Air China facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Air China
中国国际航空公司

Founded	1 July 1988; 36 years ago (1988-07-01)
Hubs	Beijing (Capital, Daxing) Chengdu (Shuangliu, Tianfu)
Secondary hubs	Shanghai–Pudong
Focus cities	Chongqing Dalian Hangzhou Hohhot Hong Kong Kunming Shenzhen Tianjin Wuhan
Frequent-flyer program	PhoenixMiles
Alliance	Star Alliance
Subsidiaries	Air China Cargo (51%) Air China Inner Mongolia (80%) Air Macau (66.9%) AMECO (75%) Beijing Airlines Cathay Pacific (22.8%) Dalian Airlines (80%) Shandong Airlines (22.8%) Shenzhen Airlines (51%) Tibet Airlines (31%)
Fleet size	499
Destinations	200
Parent company	Air China Group (53.46%) Cathay Pacific (18.13%)
Headquarters	Beijing Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone, Shunyi District, Beijing, China
Key people	Cai Jianjiang (President & CEO) Song Zhiyong (Chairman)
Employees	65,000 (2023)

Air China Limited is the main airline of the People's Republic of China. It is based in Shunyi, Beijing.

Air China's main airports are in Beijing and Chengdu. In 2017, the airline flew 102 million passengers. This included both flights within China and international trips. About 81% of their seats were filled on average. Air China joined the Star Alliance group of airlines in 2007.

History of Air China

How Air China Started

Air China Boeing 747SP at Zürich Airport in 1992

Air China began flying on July 1, 1988. This happened after the Chinese government decided to divide the big airline called Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC Airlines) into six smaller airlines. Air China was chosen to handle long flights between continents. It took over the large planes like Boeing 747s and 767s from CAAC.

In 2001, Air China merged with China Southwest Airlines. This made Air China the fourth largest airline in China at that time. The merger created a big company with many planes. In October 2002, Air China officially joined with China National Aviation Holding and China Southwest Airlines.

On December 15, 2004, Air China became a public company. Its shares were listed on the stock markets in Hong Kong and London. In 2006, Air China decided to join the Star Alliance. This is a large group of airlines that work together. Air China became a full member on December 12, 2007.

In July 2009, Air China bought more shares in its partner airline, Air Macau. This increased its ownership from 51% to 80.9%. A month later, Air China also increased its share in Cathay Pacific to 30%. This helped Air China grow its business in Hong Kong.

Recent Developments Since 2010

In April 2010, Air China took control of Shenzhen Airlines. This helped Air China become stronger in major cities like Beijing, Chengdu, and Shanghai. It also helped balance its flight network across China.

On December 2, 2010, Air China received a special award from Spain for its help in tourism. It was the first foreign airline to get this award. On December 23, 2010, Air China became the first Chinese airline to offer combined tickets. These tickets included both flights and bus services to nearby cities. For example, you could fly to Beijing and then take a bus to Tianjin.

Air China started offering free Wi-Fi on its planes on November 15, 2011. This made it the first Chinese airline to do so. However, passengers could only use Wi-Fi on tablets and laptops, not on smartphones.

In 2012, after talking with PETA (an animal rights group), Air China announced it would stop transporting monkeys to laboratories. PETA was happy with this decision. On July 3, 2013, Air China successfully tested Wi-Fi using satellites on a flight. This was a first for mainland China.

In early 2015, Air China announced plans to buy 60 new Boeing 737 planes. These planes would be from the Next Generation and 737 MAX series. This deal was worth over $6 billion.

About Air China's Business

Air China HQ Building

Air China Limited was officially registered in 2003. Its shares began trading in Hong Kong and London on December 15, 2004. The company's main office, the Air China HQ Building, is in Shunyi District, Beijing.

The Air China logo features an artistic Fenghuang (a mythical bird, like a phoenix). The airline's name in Chinese was written by former national leader Deng Xiaoping. The English name "AIR CHINA" is also part of the logo. The phoenix symbol also looks like the letters "VIP". Air China is a proud member of the Star Alliance.

Air China's main base is Beijing Capital International Airport. From there, it flies many long-distance routes to places in North America, Europe, South America, Africa, and Australia. Its fleet includes planes from both Boeing and Airbus. These are planes like Boeing 737s, 777s, 747s, 787s, and Airbus A319s, A320s, A321s, and A330s. Air China also has important bases in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Where Air China Flies

Countries served by Air China (November 2018)
     Mainland China      Destinations      Seasonal      Future      Terminated

Economy class cabin on an Airbus A350-900

In-flight entertainment systems on an Airbus A350-900

Air China flies to many places around the world. Its network covers Asia, the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America. These flights start from its main airports in Beijing Capital International Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. It also flies to many places in Asia, Australia, and Europe from Shanghai.

Some international flights also leave from cities like Chongqing, Dalian, and Shenzhen. Air China is one of the few airlines that flies to all six continents where people live.

On December 10, 2006, Air China started flying to its first South American city, São Paulo-Guarulhos in Brazil. This was its longest direct flight at the time. The airline first used a Boeing 767-300ER for this route. Later, due to more demand, they upgraded to larger planes like the Airbus A330-200 and then the Boeing 787-9.

Regular flights between mainland China and Taiwan began in July 2009. Because of the political status of Taiwan, Air China planes flying to Taiwan must cover the flag of the People's Republic of China on their side.

Air China introduced its new Airbus A330-300 planes for long flights in summer 2011. These planes started flying to Düsseldorf, Germany. Düsseldorf became the third German city Air China served. The airline also started a new flight from Beijing to Milan-Malpensa on June 15, 2011.

Deliveries of Air China's 19 new Boeing 777-300ER planes began in mid-2011. These planes became very important for future long-distance flights. The new Boeing 777-300ERs replaced the older Boeing 747-400s on routes to U.S. cities like Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

Air China also expanded its flights in India. A new Beijing-Mumbai route started in September 2011. The existing Delhi route also began using the larger A330 planes. On February 1, 2012, Air China started using the Boeing 777-300ER for one of its daily Beijing-Los Angeles flights. In late 2012 and early 2013, the airline replaced the Boeing 747-400s on New York and San Francisco routes with the Boeing 777-300ER.

On January 21, 2014, Air China launched its first nonstop flights from Beijing to Honolulu, Hawaii. This was the first direct flight between these two cities. The airline also increased flights on the Beijing-Houston route to daily service from March 30, 2014. Starting June 10, 2014, Air China began new nonstop service from Beijing to Washington-Dulles. This flight was operated by a Boeing 777-300ER.

As of September 29, 2015, Air China also started a three-times-a-week flight to Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Canada. This flight was a partnership with Air Canada. The Montreal flight was later extended to Havana, Cuba, from December 27, 2015. Air China also started direct flights to Johannesburg, South Africa, from October 29, 2015.

Airline Partnerships

Air China works with many other airlines through agreements called codeshares. This means they can sell tickets on each other's flights. This helps passengers have more choices for destinations.

• Air Canada
• Air Dolomiti
• Air India
• Air Macau
• Air New Zealand
• Air Serbia
• All Nippon Airways
• Asiana Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• Avianca
• Cathay Pacific
• China Express Airlines
• El Al
• Ethiopian Airlines
• EVA Air
• Finnair
• Garuda Indonesia
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Juneyao Air
• Kunming Airlines
• LATAM Brasil
• LATAM Chile
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Scandinavian Airlines
• Shandong Airlines
• Shenzhen Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• Swiss International Air Lines
• TAP Air Portugal
• Tibet Airlines
• Turkish Airlines
• Uni Air
• United Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• WestJet

Air China also has interline agreements with Pakistan International Airlines. This allows them to handle tickets and baggage for flights on each other's networks.

Air China's Fleet

Current Aircraft

As of December 2023, Air China uses these types of planes for passengers:

Past Aircraft

Air China has used these planes in the past:

Air China Cargo

Air China Cargo is a part of Air China that only delivers goods and does not carry passengers. It flies to Asia, Europe, and North America. Its fleet includes Boeing 747-400Fs, Boeing 757-200PCFs, and Boeing 777Fs.

Air China Flight Incidents

• On April 15, 2002, Air China Flight 129, a Boeing 767-200ER, crashed into a hill near Gimhae International Airport in South Korea. This happened during bad weather. Sadly, 129 out of 166 people on board died. This is the only fatal accident for Air China so far.
• On March 15, 2003, Air China Flight 112, a Boeing 737-36N, had a passenger with SARS. The infection spread to 20 other passengers during the flight. Five of them later died from SARS. This was the largest spread of SARS on a flight during the 2003 SARS outbreak.

• On August 27, 2019, Air China Flight 183, an Airbus A330-343X, was damaged by a fire in its cargo area. This happened while the plane was on the ground at Beijing before taking off for Tokyo, Japan. No one was hurt.
• On September 10, 2023, Air China Flight 403, an Airbus A320neo, had an engine fire just before landing in Singapore Changi Airport. The plane made an emergency landing, and all passengers and crew got off safely. Nine passengers had minor injuries from smoke or scratches during the evacuation.

Images for kids

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  A Boeing 747-200 in the original CAAC colors after the airline split.

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  A Boeing 767-200ER in the second design with the phoenix logo. This plane later crashed as Flight 129.

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  A Boeing 777-300ER with the current design used on Boeing planes. The phoenix logo is larger and straight.

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  An Airbus A350-900 with the current design used on Airbus planes. The Chinese name is smaller than on Boeing planes.

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  An Airbus A330-300 with the current design used on Taiwan flights. The PRC flag is removed due to the Taiwan Issue.

See Also

In Spanish: Air China para niños

• 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