Avis China, the country's biggest car rental company, is keen to forge ties with domestic airlines to expand into more major airports, like a new one that will begin operations in Guangzhou this year.

The Shanghai-based company, a joint venture between Avis Rent A Car System Inc and Shanghai Automotive Industry Sales Corp, yesterday announced a partnership with China Eastern Airlines Co Ltd to expand its customer base.

Avis and its subsidiaries operate the world's second-largest general-use car rental business, providing services at more than 1,700 locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. It will do this by allowing customers to have "400 kilometers of credits" accumulated to their frequent flyer membership with China Eastern.

The company is also in talks with other domestic airlines like China Southern Airlines Co Ltd to spot potential customers among their frequent flyers, said Nigel White, general manager of Avis China.

But the firm faces obstacles in trying to expand its business in Chinese airports such as the unacceptability of international driving licenses in China. Industry insiders say the airport car rental business provides the major source of revenue for car hire companies worldwide.

"We'll try to talk with officials in China's central government and convince them of joining a treaty that recognizes international driving licenses among member countries," said White.

According to White, about half of the car rental business in Europe are done at airports and more than 70 percent of them take place at airports in the United States as airline passengers are the major source of business for car rental firms.

Besides the driving license issue, the bad traffic situation in China and the lack of road signs in English also deter arriving passengers from renting a car at the airports.

Company officials declined to reveal sales volume last year, only saying its revenue rose more than the average 20 percent growth in the market in China.

Avis, which now offers car rental services in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Suzhou, plans to expand into Beijing, Hangzhou and Nanjing by the end of the year. By 2007, the company expects to establish a presence in 50 cities in China.

(Shanghai Daily March 3, 2004)