China Northern Airlines

China Northern Airlines
中国北方航空
Zhōngguó Běifāng Hángkōng

China Northern Airlines Airbus A300-600R
IATA ICAO Call sign CJ CBF CHINA NORTHERN
Founded	16 June 1990 (1990-06-16)
Ceased operations	12 November 2004 (2004-11-12) (merged into China Southern Airlines)
Hubs	Shenyang Taoxian International Airport
Secondary hubs	Changchun Dafangshen Airport Harbin Taiping International Airport Sanya Phoenix International Airport
Fleet size	59 (2004)
Destinations	152
Headquarters	Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Employees	8,000 (2000)

China Northern Airlines (simplified Chinese: 中国北方航空; traditional Chinese: 中國北方航空; pinyin: Zhōngguó Běifāng Hángkōng) was an airline headquartered on the grounds of Shenyang Taoxian International Airport, Shenyang, Liaoning, People's Republic of China. Established on June 16, 1990, it was one of the six backbone airlines directly under the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Besides Shenyang, it also had three hubs at Changchun Dafangshen Airport, Harbin Taiping International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport.

It was one of six major airline corporations that were formed as a result of the breakup of CAAC Airlines. It initially operated a fleet of Airbus A300-600R, MD-80, MD-90-30 and, later, Airbus A321-200 aircraft. It operated predominantly domestic destinations and also to North Korea, South Korea and Japan.

History

China Northern Airlines was established in 1990. By the end of 1999, the airline had reached a total cargo rotation volume of 4882 million ton/km. In 2001 the airlines had ordered ten Airbus A321 but only six were in the fleet.

In October 2002, China's state council approved the takeover of China Northern Airlines and China Xinjiang Airlines by China Southern Airlines. By January 2003, both airlines began operating China Southern's IATA code "CZ" for all domestic flights, with international flights to follow by 30 March 2003. At that time, both airlines had their frequent flyer programs merge into Sky Pearl Club. It later fully merged into China Southern Airlines in 2004.

Destinations

The following is a incomplete list of destinations served by China Northern Airlines:

Fleet

Final fleet

China Northern Airbus A321-200

A China Northern MD-82 taking off in Beijing Capital International Airport.

China Northern Xian Y-7-100

At the time of merger, China Northern Airlines fleet consisted of:

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Notes
Airbus A300-600R	6	—
Airbus A321-200	6	4
McDonnell Douglas MD-82	23	—
McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30	13	—
Xian Y-7-100	11	—
Total	59	4

Fleet history

Throughout the airline's history, the airline had operated:

Aircraft	Total	Introduced	Retired	Notes
Airbus A300-600R	8	1993	2004
Airbus A321-200	6	2001	2004
Antonov An-2	Un­known	Un­known	Un­known
McDonnell Douglas MD-82	27	1990	2004
McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30	13	1996	2004
Xian Y-7-100	11	1990	2004

Subsidaries

China Northern Swan Airlines

China Northern Swan Airlines was founded in 1990, after China Northern Airlines took over Harbin-based Swan Airlines. It operated McDonnell Douglas MD-80s leased from China Northern Airlines, it was acquired by China Southern Airlines in 2003 followed by Beiya Airlines, China Northern Airlines, and Zhongyuan Airlines.

Frequent flyer program

Sky Pearl Club was China Northern Airlines' frequent flyer program until 2003 when it merged with China Southern Airlines.

Accidents

• On November 13, 1993, China Northern Airlines Flight 6901 from Beijing to Urumqi, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 (Reg. B-2141) airliner, crashed on approach to Urumqi airport, killing 12 of 102 on board. Pilot error was blamed for the crash.
• On April 17, 2002, China Northern Airlines Flight 6621 from Dalian to Shenyang, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 airliner, nine minutes after takeoff, a man attempted to hijack the domestic flight. In-flight security personnel and passengers managed to overpower the man immediately. At 17:58 local time, the flight landed safely at Shenyang.
• On May 7, 2002, China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 from Beijing to Dalian, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 (Reg. B-2138) airliner, crashed into the Yellow Sea about 6 miles (9.7 km) off the Dalian coast, killing all 112 on board. It was later determined that a passenger who wanted to commit suicide started a fire on board the aircraft.

External links

• China Northern Airlines (Archive)
• China Northern Airlines (Archive) (in Chinese)