East Star Airlines suspends services...

[AA 1818]

Authorities ordered a private Chinese airline to suspend its operations Sunday because of debts owed to General Electric Co.'s aviation subsidiary, amid a travel slump caused by global economic turmoil.

East Star Airlines, based in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, was told to halt flights as of Sunday, the city government said in a statement.

No one at the airline was available for comment Sunday, according to an operator who answered calls to the company's general inquiry line. A woman who answered the phone at the airline's ticket sales office confirmed that flights have stopped, but said she did not have details. No mention of the order was made on its Web site.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Chines...-14642950.html

That is a hard hit for Wuhan, yet sadly not expected. In all reality - I was beginning to wonder about China. Just as many airlines opened there during the boom years, and I was just thinking that it was only a matter of time prior to some closings. Sad to see some of these guys go...