Qingdao Airlines
Chinese airline
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Qingdao Airlines is a Chinese airline that commenced operations on 26 April 2014. The carrier is based at Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport.[2]
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_at_CGO_02.jpg) A Qingdao Airlines Airbus A320neo | |||||||
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| Founded | June 2013 | ||||||
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Commenced operations | 26 April 2014 | ||||||
Operating bases | Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 38 | ||||||
| Destinations | 24 | ||||||
| Parent company | Nanshan Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Chengyang, Qingdao, Shandong, China | ||||||
| Key people | Song Zuowen (President, As of April 2014[update])[1] | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
| Qingdao Airlines | |||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 青岛航空 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 青島航空 | ||||||
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Initially, the airline was owned by the Nanshan Group (55%), the Qingdao Transport Development Group (QTDG) (25%) and Shandong Airlines (20%). The initial capital of Qingdao Airlines was CNY1 billion (USD161 million).[3] In July 2015, Shandong Airlines transferred its shares to a subsidiary of the Nanshan Group; as of August 2015[update], the airline plans to sell the 25% of the shares held by QTDG in order to become fully private.[4] Since November 2015, Qingdao Airlines was fully owned by Nanshan Group.[5]
The airline's headquarters are in Chengyang District, Qingdao.[6]
History
An application for the establishment of an airline based in the Shandong province was filed with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) by the Yantai-based Nanshan Group in May 2013.[7] Approval was received by the CAAC between that month and June 2013,[8] when Qingdao Airlines was formed.[3][1]
Destinations
Operations started on 26 April 2014 linking Qingdao with Chengdu.[3] As of May 2014[update], the airline's top five routes ranked by seat capacity were Qingdao–Shanghai, Qingdao–Beijing, Qingdao–Hangzhou, Qingdao–Shenyang and Qingdao–Dalian.[9] As of October 2016[update], Qingdao Airlines served the following destinations:[10]
As of August 2024[update], Qingdao Airlines operates to the following destinations:[citation needed]
The airline originally aimed to become a ″boutique airline″ and had plans to start services to Shenzhen and Shenyang in the near future; Guangzhou and Shanghai were expected to be served in the longer term.[3]
Fleet
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As of August 2025[update], Qingdao Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[21][22]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 14 | — |
| Airbus A320neo | 22 | — |
| Airbus A321neo | 2 | — |
| Total | 38 | — |
In September 2013, an order for five Airbus A320s and 18 A320neos was placed in a deal valued at USD2.5 billion.[23] The carrier phased in its first aircraft, a 152-seater Airbus A320, in early April 2014.[24][25] The carrier took ownership of its first two A320neos in October 2018.[26] Qingdao Airlines planned to expand its fleet to 60 aircraft by 2020.[4]
