Qingdao Airlines is set for a rebranding to Xinlong Air following plans to massively restructure its shareholding at the end of August. State-backed Qingdao Transport Development Group Co. announced plans to dispose of its 25 per cent stake for CNY251 million (US$40.4 million).

Meanwhile, the airlines’s other shareholder Shandong Airlines has also announced plans to sell off its 20 per cent stake to New Nanshan International Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of Xinlong’s largest shareholder, Nanshan Group.

Should the be approved, it would give Nanshan Group a 75 per cent stake in the carrier and effectively shifting its ownership structure from public/private to exclusively private.

Qingdao Airlines currently serves Changsha Datuopu, Chengdu, and Harbin with six A320-200s from its Qingdao hub.