: ''See

Grand China Air Grand China Air Co., Ltd. (GCA) is a Chinese airline based at Haikou Meilan International Airport. History Grand China Air was formed on 29 November 2007 under the initiative of the HNA group's largest operational entity, Hainan Airlines, to me ...

for the holding company of Hainan Airlines.'' Tianjin Airlines ( —formerly Grand China Express Air) is a Chinese airline headquartered in Tianjin Binhai International Airport passenger terminal building,

Dongli District Dongli District () is a district of the municipality of Tianjin, People's Republic of China. Located in the district are Tianjin Binhai International Airport and Tianjin Airlines headquarters. Administrative divisions There are 9 subdistricts in ...

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

, operating domestic scheduled passenger and cargo flights out of

Tianjin Binhai International Airport Tianjin Binhai International Airport , originally Tianjin Zhangguizhuang Airport is an airport located in Dongli District, Tianjin. It is one of the major air cargo centers in the People's Republic of China. It is the hub airport for Tianjin A ...

History

was established in 2004 in an effort to merge the major aviation assets of

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, ma ...

China Xinhua Airlines China Xinhua Airlines () was an airline based in Chaoyang District, Beijing, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. It operated scheduled trunk services and charter flights. Its main bases were Beijing Capital International Airport and Tianjin Binhai ...

Chang An Airlines Air Changan () is a Chinese domestic airline. Its main operating base is Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, serving several cities in Shaanxi Province. Initially an independent carrier, Air Changan merged with Hainan Airlines in 2000 and was la ...

and

Shanxi Airlines Shanxi Airlines was an airline based in Taiyuan in the People's Republic of China. It operated scheduled domestic passenger services. In Nov 29, 2007, it merged with China Xinhua Airlines and Chang An Airlines to form Grand China Air, a subsid ...

, and received its operating licence from the

Civil Aviation Administration of China The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible f ...

in 2007. Scheduled flights were launched under the brand name Grand China Express Air, using 29-32 seat

Fairchild Dornier 328JET The Fairchild-Dornier 328JET is a commuter airliner, based upon the turboprop-powered Dornier 328, developed by the German aircraft manufacturer Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH. It would be the last Dornier-designed aircraft to reach production before ...

aircraft. At that time, the company was China's largest regional airline, operating on 78 routes linking 54 cities. On 10 June 2009, the airline's name was changed to Tianjin Airlines. As of August 2011, 63 destinations are served (excluding those operated on behalf of Hainan Airlines), though by 2012, the airline intends to fly on more than 450 routes linking at least 90 cities, taking more than 90% of the domestic regional aviation market.CNN
16 May 2007 In mid-2015, Tianjin Airlines signed a contract for 22 Embraer aircraft (20

Embraer 195 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 E ...

s and 2 Embraer 190-E2s). It is part of a larger agreement made in 2014 for 40 aircraft, the remaining 18 to be approved by the Chinese authorities. The first Embraer 195 will be delivered later in 2015 and the first Embraer 190-E2 in 2018. The airline plans to launch international long-haul services and is to take delivery of its first Airbus A330 aircraft in 2016 to serve destinations in Europe, North America and southeast Asia. In 2016, Tianjin Airlines launched long-haul services to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in New Zealand,

London-Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

in the UK and Moscow-Sheremetyevo in Russia. Long-haul services to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

are to begin from October 2017. In March 2018, Tianjin Airlines has replaced previously planned Xi'an -

London Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

service to

London Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

, starting 7 May 2018.

Destinations

Tianjin Airlines is a major player in the regional airline markets of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, known for shuttling passengers between the regional capitals to various feeder airports.

Fleet

, the Tianjin Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Fleet History

Tianjin Airlines has previously operated the following aircraft: *

Accidents and incidents

*On June 29, 2012, there was an attempted hijacking of

Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554 Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554 () was a scheduled passenger flight between Hotan and Ürümqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The aircraft operating this route on 29 June 2012, an Embraer 190, took off from Hotan at 12:25 pm; within te ...

, an Embraer ERJ-190, by six ethnic Uyghur men. Passengers and crew overpowered the hijackers. The aircraft returned to Hotan at 12:45 pm, where 11 passengers and crew and two hijackers were treated for injuries. Two hijackers died of injuries they sustained during the fight on the aircraft. This marked the first serious hijacking attempt in China since 1990.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, China, Companies, Aviation Airlines of China Airlines established in 2004 Airlines established in 2007 Companies based in Tianjin Chinese brands HNA Group Chinese companies established in 2004 Chinese companies established in 2007