Air Travel (airline) explained

Airline:Air Travel
Iata:A6
Icao:OTC
Callsign:AIR TRAVEL
Founded:16 April 2014[1] (as Hongtu Airlines)
Commenced:21 May 2016
Hubs:
Destinations:7
Fleet Size:16
Key People:Tang Longcheng, chairman
Headquarters:Changsha, Hunan, China
Website:(The content of both websites is the same)

Air Travel (Chinese: 湖南航空; Hunan Airlines) is a Chinese airline operating domestic flights from its Changsha Huanghua International Airport hub in Hunan Province. The airline launched operations in May 2016 as Hongtu Airlines and rebranded to "Air Travel" in 2018. The airline moved to Hunan from Yunnan in 2020.[2]

History

Air Travel, originally named Hongtu Airlines, received preliminary approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on 26 March 2015.[3] In October 2015, the airline's livery was revealed. The red color represents the famous red earth of Dongchuan District in Yunnan Province; in fact, Hongtu in the airline's name, is a transliteration of .[4]

On 22 December 2015, Hongtu Airlines took delivery of its first aircraft, an Airbus A321 originally destined for UTair Aviation.[5] The aircraft is named Dai after the Dai people, an ethnic minority in Yunnan Province.[6] Hongtu Airlines held an inauguration ceremony on 20 May 2016 and began flights the following day,[7] with the inaugural flight operating between Kunming and Nanchang.[8]

The airline underwent a branding change in 2018: its English name became Air Travel,[9] whilst retaining the name in Chinese. The company then changed its local name to Hunan Airlines (湖南航空公司) in 2021 following its move to Hunan Province, but retained the name 'Air Travel' in English.

Corporate affairs

Hongtu Airlines is headquartered near Changsha Huanghua International Airport.[10] The airline is a joint venture between Kunming Evergreen Financing (30%); local entrepreneur Tang Longcheng (20%); and five other companies, each holding 10%. The parties have invested a total of CNY600 million (USD96.6 million) in the airline.[4] [5]

Destinations

As of December 2017, Hongtu Airlines flies to the following destinations in China:[11]

SubdivisionCityAirportNotes
GansuLanzhouLanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport
GuangdongZhuhaiZhuhai Jinwan Airport
GuangxiGuilinGuilin Liangjiang International Airport
GuangxiNanningNanning Wuxu International Airport
Inner MongoliaHailarHulunbuir Hailar Airport
Inner MongoliaHohhotHohhot Baita International Airport
JiangsuNanjingNanjing Lukou International AirportBase
JiangsuWuxiSunan Shuofang International AirportBase
JiangsuNantongNantong Xingdong Airport
JiangxiNanchangNanchang Changbei International Airport
JilinChangchunChangchun Longjia International Airport
HenanZhengzhouZhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport
LiaoningShenyangShenyang Taoxian International Airport
QinghaiXiningXining Caojiabao International Airport
ShandongQingdaoQingdao Liuting International Airport
ShandongYantaiYantai Penglai International Airport
YunnanBaoshanBaoshan Yunrui Airport
YunnanCangyuanCangyuan Washan Airport
YunnanKunmingKunming Changshui International AirportBase
YunnanLijiangLijiang Sanyi International Airport
ZhejiangWenzhouWenzhou Longwan International Airport
HunanChangshaChangsha Huanghua International AirportBase
JilinBaishanChangbaishan Airport
Inner MongoliaHulunbuirHulunbuir Hailar Airport

Fleet

The Hongtu Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of September 2019:[12]

Air Travel Fleet
AircraftIn ServiceOrdersPassengers Notes
JY+YTotal
Airbus A319-1003 - 86120134
Airbus A320-2004 - 86156168[13]
Airbus A320neo7 - 8 - 162170
Airbus A321-2002 - 12 - 190202
Total 16 -

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 湖南航简介 . Hongtu Airlines . 29 May 2016 . zh . 19 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160319152332/http://www.redair.cn/notice/toHelp . dead .
  2. Web site: 湖南政府入股,红土航空"迁址"湖南. 2020-07-13. www.yicai.com.
  3. http://centreforaviation.com/news/caac--431105 "Yunnan Hongtu Airlines receives preliminary CAAC approval"
  4. http://www.chinaaviationdaily.com/news/47/47853.html "Photos: Livery of China's Startup Hongtu Airlines Unveiled on an Airbus A321"
  5. http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/42682-chinas-hongtu-airlines-takes-delivery-of-maiden-aircraft " China's Hongtu Airlines takes delivery of maiden aircraft"
  6. http://www.chinaaviationdaily.com/news/49/49831.html "Photos: Hongtu Airlines' First A321 Aircraft Touches Down at Kunming Airport"
  7. News: Xu . Rejoice . 19 May 2016 . China's Start-up Hongtu Airlines Starts Operation in Kunming . China Aviation Daily . 29 May 2016.
  8. News: 23 May 2016 . Yunnan Hongtu Airlines launches inaugural operation with 95% load . CAPA - Centre for Aviation . 29 May 2016.
  9. Web site: Air Travel . ch-aviation . 4 January 2019.
  10. Web site: 联系我们 . Hongtu Airlines . 21 August 2016 . zh . Contact us . 19 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160319152332/http://www.redair.cn/notice/toHelp . dead .
  11. Web site: Profile on Yunnan Hongtu Airlines. CAPA Centre for Aviation. 7 August 2017.
  12. Web site: Air Travel Fleet Details and History. planespotters.net. 23 August 2018. 23 August 2018.
  13. News: China's Hongtu Airlines adds maiden A320. 16 August 2016. 7 August 2017. ch-aviation.