Hainan Airlines currently operates flights to over 110 cities worldwide from its 11 bases in China.

According to recent reports in Chinese media, Hainan Airlines may be about to buy, using cash and the proceeds from issuing new shares, some "major" assets - including some domestic Chinese airlines and a piece of an overseas hotel operator - from its parent company HNA Group,

It's theorized this sale is happening because of iffy performance of these assets, and because HNA Group thinks Hainan Airlines is too big to fail, and would be bailed out by the Chinese government if necessary.

Let's hope that's true - but if it's not, failure of Hainan Airlines, or even drastic service cutbacks, would be a severe blow to global destinations that depend on a strong Chinese outbound tourism market.