# Qingdao Airlines

Qingdao Airlines is a Chinese airline that commenced operations on 26 April 2014. The carrier is based at Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport.
Initially, the airline was owned by the Nanshan Group (55%), the Qingdao Transport Development Group (QTDG) (25%) and Shandong Airlines (20%). The initial capital of Qingdao Airlines was CNY1 billion (USD161 million). In July 2015, Shandong Airlines transferred its shares to a subsidiary of the Nanshan Group; as of August 2015, the airline plans to sell the 25% of the shares held by QTDG in order to become fully private. Since November 2015, Qingdao Airlines was fully owned by Nanshan Group.
The airline's headquarters are in Chengyang District, Qingdao.

## History

An application for the establishment of an airline based in the Shandong province was filed with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) by the Yantai-based Nanshan Group in May 2013. Approval was received by the CAAC between that month and June 2013, when Qingdao Airlines was formed.

## Key people

As of April 2014, Song Zuowen was the president of the airline.

## Destinations

Operations started on 26 April 2014 linking Qingdao with Chengdu. As of May 2014, the airline's top five routes ranked by seat capacity were Qingdao–Shanghai, Qingdao–Beijing, Qingdao–Hangzhou, Qingdao–Shenyang and Qingdao–Dalian. As of October 2016, Qingdao Airlines served the following destinations:
As of August 2024, Qingdao Airlines operates to the following destinations:
| Country | City | Airport | Notes |
| Cambodia | Sihanoukville | Sihanouk International Airport | |
| China | Beijing | Beijing Capital International Airport | |
| China | Changchun | Changchun Longjia International Airport | |
| China | Changsha | Changsha Huanghua International Airport | |
| China | Dalian | Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport | |
| China | Guilin | Guilin Liangjiang International Airport | |
| China | Guiyang | Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport | |
| China | Harbin | Harbin Taiping International Airport | |
| China | Hefei | Hefei Xinqiao International Airport | |
| China | Hohhot | Hohhot Baita International Airport | |
| China | Kunming | Kunming Changshui International Airport | |
| China | Lanzhou | Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport | |
| China | Nanjing | Nanjing Lukou International Airport | |
| China | Nanning | Nanning Wuxu International Airport | |
| China | Qingdao | Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport | Hub |
| China | Qingdao | Qingdao Liuting International Airport | Airport Closed |
| China | Quanzhou | Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport | |
| China | Shanghai | Shanghai Pudong International Airport | |
| China | Shenyang | Shenyang Taoxian International Airport | |
| China | Tianjin | Tianjin Binhai International Airport | |
| China | Ürümqi | Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport | |
| China | Yantai | Yantai Penglai International Airport | |
| China | Yinchuan | Yinchuan Hedong International Airport | |
| China | Zunyi | Zunyi Xinzhou Airport | |
| Japan | Osaka | Kansai International Airport | |
| Laos | Vientiane | Wattay International Airport | |
| Malaysia | Penang | Penang International Airport | |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Kuala Lumpur International Airport | |
| Philippines | Tagbilaran | Bohol–Panglao International Airport | |
| South Korea | Seoul | Incheon International Airport | |
| Thailand | Bangkok | Don Mueang International Airport | |
| Vietnam | Nha Trang | Cam Ranh International Airport | |
The airline originally aimed to become a ″boutique airline″ and had plans to start services to Shenzhen and Shenyang in the near future; Guangzhou and Shanghai were expected to be served in the longer term.

## Fleet

As of May 2023, Qingdao Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Qingdao Airlines fleet :
| Aircraft | In service | Orders |
| Airbus A320-200 | 14 | 0 |
| Airbus A320neo | 23 | 0 |
| Airbus A321neo | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 40 | 0 |
In September 2013, an order for five Airbus A320s and 18 A320neos was placed in a deal valued at USD2.5 billion. The carrier phased in its first aircraft, a 152-seater Airbus A320, in early April 2014. The carrier took ownership of its first two A320neos in October 2018. Qingdao Airlines planned to expand its fleet to 60 aircraft by 2020.