Embattled Hong Kong Express names new CEO from Africa-based airline

Budget carrier Hong Kong Express took its latest step to bolster its leadership amid a company shake-up by naming the head of a young Ghana-based airline backed by troubled Chinese conglomerate HNA Group to take the helm. The CEO and co-chairman of small-scale Africa World Airlines, Michael Luo Cheng, overseeing a fleet of six planes, was appointed with immediate effect as chief executive officer, the company announced Friday. Luo will be responsible for the airline’s overall direction and strategy, playing a key part in its investments and operational decisions. The move came as the budget carrier serves a punishment meted out by Hong Kong’s aviation regulator for cancelling flights during a major Chinese public holiday last September. Luo would monitor day-to-day business, which would be led by company president Li Dianchun, who was poached from Hong Kong Airlines. Zhong Guosong would remain executive chairman and overlap with Cheng in a number of duties.<br/>