Philippe Capron, who had been in the running to take over at the head of Air France-KLM, has taken himself out of consideration for the job and criticised the French state’s intervention in the process. His withdrawal is the latest setback for the struggling airline which has been trying to find a new boss to replace Jean-Marc Janaillac, who quit in May after putting his job on the line in an effort to end strikes over pay. Janaillac’s resignation in the face of union opposition has reignited concerns about Air France-KLM’s ability to reform the French arm of its business. Its share price has dropped almost 50% so far this year. KLM and shareholders Delta and China Eastern Airlines, have expressed concern, partly because of Capron's lack of aviation experience. <br/>
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Kenya Airways has frozen the sale of its assets and will instead focus on growing sale of airline tickets to generate enough cash to meet its obligations. Disposal of some of its assets had formed part of its recovery plan, which was in addition to the restructuring concluded last year and which reduced the stock of debt as creditors converted loans into equity. The sale of substantial chunks of land in Embakasi had earned the airline billions and injected cash in its business that has been critical to enable it meet its obligations in the face of losses the airline has been reporting. Kenya Airways CE Sebastian Mikosz said the airline had stopped sale of assets such as buildings and land, as they could come in handy while seeking credit from financial institutions. <br/>
China Southern Airlines will invest CNY10b (US$1.5b) in Xiongan, the new city spearheaded by Chinese president Xi Jinping that aspires to be a model for China’s future urban development. The airline operator will allocate CNY2.5b in cash and CNY7.5b in tangible assets to set up a subsidiary called China Southern Airline Xiongan in the city, to provide flight services and sales of aviation materials, according to a stock exchange filing Friday. Xiongan, which Jinping designated just over a year ago, wants to be a high-tech city teeming with leading-edge companies and world-class transportation. The city has attracted investment -- both for business opportunities and political reasons -- from some of China’s largest companies. <br/>