=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/05/23/f= inancial0902EDT0037.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, May 23, 2003 (AP) Dragonair challenges decision allowing Cathay Pacific to serve mainland Chi= na (05-23) 06:02 PDT HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong's No. 2 airline, Dragonair, said Friday it has challenged a ruling allowing rival Cathay Pacific Airways to fly lucrative routes to mainland China. For years, Dragonair has been the only Hong Kong-based carrier to serve the mainland and claims that the return of the bigger Cathay to the market will ruin its business. Hong Kong's Air Transport Licensing Authority heard a drawn-out and bitt= er dispute between the two carriers over air rights earlier this year. The authority ruled in April that Cathay could fly to the three mainland cities it wants to serve -- Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen. Dragonair is now seeking a judicial review of the ruling, spokeswoman Bevis Yiu said. The carrier's 47-page filing questioned whether the licensing authority had followed proper procedures in handling the case. Cathay, however, has not begun its flights to the mainland because it still needs further regulatory approval from mainland Chinese officials, including operating permits. Cathay owns a stake in Dragonair and the two have cooperated in the past by sharing passengers on routes that had no overlap. Cathay has served long-haul destinations and key Asian business centers, while Dragonair focused on the mainland and secondary Asian cities. But they became rivals recently when Dragonair started flying the lucrative Hong Kong-Taipei route in competition with Cathay. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP