Spring Airlines, China's low-cost carrier, targets an IPO in the first half of 2012.

China's?only low-cost carrier Spring Airlines eyes a Shanghai initial public offering by the first half of next year to fund its fleet expansion drive.

Spring Air Chairman Wang Zhenghua yesterday also revealed that the airline's expansion drive would slow down because of a shortage of pilots in the world's fastest growing aviation market.

As a result the airline's previous plan to grow its fleet from 24 to 100 aircraft has been revised downwards to a total of between 50 and 60 planes by 2015.

Wang denied foreign media reports that Spring Air wanted to raise about 8 billion yuan (US$1.25 billion) through the IPO, adding that the company was still preparing the listing application.

During the first half of this year, Spring Air made 1.9 billion yuan in revenue, gaining more than 20 percent from a year earlier, including 160 million yuan in profit. Wang expected an annual drop in profit for the second half of this year.

Zhang Wu'an, a spokesman at Spring Air, said they were still looking for a Japanese partner to aid its bid to enter that country's market.