Wuhan Airlines
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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 |
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| Fleet size | 20 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Wuhan, Hubei, China | ||||||
| Key people |
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| Employees | 200 (1999) | ||||||
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]
History
[edit]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
[edit]As of 1999, Wuhan Airlines served the following destinations (list may be incomplete):[1]
Partner airlines
[edit]Wuhan Airlines had established partnerships with the following airlines:[1][6]
Fleet
[edit]
Fleet as of 2002
[edit]| 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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, a Xian Y-7 (registered B-3479) 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]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "World Airline Directory". Flight International. 31 March – 6 April 1999. p. 107.
230-1 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430030, China
[dead link] - ^ "Information about Wuhan Airlines at the Aviation Safety Network". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
- ^ Chua, Alfred (2024-12-10). "C919 operators China Eastern, China Southern expand domestic network". Flight Global. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
- ^ a b "Fleets - Asia". FlightGlobal. 1 June 1999. Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ "Boeing 717 in line for more deals". FlightGlobal. 13 June 2000. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ a b Ionides, Nicholas (8 May 2001). "Chinese second-tier airlines fight back as mergers loom". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 14 October 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ a b c Ionides, Nicholas (5 June 2001). "Embraer continues its success in China with Wuhan ERJ-145 deal". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 27 March 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ "China Eastern acquires stake in Wuhan Airlines". FlightGlobal. 26 March 2002. Archived from the original on 12 October 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ "China Eastern in Wuhan deal". FlightGlobal. 27 August 2002. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Jeziorski, Andrzej (27 June 2000). "Boeing expects more Asia-Pacific 717 orders". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 11 October 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Lewis, Paul (11 June 2002). "Embraer alliance seeks go-ahead". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ "Wuhan to lease MA60 turboprops". FlightGlobal. 26 March 2002. Archived from the original on 12 October 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Gordon, Yefim; Komissarov, Dmitriy (2005). Ilyushin IL-12 and IL-14: Successors to the Li-2 (1st ed.). Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 1-85780-223-3.
- ^ 祸从天降：汉江边4人被武汉坠毁飞机扫入江中. Sina (in Chinese). 2000-06-22. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ^ Geoghegan, Tom (2005-04-28). "How planes survive lightning". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ^ "Fatal Events Since 1970 for Airlines of the People's Republic of China". AirSafe.com. 2007-12-10. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ^ Accident Report[usurped]
