=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2005/02/21/financial/= f082255S49.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, February 21, 2005 (AP) China Expected to Approve Private Airline (02-21) 08:22 PST SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- China's aviation regulator is expected to issue a license soon to Okay Airways Co., making it the first private airline authorized to operate on the mainland, state media reported Monday. Okay Airways is based out of Binhai International Airport in Tianjin, a city of 10 million people about 60 miles southeast of Beijing, although its headquarters is in the capital. After receiving a license from the Civil Aviation Administration of Chin= a, Okay Airways was expected to begin services in early March, the state-run newspaper China Daily reported. China began easing controls on private investment in airlines in early 2004. Earlier reports said Okay would start out operating six Boeing 737 aircraft. Okay Airways was expected to mainly operate air cargo and express services, passenger charter flights and ground distribution services, it said. The airline intends to offer low-cost services with greater flexibility than China's larger state-run carriers, the report said. Three other airlines are expected to follow Okay as private carriers: Shanghai-based Spring International Airlines; Eagle Airlines, based in the southwestern city of Chengdu and Huaxia Airlines in northwestern China's Gansu province. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 AP