Air Changan

History

In order to develop the local economy and aviation industry, in September 1990, the Shaanxi provincial government and local aircraft manufacturers began planning for a local airline, to operate with three Xian Y-7 aircraft. On 2 March 1992, the provincial government named the airline as Air Changan. On 11 April 1992, Air Changan was formally founded, merging Dapeng Airlines in to the new entity. On 5 January 1993, the first flight of Air Changan operated, from Xi'an to Yulin. Then was transfer to be operated by the provincial government only, after the aircraft manufacturers left the venture due to new regulations coming into effect.

On 30 August 2000, Air Changan was purchased by Hainan Airlines (HNA) and renamed Chang An Airlines. On 1 July 2002, the first Boeing 737-400 was put into operation. In October 2002, Chang An Airlines, Xinhua Airlines and Shanxi Airlines were merged into Hainan Airlines.

In December 2015, HNA Group began negotiates with the Shaanxi provincial government regarding the restoration of Chang An Airlines as an independent carrier. The airline would return to its original focus of flights within and out of Shaanxi Province. The airline rebranded as its original name and unveiled its own livery. After receiving its air operator certificate in April 2016, Air Changan resumed operations as an independent airline the following month on 9 May. The inaugural flight was from Xi'an to Zhuhai, Guangdong. During the customary water salute upon arrival in Zhuhai, the fire engines accidentally sprayed foam instead. As a result, the aircraft had to undergo a safety check, and the return flight was cancelled.