Air China, officially Air China Limited, (, Zhōngguó guójì hángkōng gōngsī) is the flag carrier airline of the People's Republic of China. It is headquartered in Shunyi, Beijing. The airline offers both domestic and international flights to different destinations around China and the world.
The airline was established in 1988 after the former Chinese flag carrier CAAC was split into six airlines, one of them being Air China; it later merged with several of the successor airlines. It is 53.46% owned by the state-owned China National Aviation Holding. Air China is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.
Air China's hub airports are in Beijing and Chengdu. In 2017, the airline carried 102 million domestic and international passengers with an average load factor of 81%. The airline joined Star Alliance in 2007.
History Early years
Air China was established and commenced operations on 1 July 1988 as a result of the Chinese government's decision in late 1987 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.CAAC becomes Air China Australian Aviation issue 46 September 1988 page 15 Air China was assigned primary responsibility for intercontinental flights and took over CAAC's long-haul aircraft (Boeing 707s, 747s, and 767s) and routes.
In January 2001, the former CAAC's six airlines agreed on a merger plan,Ng, Eric, "Air China Set to Announce Lead Bank for Listing," South China Morning Post, Bus. Sec., 16 July 2001, p. 4. according to which Air China was to acquire China Southwest Airlines. Before this acquisition, Air China was the country's fourth largest domestic airline. The merger created a group with assets of 56 billion yuan (US$8.63 billion) and a fleet of 118 aircraft.Holland, Tom, "China Break-In," Far Eastern Economic Review, 25 October 2001, p. 41. In October 2002, Air China consolidated with the China National Aviation Holding and China Southwest Airlines.
On 15 December 2004, Air China was successfully listed on the Hong Kong and London Stock Exchanges. In 2006, Air China signed an agreement to join 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 81%. One month later, Air China spent HK$6.3 billion (US$813 million) to raise its stake in Cathay Pacific from 17.5% to 30%, expanding its presence in Hong Kong.
Development since 2010 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.
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.
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.
Air China began offering free Wi-Fi internet service on board its aircraft on 15 November 2011, making it the first Chinese carrier to offer this service. However the service is not allowed on smartphones, but only on tablets and laptops.
In 2012, after pressure from PETA, Air China stated that it would no longer transport monkeys to laboratories. PETA welcomed the airline's announcement.
On 3 July 2013, in time for the company's 25th anniversary, Air China successfully tested Wireless LAN in flight. It was the first global satellite internet flight in Mainland China.
In early 2015, it was announced that the airline had selected the Boeing 737 Next Generation and 737 MAX for its fleet renewal programme of 60 aircraft. The deal, with a value of over $6 billion at current list prices, has yet to be finalised.
On 15 October 2025, Air China's regional subsidiary, Air China Inner Mongolia, was re-integrated, becoming a branch of the national carrier.
Corporate affairs
The entity Air China Limited was registered in 2003, and its shares began trading in Hong Kong and London on 15 December 2004. Originally, the airline corporate entity was Air China International, which was founded in 2002. Air China International incorporated China Southwest Airlines and the air transportation services of the China National Aviation Corporation, becoming a new entity."
The Air China HQ Building (), the corporate headquarters, is located in Zone A of the Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone () in Shunyi District, Beijing." The company registered office is on the ninth floor of the Blue Sky Mansion (), also in Zone A of the Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone."
Ownership structure OwnerPercentage of shares held1Aviation Corporation of China40.532Cathay Pacific16.263Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company10.434Aviation Corporation of China9.615China Securities Finance Corporation1.926Aviation Fuel Group of China1.477Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company0.978China State-owned Enterprises Structural Adjustment Fund0.419China Basic Pension Fund0.3610China Merchants Anhua Bond Fund0.31
Branding and livery The enterprise logo of Air China consists of an artistic Fenghuang pattern designed by artist Han Meilin. The phoenix logo is also the artistic transfiguration of the word "VIP". The Chinese text for the name of the airline is written in calligraphy by former national leader Deng Xiaoping. The English name "AIR CHINA" is also present. Air China is a member of Star Alliance.
Destinations
Air China's route network extends throughout Asia to the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America from its hubs at Beijing Capital International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu 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, Hangzhou, Kunming and Shenzhen. It is one of the few world airlines that fly to all six habitable continents.
On 10 December 2006, Air China began serving its first South American destination, São Paulo-Guarulhos (via Madrid-Barajas). This is the airline's longest direct flight. The service was initiated with a Boeing 767-300ER, but due to increased demand, the service's aircraft has been modernized to an Airbus A330-200, and later to a Boeing 787-9.
In summer 2011, Air China introduced the new Airbus A330-300 on long-haul services, starting with Düsseldorf, Germany. The aircraft featured the same two-class layout as the Airbus A330-200, but the economy cabin lacked seat-back entertainment, except in the first two rows, which also offered extra legroom. Düsseldorf became the third German destination in Air China's network. The airline launched a new Beijing-Milan-Malpensa service on 15 June 2011, complementing the airline's existing service to Milan from Shanghai.
Deliveries of the carrier's 19 new Boeing 777-300ERs commenced in mid 2011, with the aircraft forming the new "backbone of its future long-haul operations." The new Boeing 777-300ERs replaced the Boeing 747-400s on routes to U.S. destinations such as Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, but was expected to first enter service on flights to Paris from March 2012. The Boeing 777-300ER began to replace most 747 services once sufficient numbers entered the fleet. Air China expanded its operations in India with a Beijing-Mumbai route in September 2011, while the existing Delhi route was upgraded to the A330. The airline also launched service to Mumbai from Chengdu on 2 May 2012. The airline began using the Boeing 777-300ER on one of its two daily Beijing-Los Angeles flights on 1 June 2012. From late 2012 to early 2013, the airline replaced the Boeing 747-400s servicing the New York and San Francisco routes with the Boeing 777-300ER. With the addition of the Boeing 777-300ERs on the US routes, Air China increased frequency on the Beijing-New York route, changing the flights from 7 to 11 flights a week by adding two new flights to the route (CA989/990). On 21 January 2014, the airline launched its service to Hawaii with flights from Beijing to Honolulu, the first nonstop flights between the two cities. The airline also increased the frequency of service on the Beijing-Houston Intercontinental route from four times weekly to daily service from 30 March 2014. Beginning 10 June 2014, Air China introduced new nonstop service from Beijing to Washington-Dulles, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. As of 29 September 2015, Air China also introduced a three times weekly flight to Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in a codeshare with Air Canada. The Montreal flight was extended to Havana from 27 December 2015.
Air China started its direct flights to Johannesburg, South Africa from 29 October 2015.
Joint Venture agreements Air China has joint venture agreements with the following airlines:
Austrian Airlines Lufthansa Shenzhen Airlines Singapore Airlines Swiss International Air Lines
Codeshare agreements Air China codeshares with the following airlines:
Aegean Airlines Air Canada Air Dolomiti Air Macau Air New Zealand Air Serbia All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Avianca Cathay Pacific China Express Airlines Egyptair El Al Ethiopian Airlines EVA Air Finnair Hawaiian Airlines Juneyao Air Kunming Airlines LOT Polish Airlines Shandong Airlines South African Airways TAP Air Portugal Tibet Airlines Turkish Airlines Uni Air United Airlines
Interline agreements Air China has interline agreements with the following airlines:
Air Astana Airlink Emirates flydubai Kuwait Airways Pakistan International Airlines Scoot
Fleet Current fleet
, Air China operates the following aircraft:
+ Air China fleet Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes F J Y+ Y TotalAirbus A319-10019——8—120128Airbus A319neo82Airbus A320-20038——8—150158Airbus A320neo5327Airbus A321-20061——16—16117712173185Airbus A321neo4694—12—182194186198Airbus A330-20015——30—2072371824726512271283Airbus A330-30028——30162553013620311Airbus A350-9003015—3224256312Has two different Business Class seats.Boeing 737-70014——8—120128Boeing 737-80098——12—1471593 aircraft operated by Beijing Airlines8159167168176Boeing 737 MAX 831——8—168176Boeing 747-4002—1042—292344Boeing 747-8I7—125466233365B-2479 and B-2481 used for VIP transport.Boeing 777-300ER28—842—261311—36356392Boeing 787-914——3034229293Comac C90935————9090Comac C919-100ER999—8—150158Deliveries from August 2024 until 2031.Air China Business Jets fleet Airbus ACJ3191—VIPOperated by Beijing AirlinesBoeing BBJ11—VIPGulfstream G650ER1—VIP Total 539 222
In July 2026, Air China announced to order 15 Airbus A350-900 in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange, the aircraft will be delivered between 2030 and 2032.
Former fleet