Henan Airlines (, formerly Kunpeng Airlines (), was a charter airline based in northern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The airline was founded as a joint venture between

Shenzhen Airlines Shenzhen Airlines () is an airline headquartered in Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong. It has been a member of Star Alliance since 2012, and is currently one of two Chinese airlines that is part o ...

and

Mesa Air Group Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 700 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airlin ...

and was also the largest sino-foreign regional airline in China. In 2009 Mesa Air Group and Shenzhen terminated their agreement and Shenzhen announced that the airline would be renamed Henan Airlines.

History

The agreement to form Kunpeng Airlines was signed in December 2006, with service beginning in October 2007. Kunpeng operated passenger and cargo services, and charter flights. The airline began flying Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft leased from

. The airline's livery was made up of red, white, and gold. The airline's name is derived from a mythical Chinese bird. In August 2008, Kunpeng moved its headquarters and operating base to

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the Nationa ...

. Kunpeng was operating at a financial loss, and it was hoped that the move would bring the airline into profitability. Kungpeng had planned on having 200 aircraft operating 900 daily flights by 2016. In August 2008, Mesa Air Group stated that it intended to sell all of its shares in Kunpeng to its partner

. In June 2009, Mesa Air Group sold its financial stake in Kunpeng Airlines and all its leased CRJ 200s were returned to the US. In 2009, Shenzhen Airlines announced that Kunpeng Airlines would be renamed Henan Airlines, operating Embraer E-190 aircraft. On August 27, 2010, Henan provincial authorities revoked the company name "Henan Airlines" that it had previously approved, citing the bad reputation the airline had brought to the province in the aftermath of

Henan Airlines Flight 8387 Henan Airlines Flight 8387 was a domestic flight operated by Henan Airlines from Harbin to Yichun, China. On the night of 24 August 2010, the Embraer E190 operating the route crashed on approach to Yichun Lindu Airport in fog. Forty-four of the 9 ...

. Henan's provincial government had provided incentives for the airline to move its hub from

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

Shaanxi 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), N ...

, Henan's capital and largest city.

Destinations

Fleet

Aeroporto de são jose dos campos retouched

The Henan Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2019):

Kunpeng Airlines former fleet

The Kunpeng Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of January 2013):

Incidents and accidents

On August 24, 2010,

crashed shortly before landing at Yichun Lindu Airport. There were 44 fatalities among the 96 passengers and crew on board.

References

External links

Henan Airlines official site

Kunpeng Airlines official site
(Archive) {{Transport in China Airlines of China Airlines established in 2006 Chinese companies established in 2006 Mesa Air Group