Airline History Blog - YESTERDAY'S AIRLINES

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Air China A330 Specials Pt2: Pavilion Liners

6/9/2017

Air China followed up its programme of Olympic themed aircraft with a pair of quite wonderful special schemes to celebrate their First and Business class products. Air China rebranded and relaunched its high-end offerings at the end of 2006 with First Class becoming 'Forbidden Pavilion First Class' and Business Class becoming 'Capital Pavilion Business Class'.

Air China A330 Specials Pt1: Sacred Flame Liner

3/9/2017

The 2008 Beijing Olympic games marked a major milestone in China's aim of being internationally recognised and it was no surprise that the state pulled out all the stops to deliver on its promises. To that end the government controlled airlines got involved also with the flag carrier Air China being front and centre. One of the most important duties to be performed by the airline was carrying the Olympic flame itself, though this did turn out to be somewhat controversial.

The Last Pax 707s: Saha's Tanker Troopers

14/8/2017

The rather hilariously named "axis of evil" countries have certainly been a boon for the aviation enthusiast. If you can swallow your values you can travel to North Korea and sample some classic Russian types, or more plausibly you can visit the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran is hardly in the same stable as the DPRK and until relatively recently was a mecca for enthusiasts hoping to get a trip on the Boeing 707.

Tsuru in Full Flight: JAL in the 1960s

12/6/2017

The first civil jetliners outside the Soviet Union were designed for long range travel. That left many airlines, including JAL, looking for smaller jets to complement their DC-8s and 707s. JAL identified two medium range types from new manufacturers but soon it would find demand out-stretching the new types and would begin the search for widebody transports.

Wings of the New Japan: JAL's First Decade

10/6/2017

The economic miracle which Japan achieved in the late 50s and 1960s was a vindication of the postwar policies of both the USA and new Japanese government. The formation of Japan Air Lines not only contributed to this boom but also began to aid Japan's rehabilitation amongst it's Asian neighbours. JAL's early success was built on a foundation of Douglas propliners and this would continue into the 60s with its first pure jets.

FM Superbuses: Shanghai's Short-term A321s

6/6/2017

Shanghai Airlines is one of China's oldest airline brands but throughout its history it has been a staunch Boeing customer for passenger airliners. I was a little surprised a few years ago that the current China Eastern swapped A330s weren't Shanghai's first Airbus product and even more surprised that Aeroclassics had made a seemingly rare model of an FM A321.

Fledgling Phoenix: The COMAC ARJ21

4/6/2017

The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) ARJ21-700 Xianfeng (Flying Phoenix) represents a major step into a high technology area for China as its first in service jet airliner. Nevertheless the end product is, truth be told, effectively obsolete upon delivery and staggeringly late into operations. The aircraft has been lampooned in the Western press and runs the risk of being a total failure. Despite that China continues to support the programme and the order book still appears healthy. 2017 is surely the make or break year for the ARJ21 to regain some credibility.

Cramming Them In: HK Express' New Airbuses

9/5/2017

HK Express has been a major factor in the infiltration of low cost travel options into Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong fortress. Operating from Hong Kong however has its problems namely high costs and restricted access to slots. HK Express is trying to combat both these problems and one way it has done this is to up capacity of its new aircraft.

Air Crane LCC: Jiangxi Air

24/3/2017

The low cost revolution is slowly coming to China now that the government and CAAC see the benefits that LCCs can bring to enable growth in underdeveloped regions. Accordingly most of the big four airline groups in China (China Eastern, China Southern and Hainan Airlines, but not Air China) have been working to transition existing airlines to the LCC model or create new budget carriers. One of the latest additions is within the China Southern stable, albeit through their nominally independent subsidiary Xiamen Airlines.

Shandong Success: Xinxing 737-300s

8/3/2017

During the early to mid-1990s China's first nominally independent (though not private) airlines began to come into existence. The equipment of choice for the majority of these airlines was Boeing's 737-300, rather than McDonnell Douglas' anointed Chinese trunkliner version of the MD-80. Shandong Airlines was one of these small airlines and has weaved its way through associations with the big three to survive and become one of China's largest airlines.

Rainbow Sevens: JAS 777s

2/3/2017

Toa Domestic was always the third airline of Japan but during the 1990s fleet expansion and a new image allowed it to go toe to toe against JAL and ANA. Flagships of the fleet would become the airline's largest ever equipment, Boeing's new 777, and they wore a spectacular rainbow livery, which added much needed colour to the Japanese aviation scene.

Hai Manchester: 5 Star to China

15/2/2017

Hainan Airlines prides itself on delivering a quality service, in contrast to the traditional Chinese big three. This focus has led it to be named as one of only 7 SKYTRAX five star airlines for the past 5 years running. Nonetheless it has been constrained in its ambitions by China's one route, one airline policy. Despite this it is gradually building up an impressive international network with its 8th European destination enabling it to say 'Hai Manchester'.

A330 Freighter: The Right Aircraft Right Now?

1/2/2017

The Airbus A330-200F must have seemed like a slamdunk for Airbus. They had already sold hundreds of A300 freighters and there was a large fleet of converted older A300s, 767s, DC-10s and MD-11s ready to be replaced. It hasn't quite worked out like that in the end, for a variety of reasons often outside of Airbuses control. Still the A330F is a solid aircraft that has no doubt paved the way for the A330P2F programme and you can only expect to see more A330 freighters in the future.

J-Bird Trijets: JAL's MD-11s

20/1/2017

For many years Japan Air Lines was a closed shop in terms of aircraft purchasing and engines. Douglas or Boeing for the former and Pratt & Whitney for the latter. Indeed they were one of only a handful of airlines to equip their DC-10s with Pratts. So a late 80s competition for new aircraft was always likely to go to the USA, however Airbus were close runners up and in hindsight would have perhaps been the better option.

Strait Blessings: Fuzhou Airlines

21/12/2016

Major airlines in Europe or the USA that wish to expand operations from a destination usually just negotiate with the airport and local authorities to open a hub. However in China the highly regulated state of the market and complex web of local authorities often means it makes more sense to create a subsidiary, especially when there are lucrative subsidies available and potential joint venture partners. Hainan Airlines parent HNA Group has been especially active in this area and Fuzhou Airlines is one of its recent startups.