China Eastern Airlines (CEA) and China Southern Airlines signed an agreement on Tuesday that will see them cooperate on ticket sales, aircraft and jet fuel purchasing, and ground handling, the South China Morning Post reported. While the deal involves no equity investment, analysts suggested that it could still complicate a bid by Air China’s parent, China National Aviation Holding Co., for a 30% stake in CEA. Citi’s Ally Ma said in a report that the agreement indicates that China Southern "is reluctant to be left alone" in the mooted restructuring of the domestic airline industry. However, both Li Fenghua, CEA chairman, and his counterpart at China Southern, Liu Shaoyong, were keen to stress that the arrangement was merely commercial cooperation.
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