=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/2003/10/15/f= inancial0758EDT0024.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, October 15, 2003 (AP) China approves Cathay Pacific flights to Beijing; start expected end of year MARGARET WONG, Associated Press Writer (10-15) 04:58 PDT HONG KONG (AP) -- Chinese authorities have cleared Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways to f= ly directly to Beijing, a spokeswoman said Wednesday, after the airline's partner-turned-rival Dragonair failed to block the bid. China's Civil Aviation Administration last week granted Cathay a permit = to operate between Beijing and Hong Kong, said company spokeswoman Lisa Wong. Hong Kong's Air Transport Licensing Authority ended an air rights dispute between Cathay and Dragonair by ruling in April that Cathay could fly to three mainland cities -- Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen. Dragonair had challenged Cathay's bid for the flights. Cathay expects to start running three passenger flights a week to the Chinese capital later this year, Wong said. The venture would give Cathay a relatively small share of the market, in which Dragonair and mainland Chinese airlines run more than 100 Hong Kong-Beijing flights a week. "It's a small but important step for us," Wong said. Cathay had hoped for 21 flights a week, but existing agreements between Hong Kong and the mainland only allow the company to operate three a week to Beijing, she said. The company wants a much larger stake in mainland China's booming market, said another spokeswoman, Maria Yu. "China's travel industry is developing very quickly and we hope we can be given further rights to operate more flights to match market demand," Yu said. Cathay spokeswoman Wong said Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials we= re discussing the company's applications for operating services to Shanghai and Xiamen. Although the former British colony of Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule six years ago, flights to the mainland operate under an aviation agreement resembling those between separate countries. Cathay, which owns a minority stake in Dragonair, has not flown into mainland China since turning over its routes to Dragonair in the early 1990s. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP