Qingdao Airlines

Qingdao Airlines is a startup Chinese airline that commenced operations on 26 April 2014. The carrier is based at Qingdao Liuting International Airport.[1]

Qingdao Airlines
青岛航空
IATA ICAO Callsign
QW QDA SKY LEGEND
FoundedJune 2013 (2013-06)
Commenced operations26 April 2014 (2014-04-26)
Operating bases
Fleet size28
Destinations24
Parent companyNanshan Group (100%)
HeadquartersChengyang District, Qingdao, Shandong
Key people
  • Song Zuowen (President)
Websitewww.qdairlines.com
Qingdao Airlines
Simplified Chinese青岛航空
Traditional Chinese青島航空

History

An application for the establishment of an airline based in the Shandong province was filed with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) by the Yantai-based Nanshan Group in May 2013.[2] Approval was received by the CAAC between that month and June 2013,[3] when Qingdao Airlines was formed.[4]

Corporate affairs

Ownership

Initially, the airline was owned by the Nanshan Group (55%), the Qingdao Transport Development Group (QTDG) (25%) and Shandong Airlines (20%). The initial capital of Qingdao Airlines was CNY1 billion (USD161 million).[4] In July 2015, Shandong Airlines transferred its shares to a subsidiary of the Nanshan Group; as of August 2015, the airline plans to sell the 25% of the shares held by QTDG in order to become fully private.[5] Since November 2015, Qingdao Airlines was fully owned by Nanshan Group.[6]

Key people

As of April 2014, Song Zuowen was the president of the airline.[7]

Headquarters

The airline's headquarters are in Chengyang District, Qingdao.[8]

Destinations

Operations started on 26 April 2014 (2014-04-26) linking Qingdao with Chengdu.[4] As of May 2014, the airline's top five routes ranked by seat capacity were Qingdao–Shanghai, Qingdao–Beijing, Qingdao–Hangzhou, Qingdao–Shenyang and Qingdao–Dalian.[9] As of October 2016, Qingdao Airlines served the following destinations:[10]

Qingdao Airlines operates to the following destinations (as of July 2019):

Country City Airport Notes Refs
CambodiaSihanoukvilleSihanouk International Airport[11]
ChinaBeijingBeijing Capital International Airport
ChangchunChangchun Longjia International Airport
ChangshaChangsha Huanghua International Airport
DalianDalian Zhoushuizi International Airport
GuilinGuilin Liangjiang International Airport
GuiyangGuiyang Longdongbao International Airport
HarbinHarbin Taiping International Airport
HefeiHefei Xinqiao International Airport
HohhotHohhot Baita International Airport
KunmingKunming Changshui International Airport
LanzhouLanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport
NanjingNanjing Lukou International Airport
NanningNanning Wuxu International Airport
QingdaoQingdao Liuting International AirportHub
QuanzhouQuanzhou Jinjiang International Airport
ShanghaiShanghai Pudong International Airport
ShenyangShenyang Taoxian International Airport
TianjinTianjin Binhai International Airport
ÜrümqiÜrümqi Diwopu International Airport
YantaiYantai Penglai International Airport
YinchuanYinchuan Hedong International Airport
ZunyiZunyi Xinzhou Airport
South KoreaSeoulIncheon International Airport[12]
VietnamNha TrangCam Ranh International Airport[13]
MalaysiaPenangPenang International Airport[14]

The airline originally aimed to become a ″boutique airline″ and had plans to start services to Shenzhen and Shenyang in the near future; Guangzhou and Shanghai were expected to be served in the longer term.[4]

Fleet
Qingdao Airlines Airbus A320 at Qingdao Liuting International Airport

As of September 2020, Qingdao Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[15]

Qingdao Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders
Airbus A320-200 14 0
Airbus A320neo 14 4
Total 28 4

In September 2013, an order for five Airbus A320s and 18 A320neos was placed in a deal valued at USD2.5 billion.[16] The carrier phased in its first aircraft, a 152-seater Airbus A320, in early April 2014.[17][18] The carrier took ownership of its first two A320neos in October 2018.[19] Qingdao Airlines planned to expand its fleet to 60 aircraft by 2020.[5]

References
  1. Waldron, Greg (25 September 2013). "China's Qingdao Airlines orders 23 A320s". Flightglobal. Singapore. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014.
  2. Hashim, Firdaus (20 May 2013). "Nanshan Group seek to establish Qingdao Airlines with two partners". Flightglobal. Singapore. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014.
  3. "15 new passenger airlines to launch in China. Though small in size, they will rattle the status quo". Centre for Aviation. 3 May 2014. Archived from the original on 10 May 2014.
  4. Cantle, Katie (28 April 2014). "Qingdao Airlines launches inaugural flight". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014.
  5. Cantle, Katie (5 August 2015). "Qingdao Airlines to sell 25% stake". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. 
  6. 山东航空两亿卖掉20%持股 青岛航空变身全资民营-中新网. chinanews.com. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  7. "Qingdao Airlines launches inaugural operations, establishing itself as a 'boutique airline'". Centre for Aviation. 28 April 2014. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014.
  8. 办公地址：青岛市城阳区长城南路6号6栋 (in Chinese). Qingdao Airlines. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  9. "China's new airlines – Donghai, Loong & Qingdao – preferring to follow rather than innovate". CAPA Centre for Aviation. 9 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016.
  10. "Qingdao Airlines Route Map (Winter Season 2017)". Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  11. "Qingdao Airlines plans Zhanjiang – Sihanoukville launch in July 2019". routesonline. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  12. Liu, Jim (24 October 2018). "Qingdao Airlines schedules international debut in Oct 2018". routesonline.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  13. Liu, Jim (19 March 2019). "Qingdao Airlines adds Chengdu – Cam Ranh/Nha Trang service in S19". routesonline.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  14. Oktober 29, Bernama |; Myt, 2019 20:57. "Penerbangan pertama Qingdao Airlines mendarat di Pulau Pinang | Astro Awani". www.astroawani.com (in Malay). Retrieved 31 October 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. "Airbus Orders & Deliveries". Airbus. October 2020. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020.
  16. Landauro, Inti (25 September 2013). "Airbus: Qingdao Airlines Orders 23 A320 Planes, Worth $2.25B at List Prices". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014.
  17. Blachly, Linda (10 April 2014). "Qingdao Airlines takes delivery of first A320". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014.
  18. "China's Qingdao Airlines takes delivery of its first A320" (Press release). Airbus. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014.
  19. Chen Chuanren, Chen Chuanren (26 October 2016). "Qingdao Airlines takes first A320neo for route expansion". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018.

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