China Southern and Hainan Airlines mull Virgin Australia stake

China Southern and Hainan Airlines are reported to be evaluating buying Air New Zealand’s stake in Virgin Australia, reports the Australian Financial Review. The move would make fiscal sense for either airline, since Chinese traffic is continuing to increase on Australian routes. China Southern would be able to claw back some of the traffic it lost after Qantas is previous partner former a joint venture with China Eastern. Hainan serves Australia seasonally, however, so its acquisition of a stake in Virgin Australia would be more risky. Virgin Australia has recently forecasted a weakening second half of this financial year and