Air China
中国国际航空公司
Zhōngguó Guójì Hángkōng Gōngsī

IATA CA ICAO CCA Callsign AIR CHINA
Founded	1988
Hubs	Beijing Capital International Airport Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Focus cities	Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Tianjin Binhai International Airport Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Phoenix Miles
Airport lounge	VIP Lounge
Alliance	Star Alliance
Subsidiaries	Air China Cargo Air Macau Beijing Airlines Dalian Airlines Shandong Airlines Shenzhen Airlines Tibet Airlines
Fleet size	293
Destinations	185
Parent company	China National Aviation Corporation
Headquarters	Beijing Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone Shunyi District, Beijing, People's Republic of China
Key people	Wang Changshun, Chairman Cai Jianjiang, President
Website	airchina.com

Air China Limited (SEHK: 0753, LSE: AIRC, SSE: 601111) (simplified Chinese: 中国国际航空公司; traditional Chinese: 中國國際航空公司; pinyin: Zhōngguó Guójì Hángkōng Gōngsī; literally "China International Airlines Company", abbreviated 国航) is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People's Republic of China, with its headquarters in Shunyi District, Beijing.

Air China's flight operations are based out of Beijing Capital International Airport and is the world's 10th largest airline by fleet size. The airline ranked behind its main competitors China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines in terms of total passengers carried.^[1]

The enterprise logo of Air China consists of an artistic phoenix pattern, the name of the airline written in calligraphy by former national leader Deng Xiaoping, and “AIR CHINA” in English. The phoenix logo is also the artistic transfiguration of the word “VIP”. Air China is a member of the Star Alliance.

In 2010, Air China carried 60 million domestic and international passengers with an average load factor of 80%. The airline reported a net profit of 12 billion yuan (USD $1.83 billion) in 2010.^[2]

History and development [edit]

Air China was established on 1 July 1988 as a result of the Chinese government's late 1987 decision to split the operating divisions of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) into six separate airlines: Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, China Northern, China Southwest, and China Northwest.^[3] Air China was given chief responsibility for intercontinental flights and took over the CAAC's long haul aircraft (Boeing 747s, 767s, and 707s) and routes.

In January 2001, the former CAAC's ten airlines announced they had agreed on a merger plan,^[4] according to which Air China was to acquire China Southwest Airlines. Before the acquisition, Air China was the country's fourth largest domestic airline. The merger created a group with assets of 56 billion yuan (USD $8.63 billion), and a fleet of 118 aircraft.^[5] In October 2002, Air China consolidated with the China National Aviation Corporation and China Southwest Airlines.^[6]

On 15 December 2004, Air China was successfully listed on the Hong Kong and London Stock Exchanges. The airline also listed its shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on 18 August 2006.

In 2006, Air China signed an agreement to join the Star Alliance. It became a member of the alliance on 12 December 2007 alongside Shanghai Airlines.

In July 2009, Air China acquired $19.3 million of shares from its troubled subsidiary Air Macau, lifting its stake in the carrier from 51% to 80.9%.^[7] One month later, Air China spent HK$6.3 billion (USD $813 million) to raise its stake in Cathay Pacific from 17.5% to 29.99%, expanding its presence in Hong Kong.^[8]

In April 2010, Air China completed the increase of shareholdings in Shenzhen Airlines and became the controlling shareholder of Shenzhen Airlines, allowing Air China to further enhance its position in Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai as well as achieve a more balanced domestic network.^[9]

On 2 December 2010, Air China received Spain's highest tourism industry award, the "Plaque for Tourist Merit". Air China was the first foreign airline to receive the award, which is given to organisations and individuals contributing to the Spanish tourism industry.^[10]

On 23 December 2010, Air China became the first Chinese airline to offer combined tickets that include domestic flights and shuttle bus services to nearby cities. The first combined flight-shuttle bus ticket connected Tianjin via shuttle bus with domestic flights passing through Beijing.^[11]

On 12 November 2011, Air China announced that it would be offering Wi-Fi internet service on board its aircraft from 15 November 2011, making it the first Chinese carrier to offer this service.^[12]

In 2012 Air China launched a Facebook campaign in collaboration with Asian restaurants in Sweden, where participants could check in using their smartphones and win a flight to Beijing.^[13]

On January 15, 2013, Air China announced that it will offer nonstop flights from Beijing, China to Houston using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft beginning July 11, 2013 pending approval from the US Department of Transportation.^[14]

Corporate affairs [edit]

Air China HQ Building

The entity Air China Limited was registered on 2013, and its shares began trading in Hong Kong and London on December 15, 2004. Originally the airline corporate entity was Air China International, which was founded 2002 Air China International incorporated China Southwest Airlines and the air transportation services of the China National Aviation Company, becoming a new entity.^[15]

The Air China HQ Building (S: 国航总部大楼, T: 國航總部大樓, P: Guó Háng Zǒngbù Dàlóu), the corporate headquarters, is located in Zone A of the Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone (S: 天竺空港工业区, T: 天竺空港工業區, P: Tiānzhú Kōng Gǎng Gōngyèqū) in Shunyi District, Beijing.^[15][16][17] The company registered office is on the ninth floor of the Blue Sky Mansion (S: 蓝天大厦, T: 藍天大廈, P: Lántiān Dàshà), also in Zone A of the Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone.^[18]

Destinations [edit]

  Mainland China

  Air China destinations

Air China's route network extends throughout Asia to the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America from its main hub at Beijing Capital International Airport. It also currently reaches a significant number of Asian, Australian and European destinations from Shanghai. Some international routes operate from Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Dubai, Hangzhou, Kunming, Nanning and Xiamen.

On 10 December 2006, Air China began serving its first South American destination, São Paulo (via Madrid). This was the airline's longest direct flight. The service was initiated with Boeing 767-300 aircraft, but due to increased demand, the service has been upgraded to the Airbus A330-200.

Air China introduced its new Airbus A330-300 aircraft long-haul operations beginning with services to Düsseldorf, Germany in summer 2011. These aircraft provided the same two-class cabin standard as the Airbus 330-200 except that the economy cabin had no seat-back entertainment system installed (with the exception of the first two economy rows which also had increased legroom). Düsseldorf is now the third German destination on the Air China network. The airline launched a new Beijing-Milan service on 15 June 2011, complementing the airline's existing Shanghai Pudong-Milan service. Deliveries of the carrier's 19 new Boeing 777-300ERs commenced in mid-2011, and Air China stated that the aircraft will form the "backbone of its future longhaul operations". The new Boeing 777-300ER will ultimately replace Boeing 747–400 on routes to U.S. destinations such as Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, but is expected to first enter service on flights to Paris from March 2012. The Boeing 777-300ER will replace all 747 service once sufficient numbers enter the fleet.^[19] Air China expanded its operations in India with a Beijing-Mumbai route begun in September 2011, while the existing Delhi route was upgraded to the A330.^[20] The airline also launched service to Mumbai from Chengdu on 2 May 2012.^[21] The airline announced that it plans to use the Boeing 777-300ER on one of its two daily Beijing-Los Angeles flights beginning 1 February 2012.^[22] Beginning in late-2012 to early 2013, the airline will replace the Boeing 747-400s currently servicing the New York and San Francisco routes with the Boeing 777-300ER.^[23]With the addition of the Boeing 777-300ERs on the US routes, Air China announced an increase of the Beijing-New York route, changing the flights from 7 to 11 flights a week by adding two new airlines to the route (CA989/990).^[24]

Codeshare agreements [edit]

Air China has codeshare agreements with the following airlines.^[25]

Fleet [edit]

Air China Boeing 747-400

Air China Boeing 777-300ER

Air China Boeing 777-200

Air China Airbus Airbus A340-300E

Air China Airbus A330-200

Air China Airbus A321-200

Air China Boeing 737-800

As of February 7, 2013, the Air China fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 6.6 years:^[30][31][32]

Retired [edit]

Phoenix Miles [edit]

Air China lounge (next to the bamboo) at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport, the airline's main hub

Phoenix Miles (Chinese: 鳳凰知音; pinyin: feng huang zhī yīn, literally "Best friends of Phoenix"), is the frequent flyer program of Air China. This is the first frequent flyer program launched in China. It was designed to reward frequent flyers traveling internationally and domestically with Air China and its partner airlines.^[35]

Members earn mileages for travel on Air China, its affiliated partner airlines and partner airlines. The companion card may be upgraded to VIP status. There are special redemption rates for VIP members – Gold card members and Platinum card Members.

• Silver card members (Star Alliance Silver): earn 25% mileage bonus on eligible flights.
• Gold card members (Star Alliance Gold): earn 25% mileage bonus on eligible flights.
• Platinum card members (Star Alliance Gold): earn 50% mileage bonus on eligible flights.

Cargo [edit]

Incidents and accidents [edit]

• 15 April 2002: Air China Flight 129, a Boeing 767-200ER from Beijing to Busan, South Korea, crashed into a hill while trying to land at Gimhae International Airport during inclement weather, killing 129 of the 166 people on board.^[36] This is Air China's first and only accident.^[37]

See also [edit]

	People's Republic of China portal
	Beijing portal
	Companies portal
	Aviation portal

• Aviation
• Aviation industry in the People's Republic of China
• List of airlines of the People's Republic of China
• List of airports in the People's Republic of China
• List of companies of the People's Republic of China
• Transportation in the People's Republic of China

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Air China

• Official website
• Beijing Airlines/Air China Business Jet
• Air China Inner Mongolia Division (Chinese (PRC))

Profiles [edit]

• Company profile Reuters
• Company profile Google Finance
• Company profile Yahoo! Finance

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