The May Day holiday should be the golden season of the aviation industry. The airport is crowded with people and flights are full. Major airlines are ready to make a big profit. However, when other airlines "snatched" the May Day passenger flow, Xingfu Airlines unexpectedly "stopped" and was revealed to have cancelled all flights before May Day.

Several passengers told Eye of the Storm that they had booked their tickets for April 29 or May Day holiday, but were suddenly notified to cancel the flight. As for whether the refund can be made and the specific refund date, they are still waiting for a reply. A Happy Air employee told Eye of the Storm that the news of all flights being grounded is true. This news was like a giant ship suddenly broke down during its voyage, leaving not only a full cabin of shocked passengers and endless questions, but also made the employees in the storm of wage arrears even more confused.

01 The pilot delivers takeaway due to arrears of wages: "No flights in four years, and his youth is abandoned."

In the winter at 3 a.m., the whole city was still sleeping, but Zhu Sheng had already put on his helmet, rode an electric bike, and shuttled through the streets. Once upon a time, he was a pilot, looking down at all living beings from a height of 30,000 feet. Now, he is running around the ground, giving takeaways after work, for the livelihood of the whole family.

For four years, Zhu Sheng did not fly again, although the flight license is still valid. The qualifications of Xingfu Airlines models have been delayed and various trainings have gradually stagnated.

"Youth is abandoned, and the enthusiasm for flying is gradually exhausted." Zhu Sheng described his four years of life like this. Since June last year, his salary has been like a rock and no news. What is even more sad is that social security, provident fund, and five insurances and one fund have been closed for three years. This airline, headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi, once had more than 1,000 employees, but is now in a financial dilemma. Shareholders are shirking each other and employees' salary issues are kicked around like balls.

Zhu Sheng told "Eye of the Storm" that his salary was paid in full at first, but later he only paid a portion of it. Later, he did not pay a penny for several months, and the provident fund and social security was not paid. So far, his salary has not been paid for a year. Without a fixed income and basic social security, he had to rely on various part-time jobs to support his family. He often delivered food all night long, sometimes he worked as a tutor and sometimes went to Didi, just to supplement his family income. Sometimes he could earn seven or eight thousand a month, and two or three thousand a month.

Xingfu Airlines is not a listed company and does not actively disclose financial data. In September 2015, China Eastern Airlines listed and transferred shares of Xingfu Airlines on the Beijing Property Exchange. At that time, Xingfu Airlines' operating data was disclosed to the public for the first time. In 2014, its operating loss was 214 million yuan and its net loss was 152 million yuan, and its debt-to-asset ratio reached 110%. By July 2015, the debt-to-asset ratio increased to 118%.

In recent years, many of Zhu Sheng's colleagues have left to find another place, but he still insists on working. He said: "I have little flight experience, and the civil aviation market is already saturated today, and all airlines are overcrowded. There is no shortage of people at all. The label of Happy Air pilots also restricts themselves from going out."

Like Zhu Sheng, Sui Bo, the former Happiness Air staff member, has also embarked on a similar path. He revealed to "Eye of the Storm" that a captain who once earned one million yuan per year has now joined Didi. The elites in the cockpit used to have to use the fragments of get off work to drive through the bustling traffic and become part-time drivers. Sui Bo said that his extra income of 1,000 yuan per month was not much, but it became the key to subsidizing household income.

In the conversation with "Eye of the Storm", Sui Bo's voice was exhausted and helpless: "In order to support his family, we colleagues are all showing their magical powers. Some deliver food, some run to Didi, and some simply find another way out. Those young colleagues born in the 2000s who have just graduated basically rely on their families to make a living."

Sui Bo smiled bitterly and said, "The company has no money. The contract of the leader expired in June this year. It is said that he may transfer to other companies. The personal problems of us ordinary employees are kicked around like balls, and we don't know where the future is."

As the company's contact person, Sui Bo's mobile phone became the "hotline" of debt collection phone calls. He explained helplessly: "Everyone basically carries mortgages and car loans. Now the company cannot pay wages. Debt collection text messages are one by one, reminding the company's employees that their debts have been overdue for a long time. However, if you don't have a salary, what can you use to pay back these debts?"

Regarding the issue of Happy Airlines canceling all flights and wages before May 1st, "Eye of the Storm" called Happy Airlines, and a customer service staff member responded: "The customer service center only operates on passenger ticket business and cannot reply after exceeding the scope of passenger ticket service."

02 Happy Airlines has been in turmoil for 17 years, "There is news that it is holding a meeting to study the resumption of flights"

Once upon a time, Xingfu Airlines was the "vanguard" of domestic regional aviation and shouldered the glorious mission of commercializing the Xinzhou 60 aircraft. At its peak, 25 new boats and 60 planes flew across the country, reaching Mohe in the north, reaching Karamay in the west, and reaching Changsha and Fuzhou in the south, with unlimited scenery.

However, the former "proud son of heaven" is now deeply trapped in the quagmire and the business is difficult. There are very few new boat 60s that can operate normally, and a few of the five leased Boeing aircraft have been returned. To make matters worse, the employees' salaries have been delayed...

Xingfu Airlines has dual identity attributes - domestic civil aircraft operators and Xi'an local airlines. In the following decade, the company's control rights were changed several times until it was finally acquired by Xi'an State-owned Assets, becoming the only local airline in Xi'an. A Xingfu Airlines employee told Eye of the Storm: "There is no official notice or official explanation, only the news circulating in the market." In fact, the dark clouds of the suspension have long been shrouded inside Xingfu Airlines.

According to Sui Bo, "The company has studied the decision to suspend operations many times. However, no leader is willing to take responsibility, so the matter is put on hold." Suspension will have a huge impact, both in the short term and in the long term. Especially after three months of grounding, according to regulations, Happiness Airlines' operating qualification certificate may be revoked, which is undoubtedly a fatal blow to an airline. "It is equivalent to directly revoking your qualification certificate. It is difficult to apply for it again." Sui Bo added.

Employees of Happy Air said that the upper level is pasting the current issue of wage arrears and avoiding deep-seated contradictions. Another employee revealed to "Eye of the Storm": "Internal news said that the meeting was being held to study the resumption of the flight, and a working group would come to the company after the May Day holiday."

From the "cloud" to the "quagmire", the fall trajectory of Xingfu Airlines is a cruel portrayal of small and medium-sized aviation enterprises struggling to survive in the impact of high-speed rail and industry reshuffle. According to Interface News, there were previous opinions in the industry that the Xinzhou 60 aircraft has low utilization rate, high failure rate, and low market acceptance, so Xingfu Aviation's cost remains high and it is difficult to increase its income. Not only that, regional aviation has a long investment return cycle and heavy operating burden.

Taking the latest data as an example, flight manager DAST statistics show that from April 1 to April 27 this year, the utilization rate of three Boeing 737-800 narrow-body aircraft of Xingfu Airlines was 4.53 hours/day, while the utilization rate of three Xinzhou 60 regional aircraft was only 1.37 hours/day. In addition, the average age of the three new boats and 60 aircraft has reached 15.4 years. As the years increase, the cost of aircraft maintenance will usually increase.

Overall, in the four months since 2025, the cancellation rate of Xingfu Airlines has increased month by month. Data provided by the flight manager to Interface News showed that from January to April, the cancellation rates of Xingfu Airlines reached 7.82%, 14.78%, 17.31% and 28.57% respectively.

In addition, Xingfu Airlines' business problems have long been traced. According to the information disclosed by Aiqicha, the major shareholder of Xingfu Airlines is Xingfu Aokai Airlines Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. There are 189 judicial cases involved in Xingfu Airlines, and 66.67% of the cases are labor disputes and personnel disputes.

The judgment disclosed by the China Judgment Documents Network shows that in 2023, Li, who served as the Party Secretary and Discipline Inspection Commission of Xingfu Airlines, asked Xingfu Airlines for the performance award that was not issued in 2019 and the performance award for the first quarter of 2020 totaling 108,000 yuan. The judgment shows that due to insufficient evidence of some of Li Hongliang's lawsuits, Xingfu Airlines paid Li Hongliang a performance salary of 60,000 yuan from January to March 2020 within ten days after the judgment took effect.

(Zhu Sheng and Sui Bo are pseudonyms)