Zhejiang's first private airline IPO project is here: Loong Air begins its listing guidance.
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On November 17, Zhejiang Loong Airlines Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Loong Airlines") initiated A-share IPO counseling.
Loong Airlines was established in 2011. Its controlling shareholder is Zhejiang Loong Group Co., Ltd., and the actual controller is Liu Qihong.
This is a rare A-share listing project for a private airline in recent years.
Currently, there are four private airlines listed on the A-shares: Spring Airlines (601021.SH), Juneyao Airlines (603885.SH), China Express Airlines (002928.SZ), and Hainan Airlines Holding (600221.SH), which were respectively listed in 2015, 2015, 2018, and 1999.
From a regional perspective, Loong Airlines is currently the only local private airline in Zhejiang and has received strong support from the local government.
In 2021, the Zhejiang Province Industrial Fund provided targeted support for the construction of the Loong Airlines Innovative Intelligent Maintenance Guarantee Main Base Industrial Project through direct investment.
At present, Loong Airlines has opened nearly 600 domestic and international passenger and cargo routes, covering the whole country and reaching over 170 cities in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and other Belt and Road countries and regions.
However, the current environment for airlines is not very favorable. The four private airlines listed on the A-shares are experiencing sluggish performance growth. In the first three quarters of 2025, Spring Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, China Express Airlines, and Hainan Airlines Holding had year-on-year revenue growth of 4.98%, -0.06%, 11.25%, and 3.3%, respectively.
This is a result of overall pressure on the industry. In the third quarter of 2025, the domestic number of flights and passengers only increased by 2% and 2.84% year-on-year, respectively.
However, the decline in oil prices has, to some extent, increased profit margins for many airlines. In the first three quarters of 2025, the average price of aviation kerosene was $85.85 per barrel, down more than 10% from the same period last year.
Air China had previously calculated in 2024 that, assuming all other variables remain unchanged, a 5% drop in average aviation fuel price would reduce its fuel costs by 2.686 billion yuan.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Zhongtai Securities believes that both oil prices and exchange rates are experiencing dual positive factors, with the fourth quarter showing a trend of "off-season being not so slow," expecting a significant reduction in losses in the aviation industry in Q4 2025, and profit elasticity likely to be unleashed in 2026.
This could all bring more growth space for Loong Airlines' performance.
As Loong Airlines' counseling institution, Huatai United plans to complete the counseling in April next year, at which time it is expected to take the first step towards filing for an IPO.
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