China Northwest Airlines Explained

Airline:	China Northwest Airlines 中国西北航空公司
Iata:	WH
Icao:	CNW
Callsign:	CHINA NORTHWEST
Ceased:	(merged into China Eastern Airlines)
Hubs:	Xi'an Xianyang International Airport
Fleet Size:	34
Headquarters:	Xi'an, Shaanxi, China

China Northwest Airlines Co., Ltd. (中国西北航空公司) was a Chinese airline headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.^[1] It started operations in 1989. In 2002, the airline, along with China Yunnan Airlines, merged into China Eastern Airlines.

History

In 1988, the State Council decided to split CAAC into six separate airlines, of which China Northwest was one of them. The airline was based in Xi'an. It operated mostly domestic routes but also a handful of international flights to Japan. After the acquisition the airline was renamed China Eastern Xi Bei.^[2]

Incidents and accidents

• On July 23, 1993, Flight 2119 crashed while attempting to take off at Yinchuan Hedong Airport, Ningxia, killing 54 passengers and 1 crew member on board.
• On June 6, 1994, Flight 2303 broke apart and crashed while flying between Xi'an and Guangzhou, killing all 160 people on board. This remains the deadliest aviation accident to occur in mainland China.

Fleet

At the time that China Northwest merged into China Eastern, the airline's fleet consisted of the following aircraft:^[3]

Aircraft	Total	Orders
Airbus A300-600R	5	—
Airbus A310-200	3	—
Airbus A320-200	15	—
British Aerospace 146	11	—
Total	34	0

Notes and References

1. "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 1–7 April 1998. 57. "Laodong Nanlu, Xian City, 710082, Shanxi Provence, China"
2. World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 23–29, 2004. 52.
3. Web site: China Northwest Airlines Fleet Details and History. www.planespotters.net. 2017-01-17.