With the rapid development of civil aviation in mainland China, the number of city airlines is also increasing. On April 30, Taiyuan signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Taiyuan Airlines Group, the original Longjiang Airlines was changed to Taiyuan Airlines, and the headquarters base was relocated from Harbin Taiping Airport to Taiyuan Wusu Airport, which means that Taiyuan has finally achieved a "zero breakthrough" in local aviation, has its own airline, and is about to open a new chapter in the aviation industry.
Prior to this, there were 15 airlines named after cities in mainland China, namely Shenzhen Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Chengdu Airlines, Chongqing Airlines, Beijing Airlines, Kunming Airlines, Tianjin Airlines, Urumqi Airlines, Guilin Airlines, Dalian Airlines, Fuzhou Airlines, Qingdao Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines and Air Macau.
The establishment of Taiyuan Airlines is China's 16th city airline, according to the strategic cooperation agreement between Taiyuan and Taiyuan Airlines Group, will invest about 20 billion yuan, in the next five years, Taiyuan Airlines fleet size will increase from the current 9 to 42, the number of employees of more than 4,000 people, the next 10 years, the fleet size of 100 aircraft, the number of employees more than 10,000 people, to achieve the output value of tens of billions of goals.
At present, Taiyuan Airlines takes Taiyuan Wusu Airport as the main operating base, and the main aircraft types are Airbus A320 and A321, and has opened routes from Taiyuan to Harbin, Ningbo, Nanjing, Qingdao, Guilin, Xishuangbanna, Zhuhai, Urumqi, Chongqing, Guiyang and other 11 cities, further strengthening the aviation connection between Taiyuan and these cities, and also promoting regional economic exchanges and development.
The establishment of Taiyuan Airlines is of great significance to the economic development of Taiyuan City and even the whole Shanxi Province. With the launch of more routes, it will greatly facilitate the travel of tourists and business people, promote the development of tourism and exhibition industry, create a large number of local jobs, and drive the development of related industrial chains. Importantly, the establishment of Taiyuan Airlines will also help enhance the image of Taiyuan as a city and enhance its presence, influence and competitiveness in the country.
Among the 16 city airlines in the mainland, Shenzhen Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Tianjin Airlines are far ahead in strength. Their respective fleets have reached triple-digit sizes of 199, 163 and 110 respectively. These three airlines have a deep heritage and extensive influence in the field of air transport, and their business conditions are relatively good.
Although the newly established Taiyuan Airlines is still in the development stage, its fleet size has reached 9 aircraft, ranking 15th among 16 city airlines, and its scale even exceeds the 4 aircraft of Beijing Airlines, showing its potential and development momentum in the aviation field.
In the future, while providing more diversified air services and travel options for passengers in local and surrounding areas, Taiyuan Airlines is also expected to occupy a more important position in the mainland civil aviation market with the gradual expansion of its fleet and the continuous increase of routes.