Grand China Airlines launches

Grand China Airlines was created Thursday after the merger of four carriers including Hainan Airlines. It's the country's fourth largest aviation group, following Air China, China Southern and China Eastern.

The move is designed to create greater competition for the other top three players in the booming domestic market. Its first flight will take off on Friday, and it plans to add flights gradually ahead of next year's Beijing Olympic Games.

At the opening ceremony in Beijing, the chairman of Hainan Airlines, Chen Feng, said the total assets of the new aviation group will exceed 40 billion yuan. Its headquarters will be located in Haikou, the capital of southern Hainan Province, while operations will be based in Beijing. Preparations for the new carrier started in 2004 by consolidating the operations of Hainan, Xinhua, Chang'an and Shanxi Airlines.