| |||||||
Founded | 17 July 1952 (as the People's Aviation Company of China) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commenced operations | 9 June 1953 (as CAAC) | ||||||
Ceased operations | 1 July 1988 (split into six airlines) | ||||||
Hubs | |||||||
Fleet size | 273 | ||||||
Destinations | 85 cities in 25 countries (1987) | ||||||
Parent company | State Council | ||||||
Headquarters | Beijing, China | ||||||
Key people | Director of the General Office |
CAAC (中国民航), formerly the People's Aviation Company of China (中國人民航空公司), was the airline division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the monopoly civil airline in the People's Republic of China. It was founded on 17 July 1952, and merged into CAAC on 9 June 1953. In 1988, the monopoly was broken up and CAAC was split into six regional airlines, which later consolidated into China's Big Three airlines: Beijing-based Air China, Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines, and Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines.
In 1962, CAAC began operating international services, initially to other countries in the communist bloc, such as the Soviet Union, Mongolia, North Korea, Laos, Burma, Bangladesh, North Vietnam, and Cambodia. [1] By the mid-1980s, CAAC had long-haul service to the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, mainly using American Boeing aircraft, while continuing to use Soviet aircraft on routes to Eastern Europe. [2]
In 1988, the State Council decided to split CAAC airline into six separate airlines, each named after the geographic region of their main operating areas:
CAAC used the IATA code CA on international flights only; domestic flights were not prefixed with the airline code.
CAAC's aircraft livery featured the Chinese national flag on the vertical stabilizer, with blue stripe cheatline and Chinese version of CAAC logo (designed by Lu Shifang in 1965, [3] with the calligraphy of Premier Zhou Enlai) on a white fuselage. The most of the livery designs, especially the blue stripe cheatline, were also used by Air China.
CAAC consisted of the following aircraft: [5] [6] [7]
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Airbus A310-300 | 5 | 1985 | 1988 | All transferred to China Eastern Airlines |
Antonov An-2 | 138 | Unknown | Unknown | |
Antonov An-12 | 14 | 1968 | 1988 | |
Antonov An-24 | 78 | 1969 | 1988 | |
Antonov An-26 | 66 | 1974 | 1988 | |
Antonov An-30 | 13 | 1975 | 1988 | |
British Aerospace 146-100 | 10 | 1986 | 1988 | |
Boeing 707-320B | 10 | 1973 | 1988 | |
Boeing 737-200 | 11 | 1983 | 1988 | |
Boeing 737-300 | 4 | 1986 | 1988 | |
Boeing 747-200B | 4 | 1983 | 1988 | |
Boeing 747SP | 4 | 1980 | 1988 | All transferred to Air China |
Boeing 757-200 | 2 | 1987 | 1988 | All transferred to China Southern Airlines |
Boeing 767-200ER | 4 | 1985 | 1988 | All transferred to Air China |
Convair CV-240 | 1 | 1949 | Unknown | |
Douglas DC-3 | 1 | Unknown | Unknown | |
Harbin Y-11 | 41 | 1976 | 1988 | |
Harbin Y-12 | 3 | 1988 | 1988 | |
Hawker Siddeley Trident 1E | 4 | 1970 | 1975 | |
Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E | 35 | 1972 | 1988 | |
Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B | 2 | 1975 | 1981 | |
Ilyushin Il-12 | 4 | 1948 | 1987 | |
Ilyushin Il-14 | 53 | 1954 | 1988 | |
Ilyushin Il-18 | 17 | 1964 | 1988 | |
Ilyushin Il-62 | 7 | 1971 | 1987 | |
Lisunov Li-2 | 31 | 1949 | 1987 | |
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 8 | 1983 | 1988 | |
Mil Mi-8 | 57 | 1972 | 1988 | |
Tupolev Tu-154M | 12 | 1985 | 1988 | |
Vickers Viscount | 7 | 1963 | 1983 |
| |||||||
Founded | 17 July 1952 (as the People's Aviation Company of China) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commenced operations | 9 June 1953 (as CAAC) | ||||||
Ceased operations | 1 July 1988 (split into six airlines) | ||||||
Hubs | |||||||
Fleet size | 273 | ||||||
Destinations | 85 cities in 25 countries (1987) | ||||||
Parent company | State Council | ||||||
Headquarters | Beijing, China | ||||||
Key people | Director of the General Office |
CAAC (中国民航), formerly the People's Aviation Company of China (中國人民航空公司), was the airline division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the monopoly civil airline in the People's Republic of China. It was founded on 17 July 1952, and merged into CAAC on 9 June 1953. In 1988, the monopoly was broken up and CAAC was split into six regional airlines, which later consolidated into China's Big Three airlines: Beijing-based Air China, Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines, and Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines.
In 1962, CAAC began operating international services, initially to other countries in the communist bloc, such as the Soviet Union, Mongolia, North Korea, Laos, Burma, Bangladesh, North Vietnam, and Cambodia. [1] By the mid-1980s, CAAC had long-haul service to the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, mainly using American Boeing aircraft, while continuing to use Soviet aircraft on routes to Eastern Europe. [2]
In 1988, the State Council decided to split CAAC airline into six separate airlines, each named after the geographic region of their main operating areas:
CAAC used the IATA code CA on international flights only; domestic flights were not prefixed with the airline code.
CAAC's aircraft livery featured the Chinese national flag on the vertical stabilizer, with blue stripe cheatline and Chinese version of CAAC logo (designed by Lu Shifang in 1965, [3] with the calligraphy of Premier Zhou Enlai) on a white fuselage. The most of the livery designs, especially the blue stripe cheatline, were also used by Air China.
CAAC consisted of the following aircraft: [5] [6] [7]
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Airbus A310-300 | 5 | 1985 | 1988 | All transferred to China Eastern Airlines |
Antonov An-2 | 138 | Unknown | Unknown | |
Antonov An-12 | 14 | 1968 | 1988 | |
Antonov An-24 | 78 | 1969 | 1988 | |
Antonov An-26 | 66 | 1974 | 1988 | |
Antonov An-30 | 13 | 1975 | 1988 | |
British Aerospace 146-100 | 10 | 1986 | 1988 | |
Boeing 707-320B | 10 | 1973 | 1988 | |
Boeing 737-200 | 11 | 1983 | 1988 | |
Boeing 737-300 | 4 | 1986 | 1988 | |
Boeing 747-200B | 4 | 1983 | 1988 | |
Boeing 747SP | 4 | 1980 | 1988 | All transferred to Air China |
Boeing 757-200 | 2 | 1987 | 1988 | All transferred to China Southern Airlines |
Boeing 767-200ER | 4 | 1985 | 1988 | All transferred to Air China |
Convair CV-240 | 1 | 1949 | Unknown | |
Douglas DC-3 | 1 | Unknown | Unknown | |
Harbin Y-11 | 41 | 1976 | 1988 | |
Harbin Y-12 | 3 | 1988 | 1988 | |
Hawker Siddeley Trident 1E | 4 | 1970 | 1975 | |
Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E | 35 | 1972 | 1988 | |
Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B | 2 | 1975 | 1981 | |
Ilyushin Il-12 | 4 | 1948 | 1987 | |
Ilyushin Il-14 | 53 | 1954 | 1988 | |
Ilyushin Il-18 | 17 | 1964 | 1988 | |
Ilyushin Il-62 | 7 | 1971 | 1987 | |
Lisunov Li-2 | 31 | 1949 | 1987 | |
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 8 | 1983 | 1988 | |
Mil Mi-8 | 57 | 1972 | 1988 | |
Tupolev Tu-154M | 12 | 1985 | 1988 | |
Vickers Viscount | 7 | 1963 | 1983 |