China Xinjiang Airlines

China Xinjiang Airlines (simplified Chinese: 中国新疆航空公司; traditional Chinese: 中國新疆航空公司; pinyin: Zhōngguó Xīnjiāng Hángkōng Gōngsī) was a Chinese airline owned by CAAC. It had its headquarters on the property of Diwopu International Airport in Urumqi.[3][4] It was based in Ürümqi and had a secondary hub in Changzhou in Jiangsu province.

China Xinjiang Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
XO CXJ XINJIANG[1]
Founded1 January 1985 (1985-01-01)
Ceased operationsMarch 2003 (2003-03) (merged with China Southern Airlines)
HubsUrumqi Diwopu International Airport
Secondary hubsChangzhou Benniu International Airport
Fleet size25 (2000)[2]
Destinations35 (2000)[2]
HeadquartersDiwopu International Airport, Urumqi
Key peopleZhang Ruifu (President)[2]
Employees4,597 (2000)[2]

The airline was absorbed by China Southern Airlines in 2003.

History
A China Xinjiang Airlines Ilyushin Il-86 at Beijing Capital Airport in 1999.

The airline was established as a detachment of the CAAC Xinjiang Regional Authority;[2] it started operations on 1 January 1985 (1985-01-01).[5]

In late 1993 the airline took ownership of the first of five 72-seater ATR 72s that had been ordered in May the same year. This event was a milestone for China Xinjiang Airlines as it became the first Chinese airline in taking delivery and operating ATR aircraft.[6] At April 1995, Xinjiang Airlines was evenly owned by CAAC and the Xinjiang Province and it had a fleet of two Antonov An-24s, two DHC-6 Twin Otters, one Ilyushin Il-86, eight SAP Y-8s and six Tupolev Tu-154Ms.[7][nb 1] Five years later, the president position was held by Zhang Ruifu, who employed 4,597.[2] At this time, Almaty, Beijing, Changsha, Changzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Guilin, Haikou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Jinan, Karamay, Korla, Kunming, Lanzhou, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Tashkent, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xian, Xiamen, Xining, Yantai and Zhengzhou comprised the scheduled destination network.[8] In 2001, Boeing 737-400s were deployed on a new route linking Urumqi with Hong Kong.[9]

China Southern Airlines (CZ) integrated both China Northern Airlines and China Xinjiang Airlines into its operations; the takeover had been approved by the Chinese authorities in October 2002.[10] China Xinjiang Airlines IATA's code ″XO″ became replaced with the CZ one for domestic operations in early 2003.[10][11] By late March 2003, the replacement of the XO code was extended to all the operations.

Fleet
China Xinjiang Airlines Boeing 757 at Ürümqi Airport in 1999.

China Xinjiang Airlines operated the following aircraft:[7][2]

China Xinjiang Airlines fleet history
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
ATR 72-500[2] 5 1997 2003 Transferred to China Southern Airlines[11]
Antonov An-24RV[2] 2 Un­known Un­known
Boeing 737-300[2] 2 1993 2003 Two transferred to China Southern Airlines[11]
Boeing 737-400[9] Un­known Un­known Un­known
Boeing 737-700[2] 4 2001 2003 Transferred to China Southern Airlines[11]
Boeing 757-200[2] 9 1997 2003 Transferred to China Southern Airlines[11]
DHC-6 Twin Otter[7] 2 Un­known Un­known
Ilyushin Il-86[2] 1 1993 2003
Tupolev Tu-154M[2] 6 1986 2001
SAP Y-8[7] 8 Un­known Un­known

Notes
  1. At this time Flight International had not yet accounted for the ATR aircraft the airline took possession of since 1993.[6]

References
  1. "Airline details - China Xinjiang Airlines". Archived from the original on 2007-11-24.
  2. "World airline directory–China Xinjiang Airlines". Flight International. Vol. 157, no. 4722. 4–10 April 2000. p. 77. ISSN 0015-3710. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018.
  3. "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 1–7 April 1998. 57. "Diwopu International Airport, Urumqi, 830016, Xinjiang, China."
  4. "联系我们." China Xinjiang Airlines. Retrieved on October 12, 2012. "地址：中国新疆乌鲁木齐市迎宾路46号 地窝堡国际机场"
  5. "Xinjiang Airlines Maintains China's Longest Safe Flight Record". People's Daily Online. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018.
  6. "AI(R) delivers first ATR 72 to China". Flight International. 152 (4590): 12. 3–9 September 1997. ISSN 0015-3710. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018.
  7. "World airline directory–Xinjiang Airlines". Flight International. 147 (4466): 80. 5–11 April 1995. ISSN 0015-3710. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018.
  8. "World airline directory–China Xinjiang Airlines". Flight International. Vol. 157, no. 4722. 4–10 April 2000. p. 78. ISSN 0015-3710. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018.
  9. "Routes". Flightglobal. Flight International. 19 July 2001. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Xinjiang Airlines has introduced a twice-weekly service between Hong Kong and Urumqi in China, with Boeing 737-400s.
  10. Ionides, Nicholas (21–27 January 2003). "China Southern absorbs carriers". Flight International. Singapore. 163 (4866): 14. ISSN 0015-3710. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018.
  11. "Carriers blend into China Southern". Flightglobal. 1 February 2003. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018.
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