China National Aviation Holding Corporation Limited, also known as Air China Group, is a Chinese

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

which is the parent company of

Air China Air China Limited () is the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China and one of the "Big Three" mainland Chinese airlines (alongside China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines). Air China's headquarters are in Shunyi District ...

and

Air Macau Air Macau Company Limited (, Portuguese: Companhia de Transportes Aéreos Air Macau, S.A.R.L.) is the flag carrier airline of Macau. It operates services to 24 destinations in Mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam, fro ...

. The company was formed on 11 October 2002 by the merger of Air China,

China Southwest Airlines China Southwest Airlines (CSWA, ) was an airline with its head office on the property of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Shuangliu County, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China. On 28 October 2002, China Southwest Airlines was ...

, and China National Aviation Corporation (Group) Limited.

History

Origins of China National Aviation Holding

The major carrier of China could be traced back to

China National Aviation Corporation The China National Aviation Corporation () was a Chinese airline which was nationalized after the Chinese Communist Party took control in 1949, and merged into the People's Aviation Company of China () in 1952. It was a major airline under the ...

which was nationalized in 1949. In 1988

() and other airlines were formed by the separation of commercial activity and regulating body of the government. The once defunct aforementioned

legal person In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason f ...

of the group China National Aviation Corporation (), was also re-registered in Hong Kong on 31 August 1984 as a foreign company. The company was re-registered in China in May 1991, which

Civil Aviation Administration of China The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible f ...

owned 79% stake,

China Eastern Airlines China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (), also known as China Eastern, is an airline headquartered in the China Eastern Airlines Building, on the grounds of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Changning District, Shanghai. It i ...

and

China Southern Airlines China Southern Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and is the largest airline in China. Established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of the CAAC Airlines that acqu ...

owned 7% each.History (1949–1992)
China National Aviation Corporation Group (in Chinese) On 11 October 2002, the new China National Aviation Corporation merged with

and

, forming China National Aviation Holding Company () under the

Law on Industrial Enterprises Owned by the Whole People Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

. After the merger, China National Aviation Corporation's subsidiaries in Hong Kong still using the name "China National Aviation Corporation (Hong Kong) and "China National Aviation Corporation (Group)."

China National Aviation Corporation

China National Aviation Corporation was acted as a "window company" in the British Colony since 1984, even after the handover of Hong Kong back to China, and ceased to do business in Hong Kong 10 year later (on 10 August 2007). Several subsidiaries were also incorporated in Hong Kong, such as China National Aviation Corporation (Hong Kong) Limited on 4 August 1992History (1992–1995)
China National Aviation Corporation Group (in Chinese) and then China National Aviation Corporation (Group) Limited on 13 June 1995 (CNAC (HK) became its subsidiary) and the subsidiary even used a logo similar to

. CNAC once owned a significant stake in

Dragonair Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited (), also known as Cathay Dragon () and Dragonair, was a Hong Kong-based international regional airline, with its corporate headquarters and main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. In the final year be ...

and LSG Lufthansa Service Hong Kong.History (1996–1998)
China National Aviation Corporation Group (in Chinese) The stakes, along with 50% stake of Jardine Airport Services (JASL) was transferred to a listed subsidiary China National Aviation Company Limited (former ticker symbol SEHK:1110, incorporated on 3 February 1997). In turn China National Aviation Company Limited was 69% owned by Air China Limited (acquired from CNAC(G)). The stake in Dragonair (43.29%) was acquired by

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have ...

in 2006, and China National Aviation Company Limited was also privatized in 2007 by Air China Limited. On 10 June 2008, the 50% stake in JASL was sold back from Air China to CNAC(G). Dragonair, as at 2016, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, which Air China, now a subsidiary of China National Aviation Holding, had a cross ownership between the two listed companies. CNAC also purchased a building on 10

Queen's Road Central Queen's Road is a collection of roads along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong, within the limit of Victoria City. It was the first road in Hong Kong, constructed by the British between 1841 and 1843, spanning across Victoria ...

, Central, Hong Kong Island in 1992, known as CNAC Group Building. it was once owned by the listed company China National Aviation Company Limited but sold back to CNAC(G) in 2002. It was sold in 2008 to

Shanghai Commercial Bank The Shanghai Commercial Bank (SCB; Chinese: 上海商業銀行) is an international bank based in Hong Kong. Its subsidiary companies offer banking and financial services across the world, but mainly in China, the United Kingdom, and the United ...

for HK$1.388

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

. It was demolished to make way for the headquarters of Shanghai Commercial Bank.

U.S. sanctions

In January 2021, the United States government named China National Aviation Holding as a company "owned or controlled" by the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

and thereby prohibited any American company or individual from investing in it.

Subsidiaries

China National Aviation Holding is the majority owner of several airlines and subsidiaries, including:
Airline share ownership and subsidiaries: *

(72.25%) *

(53.46%) **

Dalian Airlines Dalian Airlines Co Ltd is an airline based at Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport in Dalian, Liaoning, China. It is jointly owned by Air China, investing RMB 800 million in cash to hold an 80% stake in the new company, and Dalian Baoshui Zh ...

(80%) **

Air China Cargo Air China Cargo Co., Ltd. () is a cargo airline of the People's Republic of China with its headquarters in Shunyi District in Beijing. It is an all-cargo subsidiary of Air China and operates scheduled freighter services to 20 cities in 10 countr ...

(51%) **

Shenzhen Airlines Shenzhen Airlines () is an airline headquartered in Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong. It has been a member of Star Alliance since 2012, and is currently one of two Chinese airlines that is part o ...

(51%) ***

Kunming Airlines Kunming Airlines () is a Chinese airline based in Kunming, Yunnan province, and established in 2005. History In December 2005 the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said it would soon approve operation of the private airline Kunming A ...

(80%) ***

Henan Airlines Henan Airlines (, formerly Kunpeng Airlines (), was a charter airline based in northern China. The airline was founded as a joint venture between Shenzhen Airlines and Mesa Air Group and was also the largest sino-foreign regional airline in Chi ...

(51%) ** Shandong Aviation Group (49.4%) ***

Shandong Airlines Shandong Airlines Co,.Ltd. (; nicknamed SDA or ) is an airline based in the Shandong Airlines Center () in Jinan, Shandong. The Chinese carrier operates a sizable domestic network from Jinan, Qingdao and Yantai to major cities across China, to ...

(22.8% direct, 42% via Shandong Aviation Group) ****

Sichuan Airlines Sichuan Airlines Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese airline based in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and is the largest airline in western China, operating mainly scheduled domestic and international flights out ...

(10%) **

(~20% cross-ownership) ** China National Aviation Company Limited (100%) ** Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corporation (75%) ---- *

(11%) **

Shanghai Airlines Shanghai Airlines () is an airline headquartered in Shanghai. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, but its operations remain separate post-merger, retaining its distinct brand and livery. Shanghai Airlines operates domestic ...

(100%) ***

China United Airlines China United Airlines Co., Ltd. () is a low-cost carrier and a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines with its headquarters and main hub on the grounds of Beijing Daxing International Airport in Daxing District, Beijing, operating scheduled flig ...

(80%) ***

(10%) **

China Cargo Airlines China Cargo Airlines () sometimes as abbreviated 中货航 (in English as ''CCA'') is a cargo airline with its head office on Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It is China's first all-cargo airline operatin ...

(51%) Other operations: * China National Aviation Corporation (Group) (100%) **

China Aircraft Services Limited China Aircraft Services Limited (), better known as CASL (), is a major provider of aircraft line and base maintenance, ground support equipment services, and cabin cleaning services at Hong Kong International Airport. History CASL was founded in ...

(40% as the largest shareholder) **

Jardine Aviation Services Jardine Airport Services Limited (JASL) trading as Jardine Aviation Services and JASG, formed in 1988 as a joint venture of Jardine Matheson (via Jardine Pacific) and Air China Group (via CNAC(G)). However, Jardines' involvement in Hong Kong avia ...

(50%)

Fleet

As of April 2013, the Air China and subsidiaries fleet consists of the following aircraft.

References

External links

*
Official website of China National Aviation Corporation (Group) Limited
{{authority control Airlines of China Holding companies of China Air China China Southwest Airlines Government-owned companies of China Companies based in Beijing Chinese companies established in 2002 Airlines established in 2002 Holding companies established in 2002 Chaoyang District, Beijing