Air China

Not to be confused with China Airlines.

Air China () () (Chinese: 中国国际航空公司, Pinyin: Zhōngguó Guójì Hángkōng Gōngsī, literally "Chinese International Aviation Company", abbreviated 国航) is the People's Republic of China's state owned and largest commercial airline and is based in Beijing. It is the flag carrier and the only airline to fly the PRC national flag on its entire fleet. Its logo is a phoenix in the form of the abbreviation VIP. Its main base is Beijing Capital International Airport.

History

Air China was established and started operations on 1 July 1988. Formerly the Beijing-based international carrier division of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), it was renamed in 1988, when the government decided to split the operating divisions of CAAC into separate airlines, each with its own name. Further deregulation of the aviation business took place in 1994, enabling foreign investment in airports and facilitating the import of aircraft built outside mainland China. By 1996 the country had 108 airports with scheduled airline services and around 30 different airlines. On 28 October 2002, Air China consolidated with China National Aviation Corporation and China Southwest Airlines. During 2004 as part of a consolidation of the Chinese aviation industry Air China absorbed Zhejiang Airlines (subsidiary of CNAC). On 15 December 2004 the company listed its shares on the Hong Kong and London Stock Exchanges. Air China has shareholdings in Air China Cargo (51%), Air Macau (51%) and also holds majority shares of Shandong Airlines.

In March 2005, Air China was in talks with Swire Group, the largest shareholder of Cathay Pacific, for merger talks about Air China acquiring Cathay Pacific, and Cathay Pacific acquiring a majority stake of Dragonair, in return for the Swire Group becoming the largest individual shareholder of Air China's parent company. However, Air China and Cathay Pacific have announced that they won't merge together in the future and Swire is remaining to be the largest shareholder of Cathay Pacific. Air China will cooperate with Cathay Pacific by codesharing flights in the late 2005. Also, Air China has announced that it will partner with Asia Miles in the second-half of 2005.

On May 22 2006, Air China signed an agreement with Lufthansa and was officially invited to join Star Alliance.

Air China is owned by China National Aviation Holding Company (CNAH)(69%), public floatation (21%) and Cathay Pacific (10%). It has 23,000 employees (at January 2005).

Incidents and accidents

On September 11, 2001, an Air China Boeing 747 from Beijing to San Francisco was escorted by two U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagles onto the north runway at Vancouver International Airport during Operation Yellow Ribbon, purely due to communication problems.

On April 15, 2002, Flight 129, a Boeing 767-200ER jet from Beijing to Busan, crashed into a hill while trying to land at Gimhae International Airport during inclement weather, killing 128 of the 166 people on board. To date, this has been Air China's lone blemish in its safety record.

On 13 March 2005, the right main gear wheels of an Air China Boeing 747-400 at LAX, sank deeply into asphalt at the edge of the taxiway as it turned on to runway 25R for take-off. The aircraft was immobilised and the runway had to be closed for 13 hours before the aircraft could be pulled free (ref: Flight International, July 2005).

Destinations

Fleet

Air China's fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2005):

19 Airbus A319-100 further 3 on order
5 Airbus A320-200
6 Airbus A340-300
41 Boeing 737-300 (2 are used for training only)
6 Boeing 737-600
9 Boeing 737-700 (further 3 on order)
17 Boeing 737-800 (further 2 on order)
4 Boeing 747-200F
4 Boeing 747-400
8 Boeing 747-400M
1 Boeing 747-400F (further 2 on order)
13 Boeing 757-200
5 Boeing 767-200ER
4 Boeing 767-300
5 Boeing 767-300ER
10 Boeing 777-200
1 Gulfstream IV
1 Learjet 45

In May 2006, Air China fleet age is 8.4 years old.

Air China signed agreements with :

Airbus on July 21 2005 for the purchase of 20 Trent 700 powered Airbus A330-200 aircraft, scheduled for delivery from May 2006.

Boeing on August 8 2005 for the purchase of 15 Boeing 787-8 aircraft for delivery from mid-2008 to end 2010.

Airbus on June 2006 for the purchase of 24 A320s. These aircraft are to be delivered from 2007 to 2010.

While Boeing's Orders page for 2006 reflects this order, there have been no formal news/press releases indicating the following:

Boeing on January 17 2006 for the purchase of 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft for delivery from end 2007 to end 2008.

Former Fleet

A couple of Lockheed Hercules aircraft superseded Antonov 12s in the freighter role. Four British Aerospace 146 "Whisperjet" passenger aircraft were returned to the United Kingdom during 2003 and are parked at Southend Airport in Essex.

External links

Airlines of China | Asia Miles