China Northwest Airlines

Not to be confused with Nordwind Airlines, Northwest Airlines, or Northwestern Air.
China Northwest Airlines
中国西北航空公司
China Northwest A300-600R in Chubu Centrair International Airport
IATA ICAO Call sign
WH CNW CHINA NORTHWEST
Founded1 May 1988 (1988-05-01)
Ceased operations11 October 2002 (2002-10-11)
(merged into China Eastern Airlines)
Hubs
SubsidiariesNanjing Airlines (80%)
Fleet size31
HeadquartersXi'an, Shaanxi, China
Key people
Employees4,906 (2000)

China Northwest Airlines Co., Ltd. (中国西北航空公司) was a Chinese airline headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.[1] It started operations in 1989. In 2002, the airline, along with China Yunnan Airlines, merged into China Eastern Airlines.

History

China Northwest Airlines's aircraft at the airline's main hub Xi'an Xianyang International Airport in 1991.
China Southwest Airlines
Simplified Chinese中国西北航空公司
Traditional Chinese中國西北航空公司
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngguó xīběi hángkōng gōngsī

In 1988, the State Council decided to split CAAC into six separate airlines, of which China Northwest was one of them. The airline was based in Xi'an. It operated mostly domestic routes but also a handful of international flights to Japan.

In 1996, the airline acquired 80% of Nanjing Airlines.[2] In October 2000, China Northwest Airlines and Shandong Airlines initialed a letter of intent for a joint merger, however, this was not approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.[3] By then the airline was making a loss, and was later acquired by China Eastern Airlines in 2002.[4][5] After the acquisition the airline was renamed China Eastern Xi Bei.[6]

Destinations

The following is a incomplete list of destinations served by China Northwest Airlines:[2][7]

Fleet

Final fleet

A China Northwest Airbus A300 at Nagoya Airport.

At the time that China Northwest merged into China Eastern, the airline's fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[8]

Aircraft Total Orders
Airbus A300-600R 3 —
Airbus A310-200 3 —
Airbus A320-200 15 —
British Aerospace 146 10 —
Total 31 —

Fleet history

Throughout the airline's history, the airline had operated:[8]

Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A300-600R 5 1992 2002
Airbus A310-200 3 1992 2002
Airbus A320-200 15 1997 2002
British Aerospace 146 11 1989 2002
Ilyushin IL-18 1 1989 1989
Tupolev Tu-154 15 1989 1998
Xian Y-7 2 1992 1996
China Northwest Airlines Airbus A310-200 in 1995
China Northwest Airlines Airbus A320-200
China Northwest Airlines British Aerospace 146 in 1995
China Northwest Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 in 1997

Incidents and accidents

  • On July 23, 1993, Flight 2119 crashed while attempting to take off at Yinchuan Xihuayuan Airport, Ningxia, killing 54 passengers and 1 crew member on board.
  • On June 6, 1994, Flight 2303 broke apart and crashed while flying between Xi'an and Guangzhou, killing all 160 people on board. This remains the deadliest aviation accident to occur in mainland China.

References

  1. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 1–7 April 1998. 57. "Laodong Nanlu, Xian City, 710082, Shanxi Provence [sic], China"
  2. ^ a b "World Airline Directory 2000". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  3. ^ "山东航空要收购西北航空 民航业将出现多极竞争". Carnoc. 21 October 2000. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  4. ^ "负债过重：北方、西北航空出嫁难". Carnoc. 9 November 2000. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  5. ^ "为保信息披露一致 东方航空今日停牌". Carnoc. 14 October 2002. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  6. ^ World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 23–29, 2004. 52.
  7. ^ "World Airline Directory 1998". FlightGlobal. 1–7 April 1998. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b "China Northwest Airlines". rzjets. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
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