprints.
Launched in 2004, Okay Airways operates a fleet of twenty B737-800s and five B737-900(ER)s. Its cargo fleet of one B737-300(F) and one B737-400(F) are currently inactive ahead of the launch of BrightStar Express Airlines (Tianjin) later this year.
The carrier also has orders with Boeing (BOE, Washington National) for B737-8s and 10s as well as five B787-9s. Operationally, it serves forty-four destinations across China, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines. The arrival of the B787s will facilitate Okay's expansion into the European and North American markets, Li added.
