China Southern Airlines (branded as China Southern) is a major airline in China, headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Eastern Airlines.
Established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of CAAC that acquired and merged several domestic airlines, the airline became the world's sixth-largest airline measured by passengers carried and Asia's largest airline in fleet size, revenue, and passengers carried. In 2024, it ranked as the world's ninth-largest airline by brand market value.[5]
With its main hubs at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport, the airline operates more than 2,000 flights to more than 200 destinations daily and was a member of SkyTeam until 1 January 2019. The airline started a frequent flyer program partnership with American Airlines in March 2019. The logo of the airline consists of a kapok flower (which is also the city flower of Guangzhou) on a blue tail fin.[6] The company slogan is Fly towards your dreams. The airline also operates cargo flights branded under the name China Southern Cargo.
The parent company of China Southern Airlines Company Limited is China Southern Air Holding Company, a state-owned enterprise that is supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
History and development
Founding
China Southern Airlines was established on July 1, 1988, as part of the Chinese government's initiative to decentralize the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), and liberalize the Chinese aviation market.[7] This restructuring aimed to transform CAAC's regional divisions into independent commercial entities. China Southern emerged from the former Guangzhou Regional Administration of CAAC, marking its inception as a separate airline. However, the airline's first commercial operations under its own name and livery didn't launch until February 1991.[8]
The airline completed its decentralization from CAAC when it gained independence on 10 October 1993.[9] During the airline's 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 the passenger traffic carried by all Chinese carriers. Owing to Air China's status as the country's flag carrier
Corporate affairs
Business trends
The key trends for the China Southern Airlines Group are (as of the financial year ending December 31):[89]
Ownership structure
Cooperation with American Airlines
American Airlines invested $200 million in China Southern Airlines in March 2017, laying a strong foundation for a long-term relationship between two of the world's largest airlines. After the investment, American Airlines holds a 2.7% equity stake in China Southern Airlines.[104] American Airlines and China Southern are two of the world's largest airlines with complementary networks, offering customers unparalleled destinations in both the business and leisure traveler markets. The two airlines have signed codeshare and interline agreements to provide travelers with flights to more destinations in China, North and South America. The codeshare route partnership includes the ability to earn and redeem AAdvantage miles, check baggage through, and book tickets.
Divisions
Cargo
China Southern Cargo is the cargo subsidiary of China Southern Airlines. The cargo airline provides services between mainland China and worldwide cities including Amsterdam, Vienna, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Chicago,[111] Glasgow,[112] and London Stansted served from its main hubs of Guangzhou Baiyun and Shanghai Pudong.
The cargo subsidiary joined the SkyTeam Cargo alliance in November 2010 and withdrew on 1 January 2019 following the airline's withdrawal from SkyTeam.[113]
Destinations
Overview
China Southern Airlines serves 193 destinations in 35 countries worldwide.[116] It maintains a strong presence in the domestic market with its main hubs at Beijing Daxing International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport with secondary hubs at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport, and Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, along with other focus cities in Changchun, Changsha, Dalian, Shenyang, Shenzhen, and Zhengzhou. The airline plans to continue to develop Chongqing and Ürümqi as hubs as well as to exploit the domestic market potential.[117]
China Southern offers 485 flights a day from its Guangzhou hub and 221 from its Beijing
Fleet
Current fleet
As of December 2025, China Southern Airlines operates the following aircraft:[136][137]
Former fleet
China Southern Airlines previously operated the following aircraft:
Airbus A380
China Southern was the only mainland Chinese airline to operate the Airbus A380. The airline initially operated these aircraft on Beijing–Hong Kong and Beijing–Guangzhou routes. However, these services struggled to be profitable. Due to the demand limitation of the airline's home base at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, few routes from Guangzhou have the demand to support an A380. In efforts to make its A380s viable, China Southern started operating A380 on its Guangzhou–Los Angeles route and on the Guangzhou–
Services
China Southern Airlines offers First Class (formerly), Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class.
China Southern Airlines offered an "Experience Luxurious Skybed" on Boeing 787s. It was equipped with personal privacy, in-built massage, a 17-inch personal TV and fully reclining seat. It also had First Class on Airbus A330s and Boeing 777-300ERs, which featured a seat pitch of 84 in and converted into a fully flat bed with a personal TV.[165][166]
China Southern Airlines offered Premium First Class on select flights, such as on the Beijing-Guangzhou route. This cabin offered more amenities and was more spacious than Regular First Class, such as a variety of lighting options and a private storage cabinet with a password lock.[167]
Business class also offers a fully flat bed, and an adjustable privacy divider. It includes a USB port and a reading light. It also has a 15-inch TV.[168]
Economy class features a seat and a 9-inch personal TV.
Sky Pearl Club
China Southern Airlines's frequent-flyer program is called Sky Pearl Club. The Sky Pearl Club allows its members to earn FFP mileage not only by flying China Southern domestic segments, but also by flying routes of other codeshare member airlines. Additionally, Sky Pearl Club members can earn and use mileage on partnered Sichuan Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and China Airlines flights. Membership of Sky Pearl Club is divided into four tiers: Sky Pearl Gold Card, Sky Pearl Silver Card, Sky Pearl Member Card and Little Pearl On The Palm Card, the first three tier are available for all adult members, but Little Pearl On The Palm Card is only available for members aged 2–11.[172]
Incidents and accidents
- On 24 November 1992, China Southern Airlines Flight 3943, a Boeing 737-300, crashed into a hill near Guilin, Guangxi, due to an engine thrust malfunction. All 141 people on board were killed.[173][174]
- On 8 May 1997, China Southern Flight 3456, a Boeing 737-300, crashed on approach to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport killing 35 people and injuring 9.[175]
Controversies
Shipping of primates to laboratories
The USDA ordered China Southern Airlines to pay $11,600 in fines for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) during the airline's transport of animals without proper licences to the United States. Although the USDA cited Air Transport International for failure to provide food and water to the imported animals, China Southern Airlines was previously also ordered to pay $14,438 for AWA violations during one transport that left more than a dozen monkeys dead after they went without food and water for an extended period of time. Following these most recent violations, where the delivered animals were left neglected after arrival in the US, China Southern announced that it would no longer transport laboratory animals to the US. PETA had protested against the airline for these shipments.[176][177]
10-yuan ticketing glitch
In November 2023, the airline inadvertently priced its tickets as low as 10 yuan (around $1.37) on its mobile app and travel websites like Trip.com
See also
- Civil aviation in China
- List of airlines of China
- Transport in China
External links
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References
- China Southern Airlines Co., Ltd. - Company Profile^
- China Southern Airlines on ch-aviation ch-aviation, retrieved 2023-11-09^
- China Southern Airlines Cargo Application Seuic, retrieved 6 May 2025^