News
China’s Joy Air suspends passenger flights
May 2nd 2025
Xi’an-based Joy Air ceased flying this week only days before China’s May Day holiday, underscoring the financial and operational challenges regional carriers face across the country, Yicai Global reports. Read More » Employees were told on April 27 that all Joy Air flights would be grounded at least for the rest of this month due to operational difficulties, Yicai wrote. Joy Air’s website shows all flights have been canceled for May 1 and online travel agencies show no availability beyond that date. China’s regional airlines face intense competition, not only from major carriers such as Air China and China Southern Airlines, but also from the country’s vast high-speed rail network. Frequently, regional airlines are competing with bullet trains, particularly on short-haul routes. In 2023, approximately 75% of all Mainland regional carriers were operating one flight a day and recording averaged passenger load factors six to seven percentage points lower than airlines flying major routes. Joy Air has had several changes of ownership since it was established in 2008. Its current controlling entity is the city government of Xi’an. When China Eastern Airlines transferred its holding out of Joy Air in September 2015, it reported the airline had an asset-liability ratio of 110% and booked a net loss of 152 million yuan (US$20.9 million) in 2014. At December 31, 2024, Joy Air had a fleet of three 737-800s and three Xian MA60 turboprops. It has ordered 50 COMAC C909s and 20 COMAC C919s. Joy Air also is a launch customer of the Xi’an MA700 turboprop, with 30 of the type on order.
