- China Southern Airlines -

Thursday

Oct272011

China Southern Airlines 中国南方航空公司 is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.It is the world's fifth-largest airline measured by passengers carried, and Asia's largest airline in terms of both fleet size and passengers carried. It is also the fourth-largest airline in the world in domestic passenger traffic and the sixth-largest in scheduled domestic passenger-kilometres flown. From its main hubs at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport, the airline flies to 121 destinations using a fleet of 422 aircraft.

China Southern Airlines was established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Since then, the airline acquired and merged with a number of domestic airlines, becoming one of China's "Big Three" airlines (alongside Air China and China Eastern Airlines).

In 2010, China Southern Airlines carried 76.5 million domestic and international passengers with an average load factor of 79.2%.

China Southern Airlines was established in 1988, following the government's decision to split the operating divisions of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) into separate airlines. The CAAC was restructured in late 1984 and divided into four major airlines, among which was China Southern Airlines, which became a separate identity on 1 July 1988, with operations starting in 1989. Although controlled by the CAAC, China Southern quickly established relationships with Western companies; in 1990, it launched a maintenance joint-venture with Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa and Lockheed called Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co. (GAMECO). In 1991, six million passengers were carried, and with 38 Boeing jet airliners, China Southern was serving 90 domestic cities and 17 international destinations.In 1992, the airline raised US$537 million in revenue, and posted a $102 million profits. On the 17th December 1992, China Southern signed an order for six Boeing 777s, split between four standard −200 series and two longer-range −200ERs. China Southern, along with a number of Chinese airlines, was granted financial independence during the year, with a resultant drawback being the purchase of fuel and airport fees.

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