Airline History Blog - YESTERDAY'S AIRLINES

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Milestone 737s of China

26/2/2016

Nowadays it seems to be almost every other week that another production milestone is met by Boeing for its 737 programme. This is a far cry from the early 1970s when the baby Boeing was a slow seller and came close to cancellation. Now into its 4th generation with the MAX series the 737 looks set to continue breaking records for many years to come. Increasingly a significant number of the new 737s are heading towards China and several of the fleet wear special stickers to highlight significant milestones.

1/400 Review of 2015: Phoenix

2/1/2016

Pretty much all mainstream die-cast models are nowadays made within China and as a rapidly growing economic region Asia (and especially China) is increasingly becoming a core market for the 1/400 scale die-cast manufacturers. The increasing wealth of the populations means they can afford more models and also more flights, so there are more models to be made too. Phoenix models have without a doubt become the number 1 model manufacturer in the Asia-Pacific region, but has it come at a cost? Here's my summary of Phoenixes' 2015.

KrasAir: Failed Union

24/12/2015

KrasAir (Krasnoyarsk Airlines or Krasnoyarskiye avialinii) was formed from the two Krasnoyarsk elements of the local Aeroflot CAD to become one of the largest airlines in Russia in the mid-2000s. Led by the Abramovich brothers it bravely attempted to combine multiple Russian airlines together into a major new force, but as with many other airlines found itself unable to cope with the severity of the economic crisis that hit Russia in 2008.

Hainan Goes Intercontinental Pt1: Europe

24/11/2015

Hainan Airlines, headquartered at Haikou on the island of Hainan but with a major hub at Beijing Capital also, has grown from one of many small 1990s startup joint venture airlines to spearhead the HNA Group's airline divisions and be the largest Chinese airline grouping not part of the government's big three. Today it operates a large and growing widebody fleet but it wasn't until late 2002 that the first big jet joined the fleet...

Aeroflot's Russian Bear-Buses

13/11/2015

Aeroflot's ability to renew its Soviet-era fleet was hampered by the fragile Russian economic situation, a lack of suitable Russian made aircraft, taxes on purchasing foreign aircraft and the airline's own unstable progress during the 1990s. Despite all these issues the Russian flag carrier has found its way to operating a modern fleet.

Cathay Flagships: 747-300 vs 777-300ER

20/10/2015

Cathay Pacific entered the 1980s as a respected and major air carrier in the Far-east, however in terms of fleet size it was still small fry. Since then the airline's growth and success can be largely attributed to two types both Boeing widebodies - the 747 and the 777. Though the A330/340 family has also been a major product for the airline the carrier's most prestigious services have been flown by either of the Boeing types and the 29 A340s can be largely seen as supporting units, or in the case of the series 600s a stopgap prior to the adoption of the ultimate 777-300ER variant.

All Change @ China Eastern: New Brand, New 777s

9/9/2015

November 2014 was a milestone in the history of China Eastern Airlines. The Shanghai based airline is the second largest in China and eight largest in the world in terms of available seats however the big three Chinese airlines are renowned for their conservatism and none had previously altered their liveries in the 25 plus years since they split from the old CAAC. Still the new identity is definitely evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

Shanghai Airlines Pt2: Crane Meets Swallow

11/8/2015

Shanghai Airlines had been in competition against China Eastern, also based at Shanghai, since its birth. The 2000s would see growth at Shanghai but not in the same league as other Chinese airlines and finally a rapprochement and merger with its neighbour. Despite this however the crane of Shanghai Airlines is still resplendent on a fleet of over 75 aircraft.

Shanghai Airlines Pt1: Pearl of the Orient

10/8/2015

Shanghai is the largest city proper in the world, with over 24 million residents. It has a rich history including a marked western influence which saw it become the financial hub of the Asia Pacific region by the 1930s. In recent years it has regained its status and it is not surprising that this cosmopolitan destination was a major focus in the liberalisation of the Chinese civil aviation sector in the 1980s. Nicknamed the "Pearl of the Orient" and "Paris of the East" Shanghai nowadays has multiple airlines based there but first there was Shanghai Airlines.

Domodedovo Airlines: Ilyushin Union

30/7/2015

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union Aeroflot splintered into a collection of separate airlines, often allied to their home airports. Domodedovo Airlines started out as part of the same organisation that ran Moscow Domodedovo airport but grew into a major carrier, which together with Kras Air fought for second place in the Russian market. Unfortunately the turbulent economic nature of the country meant that it never quite achieved its goal.

China Southern in the 90s Pt2: Widebodies

11/7/2015

China Southern received its first widebody aircraft in October 1992 when the first of six leased 767s was delivered. Three years later the airline graduated to the Boeing 777. The 777s in particular have given sterling service and have only recently begun to give way to a new generation of more numerous widebody aircraft.

LCCs Go West: Chongqing Airlines Transforms

28/6/2015

Airline ownership within China follows several models. The largest and most powerful airlines are Government owned, there are a raft of government and local government joint ventures, a small number of truly private airlines and some companies either owned or partially owned by state owned enterprises. Chongqing Airlines falls into the latter category being a joint venture between the Government owned China Southern (60%) and the Chongqing Municipal Development & Investment Company (40%).

Private In China Pt4: Kunming's Ruili Airlines

9/6/2015

The first wave of Chinese private airlines were not an overwhelming success with most failing or falling under the ownership of the big four Chinese airline groupings. The CAAC announced a moratorium on new airline licenses from 2010 but as airport capacity issues have eased and the concept of low cost airlines in China has gained official backing the CAAC has begun to issue new licenses. One of the first of the new breed of private airline to start operations is Ruili Airlines based at the popular city of Kunming.

Private In China Pt3: Springing to the Fore

6/6/2015

Until very recently China has had only one airline that could claim to be a low-cost carrier. Despite initial disapproval from the CAAC Spring Airlines has managed to survive the tumultuous period since private airlines were allowed in 2005, which saw off most of the other private airlines, to become a major player in the Chinese market with huge potential for growth. Spring is now inspiring the majors to try their hand at LCCs, but remains far ahead of the field.

Private in China Pt2: Auspicious Juneyao

5/6/2015

Juneyao Airlines was formed in 2005 as one of the first batch of private airlines allowed by the CAAC. It is based in the Changning District, Shanghai and operates primarily from both of Shanghai's airports - Pudong and Hongqiao. The airline is wholly owned by the Juneyao group whose name literally translates as "Auspicious" in English. Unlike its Shanghai based competitor Spring Airlines Juneyao has positioned itself as a full service 'boutique' airline but unlike many of the original startups this has not hindered its success.