1.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
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Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the main international airport of the Netherlands, located 9 kilometres southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, province of North Holland. It is the third busiest airport in Europe in terms of passengers, the airport is built as a single-terminal concept, one large terminal split into three large departure halls. Schiphol is the hub for KLM and its regional affiliate KLM Cityhopper as well as for Corendon Dutch Airlines, Martinair, Transavia, the airport also serves as a European hub for Delta Air Lines and Jet Airways and as a base for EasyJet and Vueling. Schiphol opened on 16 September 1916 as a military airbase, the end of the First World War also saw the beginning of civilian use of Schiphol Airport and the airport eventually lost its military role completely. By 1940, Schiphol had four runways at 45-degree angles. The airport was captured by the German military that same year, the airport was destroyed through bombing but at the end of the war the airfield was restored quickly. In 1949, it was decided that Schiphol was to become the airport of the Netherlands. The airports official English name, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, reflects the original Dutch word order, Schiphol Airport is an important European airport, ranking as Europes third busiest and the worlds fourteenth busiest by total passenger traffic in 2015. It also ranks as the fifth busiest by international passenger traffic. 58.285 million passengers passed through the airport in 2015. In 2010,65. 9% of passengers using the airport flew to and from Europe,11. 7% to and from North America and 8. 8% to and from Asia, in 2010,106 carriers provided a total of 301 destinations on a regular basis. Passenger destinations were offered by 91 airlines, direct destinations grew by 9 to a total of 274. Regular destinations serviced exclusively by full freighters grew by eight to a total of twenty-seven, the airport is built as one large terminal, split into three large departure halls, which connect again once airside. The most recent of these was completed in 1994 and expanded in 2007 with a new section, called Terminal 4, plans for further terminal expansion exist, including the construction of a separate new terminal between the Zwanenburgbaan and Polderbaan runways that would end the one-terminal concept. Because of intense traffic and high landing fees, some low-cost carriers decided to move their flights to airports, such as Rotterdam The Hague Airport. Many low-cost carriers, such as EasyJet, however, continue to operate from Schiphol, there have been talks about using the Lelystad Airport for low-cost carriers. Schiphol is equipped with eighteen double jetway gates in preparation for airlines introducing the Airbus A380, Emirates was the first airline to fly the A380 to Schiphol in August 2012, deploying the aircraft on its double daily Dubai–Amsterdam service. During the summer, China Southern Airlines also uses the A380 on its Beijing–Amsterdam route, Schiphols name is derived from a former fortification named Fort Schiphol, which was part of the Stelling van Amsterdam defence works
2.
SkyTeam
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Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three major airline alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld. As of March 2014, SkyTeam consists of 20 carriers from five continents and it also operates a cargo alliance named SkyTeam Cargo, which partners ten carriers, all of them SkyTeam members. Its centralised management team, SkyTeam Central, is based at the World Trade Center Schiphol Airport on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands. In terms of passengers, with 665.4 million carried passengers, SkyTeam has grown and is now the largest alliance in the world ahead of Star Alliance. In 2004, the alliance had its biggest expansion when Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, garuda Indonesia entered the alliance in March 2014. As of March 2014, SkyTeam flies to more than 1,000 destinations in 178 countries and operates some 15,700 daily flights with a fleet of over 4,400 aircraft. The alliance and its members have a workforce of 459,781, furthermore. On 22 June 2000, representatives of Aeroméxico, Air France, Delta Air Lines and these became the four founding carriers of SkyTeam. Upon its formation, SkyTeam would offer its customers a total of 6,402 daily flights to 451 destinations in 98 countries, in September 2000, the alliance established a cargo alliance, SkyTeam Cargo. The groups inaugural members were Aeromexpress, Air France Cargo, Delta Air Logistics, the following month, the newly established airline alliance announced its intentions to incorporate CSA Czech Airlines as the 5th member in April the following year. The alliance saw the joining of CSA Czech Airlines on 25 March 2001, Alitalia entered SkyTeam on 27 July the same year, on 30 September 2001, the alliance received KLMs application for membership, following the airlines plans to create a leading airline group with Air France. In 2003, Deltas subsidiary, Delta Express, was replaced by Song and that same year, SkyTeam also launched an improved website focused on providing passengers with more information, increased interactivity and other resources. On 24 May 2004, Aeroflot, the carrier and principal airline of Russia. The event took place in Kremlin following the airlines application earlier in the year for membership, SkyTeam expressed that Aeroflot has not met the consortiums standards, but that the airlines large hub networks made it ideal for the alliance, and made up for its deficiencies. On 28 August, China Southern Airlines, the largest carrier in the Peoples Republic of China, on 13 September, Continental Airlines, KLM and Northwest Airlines joined the alliance. Their simultaneous entry was the largest expansion event in airline alliance history, every associate adopted a frequent-flyer program of a full member, Copa Airlines already used Continentals OnePass, Kenya Airways and Air Europa used Air France–KLMs Flying Blue. Following a 23-month joining process since May 2004, Aeroflot joined on 14 April 2006 and it was the first Russian airline to be associated with any airline alliance. Aeroflot has increased its operational standards, passing International Air Transport Associations Operational Safety Audit, Deltas subsidiary Song continued to operate as Delta Air Lines
3.
Korean Air
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Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd. operating as Korean Air, is the largest airline and flag carrier of South Korea based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights. The airlines global headquarters are located in Seoul, Republic of Korea, Korean Air was founded as Korean National Airlines in 1946. After several years of service and expansion, the airline was privatized in 1969. Korean Airs international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 127 cities in 44 countries and it is among the top 20 airlines in the world in terms of passengers carried and is also the top-ranked international cargo airline. Incheon International Airport serves as Korean Airs international hub, Korean Air also maintains a satellite headquarters campus at Incheon. The majority of Korean Airs pilots, ground staff, and flight attendants are based in Seoul, Korean Air is the parent company of Jin Air and is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Skyteam has since become the largest in the world, surpassing Star Alliance and it was voted Asias best airline by Business Traveler readers in 2012. Korean Air was founded by the South Korean government in 1962 as Korean Air Lines to replace Korean National Airlines, on 1 March 1969, the Hanjin Transport Group took control of the airline. Long-haul freight operations were introduced on 26 April 1971, followed by services to Los Angeles International Airport on 19 April 1972. International flights to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Los Angeles were flown with Boeing 707s until the introduction of the Boeing 747 in 1973. In 1973, the airline introduced Boeing 747s on its Pacific routes and started a European service to Paris, France using the 707 and then McDonnell Douglas DC-10. In 1975, the airline became one of the earliest Asian airlines to operate Airbus aircraft with the purchase of three Airbus A300s, which were put into service on Asian routes. Since South Korean aircraft were prohibited from flying in Soviet Union and North Korean airspace at the time and this livery was introduced on its Fokker F28 Fellowships. It was designed in cooperation between Korean Air and Boeing, some older 747 aircraft were also converted for freight service. In the 1980s, Korean Airs head office was in the KAL Building on Namdaemunno, Jung-gu, Jin Air started its scheduled passenger service from Seoul to Jeju on 17 July 2008. Korean Air announced that some of its 737s and A300s would be given to Jin Air, by 2009, Korean Airs image had become more prestigious, differing from the airlines late-1990s image, which had been tarnished by several fatal accidents. In mid-2010, a deal with games company Blizzard Entertainment sent a 747-400. In August 2010, Korean Air announced heavy second-quarter losses despite record high revenue, in August 2010, Hanjin Group, the parent of Korean, opened a new cargo terminal at Navoi in Uzbekistan, which will become a cargo hub with regular Incheon-Navoi-Milan flights
4.
Air France
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Air France, stylized as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance. The airlines global hub is at Charles de Gaulle Airport with Orly Airport, Air Frances corporate headquarters, previously in Montparnasse, Paris, are located on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris. During the Cold War, from 1950 until 1990, it was one of the three main Allied scheduled airlines operating in Germany at West Berlins Tempelhof and Tegel airports. In 1990, it acquired the operations of French domestic carrier Air Inter and it served as Frances primary national flag carrier for seven decades prior to its 2003 merger with KLM. Between April 2001 and March 2002, the airline carried 43.3 million passengers and had a revenue of €12. 53bn. In November 2004, Air France ranked as the largest European airline with 25. 5% total market share, Air France operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing widebody jets on long-haul routes, and uses Airbus A320 family aircraft on short-haul routes. Air France introduced the A380 on 20 November 2009 with service to New York Citys JFK Airport from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, the carriers regional airline subsidiary, HOP. operates the majority of its regional domestic and European scheduled services with a fleet of regional jet aircraft. Of these airlines, SGTA was the first commercial company in France. The constituent members of Air France had already built extensive networks across Europe, to French colonies in North Africa, during World War II, Air France moved its operations to Casablanca. In 1936, Air France added French-built twin engine Potez 62 aircraft to its featuring a two compartment cabin that could accommodate 14 to 16 passengers. A high wing monoplane, it had a fuselage with composite coating while the wings were fabric covered with a metal leading edge. Equipped with Hispano-Suiza V-engines, they were used on routes in Europe, South America, on 26 June 1945 all of Frances air transport companies were nationalised. On 29 December 1945, a decree of the French Government granted Air France the management of the entire French air transport network, Air France appointed its first flight attendants in 1946. The same year the airline opened its first air terminal at Les Invalides in central Paris and it was linked to Paris Le Bourget Airport, Air Frances first operations and engineering base, by coach. At that time the network covered 160,000 km, claimed to be the longest in the world, Société Nationale Air France was set up on 1 January 1946. European schedules were initially operated by a fleet of Douglas DC-3 aircraft, on 1 July 1946, Air France started direct flights between Paris and New York via refuelling stops at Shannon and Gander. Douglas DC-4 piston-engine airliners covered the route in just under 20 hours, in September 1947 Air Frances network stretched east from New York, Fort de France and Buenos Aires to Shanghai
5.
Delta Air Lines
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Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major American airline, with its headquarters and largest hub at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Regional service is operated under the brand name Delta Connection, One of the five remaining legacy carriers, Delta is the sixth-oldest operating airline by foundation date, and the oldest airline still operating in the United States. The companys history can be traced back to Huff Daland Dusters, founded in 1924 in Macon, Georgia as a crop dusting operation. The company moved to Monroe, Louisiana, and was later renamed Delta Air Services, in reference to the nearby Mississippi Delta region, among predecessors of todays Delta Air Lines, Western Airlines and Northwest Airlines began flying passengers in 1926 and 1927, respectively. In 2013, Delta Air Lines was the worlds largest airline in terms of scheduled passengers carried, Delta Air Lines began as a crop dusting operation called Huff Daland Dusters, Incorporated. The company was founded on May 30,1924 in Macon, Georgia and they flew a Huff-Daland Duster, the first true crop duster, designed to combat the boll weevil infestation of cotton crops. Collett E. Woolman, one of the directors, purchased the company on September 13,1928. Service began on June 17,1929 with the flight between Dallas, Texas and Jackson, Mississippi. Delta moved its headquarters to its current location in Atlanta in 1941, and continued to grow through the addition of routes and they replaced propeller planes with jets in the 1960s and entered international competition to Europe in the 1970s and across the Pacific in the 1980s. Deltas more recent history is marked by its emergence from bankruptcy on April 25,2007, the merger was announced April 14,2008, and was set to create the worlds largest airline. After approval of the merger on October 29,2008, Northwest continued to operate as an owned subsidiary of Delta until December 31,2009 when both carriers operating certificates were merged. Delta completed the integration with Northwest on January 31,2010 when their reservation systems and websites were combined, Delta Air Lines as it exists today is the result of numerous mergers over its history. Predecessor carriers forming the current Delta Air Lines include, Chicago, Delta flew under the carrier name of Delta-C&S for the following two years. After successfully introducing 50-seat planes into the United States, it was acquired by Delta in October 1999, Comair became the main carrier of Delta Connection and operated over 400 daily flights from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport throughout the U. S. Mexico, and Caribbean. Comair ceased operations on September 29,2012, and was folded into Delta Connection operations, Delta Express began service in October 1996 in an attempt by Delta to compete with low cost airlines on leisure-oriented routes. Its main base of operations was Orlando International Airport and it used Boeing 737–200 aircraft and it ceased operations in November 2003 after Song was established. Song began service on April 15,2003 as an airline operated by Delta to compete directly with JetBlue Airways from both airlines hub at New York–JFK. While the brand was considered an addition to the Northeast-to-Florida market
6.
Czech Airlines
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Czech Airlines a. s. is the national airline of the Czech Republic. Its head office on the grounds of 6th district Prague, Vokovice, the airlines hub is at Václav Havel Airport Prague, it have other bases in Czech city Karlovy Vary and Slovakian cities Bratislava and Košice. Today, it operates scheduled, charter and cargo services and it is a member of the SkyTeam alliance. Czech Airlines have three main shareholders, Korean Air, Travel Service and a Czech state company Prisko, Czech Airlines Technics is responsible for aircraft maintenance and Czech Airlines Handling is responsible for passenger and aircraft handling. In summer season, ČSA flies to 50 destinations in Asia, Czech Airlines carried 2.26 million passengers on their flights in 2016, which is 13% increase compared with 2015. ČSA is the fifth oldest still operating airline in the world, older are only Dutch KLM, Colombian Avianca, Australian Qantas and it is also the second airline to initiate successful jet airliner services and simultaneously the first airline in the world to fly regular jet-only routes. CSA was founded on 6 October 1923, by the Czechoslovak government as CSA Československé státní aerolinie, twenty-three days later its first transport flight took place, flying between Prague and Bratislava. It operated only domestic services until its first international flight from Prague to Bratislava, after the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1939 with the country splitting up into three parts, the airline was terminated. Gradually replaced much of the fleet with Soviet-built airliners, the venerable Ilyushin Il-14 was even updated and built under licence in Czechoslovakia as the Avia-14. In 1950, CSA became the worlds first victim of a mass hijacking, three Douglas Dakota airliners landed in the morning of 24 March near Munich instead of at Prague. The first one, from Brno, at 08,20, the one from Moravská Ostrava at 08,40. Two thirds of the people on board were involuntary passengers who returned to Czechoslovakia. The pilot from Brno was Josef Klesnil, a former Royal Air Force pilot with 311 squadron, in 1957 CSA became the third of the worlds airlines to fly jet services, taking delivery/putting in service the first Tupolev Tu-104A in 1957. CSA was the airline other than Aeroflot to operate the Tu-104 which was the worlds first successful jet airliner. The service operated by the Tu-104A from 1957 between Prague and Moscow was the first jet-only connection, the first transatlantic services started on 3 February 1962 with a flight to Havana, using a Bristol Britannia turboprop leased from Cubana de Aviación. CSAs transatlantic flights were code-shared with Cubanas own services to Prague, the Britannia was replaced with long-range Ilyushin Il-18D turboprops at this time, and transatlantic routes were established to Montreal and New York City, besides Havana. Apart from the Il-18D, other aircraft in CSAs fleet included the short range Tupolev Tu-134, the medium-range tri-jet airliner Tu-154, as was the case in several other countries, the Il-62 was the first long-range jet airliner to be put into operation by CSA. The plane has a range of 10,300 km and for time was operated concurrently with the Il-18D
7.
Alitalia
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Alitalia – Società Aerea Italiana, operating as Alitalia, is the flag carrier of Italy. The company has its office in Fiumicino, Rome, Italy. Its main hub is Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, in Rome, other focus airports are Catania-Fontanarossa Airport, Milan-Malpensa Airport, Palermo Airport, Turin Airport and Venice Marco Polo Airport. On 30 September 2014, Alitalias budget subsidiary Air One ceased flight operations, in 2014, it was the eleventh-largest airline in Europe. The name Alitalia is an Italian portmanteau of the words ali, on 1 August 2014, the Abu Dhabi-based UAE national airline Etihad Airways confirmed it had agreed to buy a 49% stake in Alitalia. This deal was signed on 8 August 2014 and became effective on 1 January 2015, in 2008, a group of investors made the Compagnia Aerea Italiana consortium aimed to buy the bankrupt Alitalia – Linee Aeree Italiane and to merge these with Air One, another bankrupt Italian carrier. On 30 October 2008, CAI offered €1 billion to acquire parts of the airline, amidst pilots. On 19 November 2008, CAIs offer was accepted by the administrator of Alitalia with the permission of the Italian government. The rules of bankruptcy were changed in the middle of the game to meet the governments needs, berlusconi pulled this one off, but his involvement probably cost the Italian taxpayers a lot of money. On 13 January 2009, the new Alitalia launched operations, the owners of Compagnia Aerea Italiana sold 25% of the companys shares to Air France-KLM for €322 million. Air France-KLM also obtained an option, subject to certain conditions, the new Alitalia has not claimed the old Alitalias history as its own, as can be seen in official documents regarding the new Alitalia Group. Instead, they stressed they are a different company, as it can be seen in different occasions. For example, they not to recognize benefits such as discounted tickets to former Alitalia-LAI workers. They also refused to honour passengers claims against the old Alitalia on this basis, the new Alitalia doesnt own many of its operating airplanes. Almost every plane that CAI had acquired from the old Alitalia was sold or decommissioned, in January 2010, Alitalia celebrated its first anniversary since the relaunch. It carried 22 million passengers in its first year of operations, in 2011,25 million passengers were carried. On 1 February 2010, it was announced that Alitalia crew would go on a strike over wages. This was the first strike action for Alitalia since the relaunch and it was predicted that the subsidiary would handle 2.4 million passengers by 2012
8.
KLM
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KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N. V. is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and it is part of the Air France–KLM group, and is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. KLM was founded in 1919, it is the oldest airline in the still operating under its original name and had 32,505 employees as of 2013. KLM operates scheduled passenger and cargo services to approximately 130 destinations, in 1919, a young aviator lieutenant named Albert Plesman sponsored the ELTA aviation exhibition in Amsterdam. The exhibition was a success, after it closed several Dutch commercial interests intended to establish a Dutch airline. In September 1919, Queen Wilhelmina awarded the yet-to-be-founded KLM its Royal predicate, Plesman became its first administrator and director. The first KLM flight took place on 17 May 1920, KLMs first pilot, Jerry Shaw, flew from Croydon Airport, London, to Amsterdam. The flight was using a leased Aircraft Transport and Travel De Haviland DH-16, registration G-EALU. In 1920, KLM carried 440 passengers and 22 tons of freight, in April 1921, after a winter hiatus, KLM resumed its services using its own pilots, and Fokker F. II and Fokker F. III aircraft. In 1921, KLM started scheduled services, KLMs first intercontinental flight took off on 1 October 1924. The final destination was Jakarta, Java, in the Dutch East Indies, in September 1929, regular scheduled services between Amsterdam and Batavia commenced. Until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, this was the worlds longest-distance scheduled service by airplane. By 1926, it was offering flights to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Paris, London, Bremen, Copenhagen, in 1930, KLM carried 15,143 passengers. The Douglas DC-2 was introduced on the Batavia service in 1934, the first experimental transatlantic KLM flight was between Amsterdam and Curaçao in December 1934 using the Fokker F. XVIII Snip. The first of the airlines Douglas DC-3 aircraft were delivered in 1936, KLM was the first airline to serve Manchesters new Ringway airport, starting June 1938. When Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940, a number of KLM aircraft—mostly DC-3s, five DC-3s and one DC-2 were taken to England. During the war, these aircraft and crew members flew scheduled flights between Bristol and Lisbon under BOAC registration. Some KLM aircraft and their crews ended up in the Australia-Dutch East Indies region, after the end of the Second World War in August 1945, KLM immediately started to rebuild its network
9.
Northwest Airlines
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Northwest Airlines Corp. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. Approved on October 29,2008, the merger made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines-US Airways merger on December 9,2013. Northwest continued to operate under its own name and brand until the integration of the carriers was completed on January 31,2010, Northwest was headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. After World War II it became dominant in the market with a hub in Tokyo. After acquiring Republic Airlines in 1986, Northwest also established major hubs at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, in 1993 it began a strategic alliance with KLM and a jointly-coordinated European hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The Detroit and Minneapolis operations were retained as Delta hubs, however, the Memphis operation peaked at more than 300 flights per day prior to the merger with Delta. In addition to operating one of the largest domestic route networks in the U. S, Northwest carried more passengers across the Pacific Ocean than any other U. S. carrier, and carried more domestic air cargo than any other American passenger airline. Regional flights for Northwest were operated under the name Northwest Airlink by Mesaba Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, Northwest Airlines was a minority owner of Midwest Airlines, holding a 40% stake in the company. Northwest Airlines tagline was Now youre flying smart and its frequent-flyer program was called WorldPerks. Like other early airlines, Northwests focus was not in hauling passengers, the airline was originally based in Detroit, Michigan. The fledgling airline established a route between Minneapolis and Chicago, using open-cockpit biplanes such as the Curtiss Oriole and the Waco JYM. From 1928 the enclosed cabin six-passenger Hamilton H-45 and H-47 were used, Northwest Airlines began carrying passengers in 1927, in 1928 Northwest started its first international route with service to Winnipeg. In 1929, a group headed by Richard Lilly, a businessperson from St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1933 Northwest airlines was selected to fly the Northern Transcontinental Route to Seattle, Washington. It adopted the name Northwest Airlines the following year after the Air Mail scandal, Northwest Airways, Inc. changed its name to Northwest Airlines, Inc. and the airline was incorporated under its new name in the State of Minnesota. In 1939 Northwest had five daily flights from Chicago to Minneapolis, Northwest also served Winnipeg, Manitoba and Portland, Oregon by spurs from its transcontinental route. Northwest Airlines common stock began to be traded in 1941. The airlines experience with the climate led the U. S. government to designate Northwest as the main airline over the North Pacific following the war. In spring of 1947 Northwest began stationing employees at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, on July 15,1947 Northwest was the first airline to begin direct service between the United States and Japan, using a Douglas DC-4 airliner named The Manila
10.
China Southern Airlines
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China Southern Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. It is the worlds fourth-largest airline measured by passengers carried and Asias largest airline in fleet size, revenue and it is the fourth-largest airline in the world in domestic passenger traffic and the sixth-largest in scheduled domestic passenger-kilometres flown. From its main hubs at Beijing Capital International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China Southern Airlines was established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Since then, it acquired and merged with a number of domestic airlines, China Southern Airlines is a member of SkyTeam. The airliness logo is a red flower on a blue vertical tail fin. In 2014, China Southern Airlines carried more than 100 million domestic, in 1984, the Chinese government disclosed the decision to decentralise the Civil Aviation Administration of China. In 1988, CAAC granted its seven regional divisions, among which was the Guangzhou Regional Administration, China Southern Airlines began flying under its own name and livery in February 1991. At this time, the aircraft operated some 160 flights a day on 100 routes using the Antonov An-24, Boeing 737 and Boeing 757, along with helicopters, in December 1992, the airline placed an US$800-million order for six Boeing 777s and the associated spare parts and training. The airline completed its decentralisation from CAAC when it gained independence on 10 October 1993, as such, the airline could from then on restructure itself into shareholding enterprises, independently arrange external financing and establish subsidiaries to complement its core enterprise. During the airlines early years, the carrier was the dominant domestic carrier, together with the two major airlines of China – Air China and China Eastern – the airline handled half of passenger traffic carried by all Chinese carriers. Like other Chinese carriers, China Southern was subjected to CAACs exclusive right to grant operating rights for every prospective route as well as to regulate domestic prices, starting in the mid-1990s, China Southern sought to expand its international reach beyond Asia. In December 1995, the Chinese and US governments signed an agreement that would allow the commencement of non-stop air services between the two countries. After having been granted the right to services to Amsterdam in early 1996. The following year, the carrier commenced non-stop trans-Pacific services Los Angeles, due to engine-certification and labour-relations issues, the delivery of the first Boeing 777 was more than a month behind schedule. Nevertheless, the airline planned to double its fleet of 67 aircraft, in order to keep pace with fast developments, China Southern raised capital from the capital market. The airline was listed on the Hong Kong and New York Stock Exchanges in July 1997. The airline groups revenue totalled some US$1.4 billion with a net income of $90 million, the end of the 1990s was a period of consolidation for the Chinese airline industry. At one stage, it was reported that CAAC was contemplating a merger of Air China and China Southern
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