UEA gets a 200m-yuan lifeline

China's aviation industry is on a roller coaster ride due to the snowballing economic crisis, but the path has turned steeper for its private airline companies.

United Eagle Airlines (UEA), a debt-ridden private carrier based in Sichuan province, received a 200-million-yuan capital injection from State-owned Sichuan Airlines on Tuesday. The cash infusion has allowed Sichuan Airlines to become United Eagle's controlling shareholder, with a 76 percent stake.

United Eagle has become the first private carrier to be taken over by its State-owned counterpart since the global economic downturn deepened.