China Northern Airlines () 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 four other hubs at Changchun Dafangshen Airport, Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport, Harbin Taiping International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport. By 1997, China Northern had increased the number ordered to 13. In 1997, the airline relocated its training center from the United States to the new Kunming Training Centre. In 1998, China Northern was China's 5th largest airline in terms of passenger traffic, and had a load factor of 55.1%. In 1999, it was announced that Britten-Norman would resurrect the Britten-Norman Trislander after China Northern placed an order for 3 aircraft, scheduled to be delivered between September 2000 and January 2001. This was done to replace the airline's aging Harbin Y-5 biplanes for regional services. By the end of 1999, the airline had reached a total cargo rotation volume of 4882 million ton/km. Around this time, it was said that China Eastern Airlines was considering acquiring China Northern Airlines, along with China Northwest Airlines.

In 2000, it was announced that China Northern signed a deal with Airbus for ten Airbus A321 aircraft. In November 2000, China Northern and Angel Air formed a partnership which involved wet leasing 3 Airbus A300-600R from China Northern to Angel Air, and a possible joint marketing agreement. The wet lease was scheduled to last for 3–5 years. By the end of 2000, reports by China's official press outlined a draft plan for a wave of airline consolidations in China, which included the acquisition of China Northern Airlines by China Southern Airlines. This came after years of pressure by the CAAC to consolidate many of China's airlines into China's 3 largest airlines (Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines) to eradicate unnecessary competition. On 3 January 2002, Angel Air announced it would halt all services on 5 January, and that the partnership with China Northern would end.

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. China Northern later fully merged into China Southern Airlines by the end of 2004.

Destinations

thumb|250px|Tarmac view of [[Changchun Dafangshen Airport, one of China Northern's hubs]]

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

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed"

|-

!Country

!City

!Airport

!Notes

|-

|rowspan="51"|China||Beijing||Beijing Capital International Airport||

|-

|Changchun||Changchun Dafangshen Airport||

|-

|Changsha||Changsha Huanghua International Airport||

|-

|Changzhou||Changzhou Benniu International Airport||

|-

|Chaoyang||Chaoyang Airport||

|-

|Chengdu||Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Chifeng||Chifeng Yulong Airport||

|-

|Chongqing||Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Dalian||Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport||

|-

|rowspan="2"|Fuzhou||Fuzhou Changle International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Fuzhou Yixu Airport||

|-

|Guangzhou||Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport||

|-

|rowspan="2"|Guilin||Guilin Liangjiang International Airport||

|-

|Guilin Qifengling Airport||

|-

|Guiyang||Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport||

|-

|rowspan="2"|Haikou||Haikou Dayingshan Airport||

|-

|Haikou Meilan International Airport||

|-

|rowspan="2"|Hangzhou||Hangzhou Jianqiao Airport||align=center|

|-

|Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport||

|-

|Harbin||Harbin Taiping International Airport||

|-

|Hefei||Hefei Luogang Airport||

|-

|rowspan="2"|Hong Kong||Hong Kong International Airport||

|-

|Kai Tak Airport||

|-

|rowspan="2"|Jinan||Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport||

|-

|Jinan Zhangzhuang Airport||

|-

|Kunming||Kunming Wujiaba International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Lianyungang||Lianyungang Baitabu Airport||

|-

|Macau||Macau International Airport||

|-

|rowspan="2"|Nanjing||Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport||align=center|

|-

|Nanjing Lukou International Airport

|-

|Ningbo||Ningbo Lishe International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Qingdao||Qingdao Liuting International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Qinhuangdao||Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport||align=center|

|-

|Sanya||Sanya Phoenix International Airport||

|-

|rowspan="2"|Shanghai||Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport||

|-

|Shanghai Pudong International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Shantou||Shantou Waisha Airport||

|-

|Shenyang||Shenyang Taoxian International Airport||

|-

|Shenzhen||Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport||

|-

|Shijiazhuang||Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport||

|-

|Weifang||Weifang Airport||

|-

|Wenzhou||Wenzhou Longwan International Airport||align=center|

|-

|rowspan="2"|Wuhan||Wuhan Tianhe International Airport||

|-

|Wuhan Wangjiadun Airport||

|-

|Xi'an||Xi'an Xianyang International Airport||

|-

|Xiamen||Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Yanji||Yanji Chaoyangchuan International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Yantai||Yantai Laishan Airport||align=center|

|-

|rowspan="2"|Zhengzhou||Zhengzhou Dongjiao Airport||

|-

|Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport||

|-

|Zhuhai||Zhuhai Jinwan Airport||

|-

|rowspan="4"|Japan||Osaka||Kansai International Airport||align=center|

|-

|Sapporo||New Chitose Airport||align=center|

|-

|Toyama||Toyama Airport||

|-

|Niigata||Niigata Airport||

|-

|South Korea||Seoul||Gimpo International Airport||

|-

|rowspan="3"|Russia||Irkutsk||International Airport Irkutsk||

|-

|Khabarovsk||Khabarovsk Novy Airport||

|-

|Vladivostok||Vladivostok International Airport||

|}

Partner airlines

Zhongyuan Airlines had established partnerships with the following airlines:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; border-collapse:collapse;text-align:center"

|-

! style= | Aircraft

! style= | In service

! style= | Orders

! style= | Notes

|-

| Airbus A300-600R

| 6

| —

|

|-

| Airbus A319-100

| 4

| 7

|Operated under China Southern Airlines brand

|-

| McDonnell Douglas MD-82

| 23

| —

|

|-

| McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30

| 13

| —

|

|-

|Xi'an MA60

| —

| 5

|

|-

|Xian Y-7-100

| 10

| —

|

|-

|Yunshuji Y-5

|44

| —

|

|-

!Total

!111

!16

!colspan=2|

|}

Fleet history

Throughout the airline's history, the airline had operated: The airline was based at Harbin Taiping International Airport, Harbin. It operated McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and McDonnell Douglas MD-90s leased from China Northern Airlines, it was acquired by China Southern Airlines in 2003 followed by Beiha Airlines, China Northern Airlines, and Zhongyuan Airlines.

References

  • China Northern Airlines (Archive)
  • China Northern Airlines (Archive)