Privately-run Chinese carrier Juneyao Airlines will start preparing for its initial public offering (IPO) later this year, raising as much as 2 billion yuan (US$293 million), a senior executive at its parent firm said on Nov. 5.

The carrier had not decided the venue of the IPO but mainland China and Hong Kong listings were both among the options, Wang Junhao, president of Juneyao Group, told Reuters on the sidelines of an event.

"We have been considering going public for quite sometime as it could be a big help for our future development," said Wang.

He added that Juneyao also wanted to bring in strategic investors, preferably overseas carriers with extensive international routes, but declined to name potential partners.

The Shanghai-based carrier has a fleet of 14 A320 planes and Wang said they have yet to take delivery of several previously ordered planes. No new aircraft order is on the agenda now.

China's air travel market has resumed its normal growth patten this year, rebounding strongly from a sharper-than-expected downturn in 2008 as Beijing's aggressive economic stimulus plans lifted consumer confidence.

The country's three biggest carriers, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines have all returned to profitability in the third quarter.

Wang said he expected Juneyao to book between 50 million yuan and 60 million yuan in profit this year, up sharply from roughly 10 million yuan in 2008, but did not specify whether it was net profit or operating profit.

Juneyao, which only flies domestic routes so far, has got regulatory approval to fly to Hong Kong and other southeast Asian countries. Service is scheduled to begin early next year.

"We will not rush into long-haul international routes in a hurry. We will go step by step," he said.

Photograph: An Airbus A320 aircraft of Juneyao Airlines was about to land at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Aug. 18, 2007. Photo by CARNOC.com message board member - henryike.