() () ('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 .
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 .
is taking off in
Beijing Capital International Airport (Dec 2004 photo)]]
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.
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).
- 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).
Air China's fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of
August 2005 ):
In March 2006, Air China fleet age is 8.3 years old.
Air China signed agreements with :
- Boeing on August 8 2005 for the purchase of 15 Boeing 787-8 aircraft for delivery from mid-2008 to end 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.
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 .
See Also: List of Chinese companies
