Lex: Chinese airlines

The Chinese airline industry is finally emerging from the crisis after some stiff jabs in the ribs by regulators. In recent years, China's big airlines seemed set on thwarting Beijing's economic planners. They pursued aggressive debt-financed growth strategies, dabbled recklessly in derivatives, and received regular state bailouts. Lately they have been put on warning. As a result capital positions are, at last, under repair. Ben McLannahan analyses a sector emerging from the crisis in near-textbook fashion.