Wuhan Airlines
Chinese airline
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Wuhan Airlines (S: 武汉航空, T: 武漢航空, P: Wǔhàn Hángkōng) was an airline based in Wuhan of the People's Republic of China.[1] In 2003, it merged into China Eastern Airlines.[2][3]
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 Wuhan Airlines Boeing 737-300 | |||||||
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| Founded | May 1986 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 18 August 2002 (merged into China Eastern Airlines) | ||||||
| Hubs | Wuhan Tianhe International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 20 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Wuhan, People's Republic of China | ||||||
| Key people | Ch Yaokun (Executive) Yin Y Wang (Director) | ||||||
| Employees | 200 (1999) | ||||||
History
Wuhan Airlines was established in May 1986 during a period of economic reforms in China. In September 1997, Wuhan Airlines (along with Hainan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines and Zhongyuan Airlines) formed the Xinxing Alliance, an airline alliance for Chinese provincial airlines. In 1999, Wuhan Airlines signed a contract for 2 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, intended to be delivered after 2001.[4] Wuhan Airlines also intended to purchase 5 Boeing 717-200 aircraft.[5]
In April 2001, Wuhan Airlines (along with China Postal Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, and Sichuan Airlines) formed the partnership "China Sky Aviation Enterprises", in order to protect themselves from being acquired by major airlines such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines, which had already absorbed several airlines at that point.[6] In June 2001, the airline signed an agreement with Embraer to purchase the Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft.[7]
In March 2002, China Eastern Airlines acquired a 40% stake of the airline.[8] By August, Wuhan Airlines ceased to operate under its own name, and was integrated into China Eastern Airlines.[9]
Destinations
As of 1999, Wuhan Airlines served the following destinations (list may be incomplete):[1]
Partner airlines
Wuhan Airlines had established partnerships with the following airlines:[1][6]
Fleet
Fleet as of 2002
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 717-200 | — | 5 | [10] | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 6 | — | [7] | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 2 | — | [4] | |
| Embraer ERJ-145 | — | 5 | [11] | |
| Xi'an MA60 | 3 | — | [12] | |
| Xi'an Y-7 | 6 | — | [7] | |
| Total | 17 | 10 | ||
Fleet history
- 4 Avia 14 Registration #: B-4209, B-4210, B-4211, B-4212 (B-4211 crashed near Lanzhou on 8 October 1992)[13]
- 2 Boeing 737-36R Registration #: B-2969, B-2988
- 3 Boeing 737-3Q8 Registration #: B-2918, B-2919, B-2928
- 1 Boeing 737-3S3 Registration #: B-2976
- 2 Boeing 737-86R Registration #: B-2660, B-2665
- 5 Yunshuji Y-7 Registration #: B-3442, B-3443, B-3471, B-3472, B-3479
- 3 Xian MA60 Registration #: B-3430, B-3431, B-3432 (now under China Eastern Airlines colors)
Accidents and incidents
- On October 8, 1992, Wuhan Airlines Flight 4211 a flight from Lanzhou to X'ian crashed into a hill while returning to Lanzhou due to an engine failure for unknown reasons, killing 14 of the 35 onboard (5 crew members and 9 passengers).
- On June 22, 2000, Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 from Enshi to Wuhan was forced to circle for 30 minutes due to thunderstorms. The aircraft eventually crashed on the banks of Han River in Hanyang District,[14] all on-board perished, though there were varying accounts of number of crew and passengers. In addition, the crash also killed 7 people on the ground.[15][16][17]
