Air Changan () is a Chinese domestic

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

. Its main operating base is

Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is the main airport serving Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, as well as the whole Guanzhong area. Covering an area of , it is the largest airport in Northwest China, and the second largest airport in Northern Chi ...

, serving several cities in

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningx ...

. Initially an independent carrier, Air Changan merged with

Hainan Airlines Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. (HNA, ) is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. The airline is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax. It is the largest civilian-run and majority state-owned air transport company, ...

in 2000 and was later absorbed into that airline. Air Changan resumed service as an independent airline in May 2016, providing flights to four Chinese cities with three

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

aircraft.

History

In order to develop the local economy and aviation industry, in September 1990, the Shaanxi provincial government and local aircraft manufacturers began planning for a local airline, to operate with three

Xian Y-7 The Xian Y-7 () is a twin turboprop transport/passenger aircraft built in China. It is based on the Soviet-designed Antonov An-24 series. Development China imported the Antonov An-24 from early in its production run and also negotiated licenses ...

aircraft. On 2 March 1992, the provincial government named the airline as ''Air Changan''. On 11 April 1992, Air Changan was formally founded, merging Dapeng Airlines in to the new entity. On 5 January 1993, the first flight of Air Changan operated, from Xi'an to Yulin. Then was transfer to be operated by the provincial government only, after the aircraft manufacturers left the venture due to new regulations coming into effect. On 30 August 2000, Air Changan was purchased by

(HNA) and renamed Chang An Airlines. On 1 July 2002, the first

Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...

was put into operation. In October 2002, Chang An Airlines, Xinhua Airlines and Shanxi Airlines were merged into Hainan Airlines. In December 2015, HNA Group began talks with the Shaanxi provincial government regarding the restoration of Chang An Airlines as an independent carrier. The airline would return to its original focus of flights within and out of

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

Province. The airline rebranded as its original name and unveiled its own livery. After receiving its

air operator certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in plac ...

in April 2016, Air Changan resumed operations as an independent airline the following month on 9 May. The inaugural flight was from Xi'an to

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...

. During the customary

water salute A water salute occurs for ceremonial purposes when a vehicle travels under plumes of water expelled by one or more fire fighting vehicles. At an airport, typically an even number of vehicles will line up perpendicularly on the sides of the ...

upon arrival in Zhuhai, the fire engines accidentally sprayed

foam Foams are materials formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid. A bath sponge and the head on a glass of beer are examples of foams. In most foams, the volume of gas is large, with thin films of liquid or solid separating the reg ...

instead. As a result, the aircraft had to undergo a safety check, and the return flight was cancelled.

Corporate affairs

Hainan Airlines holds an 83.3% stake in the airline, up 21.9% following a 1.01 billion yuan share purchase in September 2015.

Destinations

People's Republic of China

Fleet

Current fleet

As of December 2022, Air Changan operates the following aircraft:

Previously operated

Air Changan previously operated the following aircraft: *

Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final assem ...

* Boeing 737-700 *

Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

Embraer 190 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ...

* Fairchild-Dornier 328-300 *

Xian MA60 The Xian MA60 (新舟60, ''Xīnzhōu liùshí'', "Modern Ark 60") is a turboprop-powered airliner produced by China's Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The MA60 is a stretched versio ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Airlines established in 1992 Companies based in Xi'an HNA Group Airlines of China Chinese companies established in 1992