Japan's Airdo, Solaseed Air seek to ride out pandemic through merger

Japanese regional airlines Airdo Co. and Solaseed Air Inc. said Monday they will set up a holding company in October 2022 to merge their operations, in a sign of accelerating industry consolidation after the coronavirus pandemic battered travel demand.As part of efforts to improve their financial standing, Airdo and Solaseed Air will try to reduce costs through joint aircraft maintenance and procurement of supplies.The two airlines also said they will raise 7 billion yen ($64 million) and 2.5 billion yen, respectively, in fresh capital, by issuing preferred shares to the state-backed Develo…READ FULL ARTICLE