Happiness Airlines Limited Company (referred to as Happiness Airlines) has canceled all flights before the May Day holiday. A financial source revealed, “The company has no money to operate flights, and employees’ salaries have only been paid up to June last year.”
According to reports from mainland media, Happiness Airlines has currently canceled all flights from April 28th to 30th. Some employees were informed not to report to work on the 28th. Employee Mr. Chen stated that their department did not receive any flight schedules, and the company did not provide a specific explanation.
A senior executive from Happiness Airlines, during an interview, mentioned, “We are temporarily halting flights for three days. Whether we will resume flight operations in the future will be discussed in a meeting tomorrow.”
A financial representative from Happiness Airlines informed Modern Express that the reason for halting flights is “the company doesn’t have enough funds to operate flights, and employees’ salaries have only been paid up to June last year.”
However, on the evening of April 27th, a senior executive from Happiness Airlines responded to Red Star News, stating, “We are temporarily halting flights for three days. Operational issues will be discussed and accurate information will be provided in a meeting on the 28th. From what I understand, the company will continue operations, and we are preparing to pay salaries to employees.”
Currently, the official website of Happiness Airlines shows no available tickets for booking.
For the past two years, Happiness Airlines has been entangled in legal disputes and faced court restrictions on high consumption.
In December 2024, Financial Whale reported that Happiness Airlines had 66 ongoing cases in 2024, with nearly half of them related to “labor disputes,” involving pilots, flight attendants, ground personnel, and other employees being owed wages.
Red Star News reported that Mr. Liu, an employee of Happiness Airlines, stated that the company currently owes him nearly 10 months of basic salary, over a year of social insurance, more than two years of housing fund, and pension contributions have not been paid. “Apart from these, there are heating fees, high-temperature fees, and who knows what other arrears.”
Ms. Wang, another employee of Happiness Airlines, mentioned, “Since 2020, the company has been irregularly paying salaries, sometimes with a gap of a month, sometimes two months. Initially, our hourly rate and basic salary were paid, but starting from 2021, the hourly pay has been delayed off and on.” Ms. Wang disclosed that currently, salaries are paid every few months or even half a year, and the situation varies for each employee. Longer delays are observed for senior employees.
In 2024, Happiness Airlines was twice subjected to restrictions on high consumption, with applications filed by Okay Airlines Limited Company and Tianjin Binhai International Airport Limited Company.
Established in 2008, Happiness Airlines is a regional airline in China jointly founded by China Aviation Industry Corporation and China Eastern Airlines. Initially focused on supporting the operation of domestic regional aircraft, in 2021, its main operational base was shifted from Tianjin to Xi’an, initiating an operation model of “combination of trunk and feeder routes.”
Happiness Airlines has undergone several changes in ownership. According to Tianyancha, it is currently wholly owned by Happiness Okay Airlines Enterprise Management Limited Company. Following equity penetration, the specific ownership structure includes Xi’an Aviation Aerospace Investment Corporation holding 65% stake, Tianjin Shuntai Investment Center holding 24%, Beijing Happiness Multitude Investment Management Co., Ltd. holding 6%, and Okay Airlines holding 5%.