Airlines of Mainland China

Mainland China is the world's second-largest aviation market, with 40+ passenger airlines flying more than ten thousand departures a day. The choice goes far beyond the "Big Three": LCCs have pushed trunk-route fares down to rail levels, while regional carriers reach dozens of smaller cities the majors skip. This page maps the landscape and links to every carrier's booking, check-in and baggage guides.

Air China (CA), China Eastern (MU) and China Southern (CZ) carry over half of all traffic. Air China holds Beijing's two airports and the widest intercontinental network as the flag carrier; China Eastern rules Shanghai and was the launch customer of the COMAC C919; China Southern, with Asia's largest fleet, dominates Guangzhou and flies strongest to Southeast Asia and Australia.

Each group runs sub-brands — Shenzhen Air, Shandong, Dalian and Tibet Airlines under Air China; Shanghai Airlines and budget China United under CEA; XiamenAir and Chongqing Airlines under CSA. Codeshares and mileage reciprocity are extensive, so compare them as families.

Hainan Airlines (HU), a long-time SKYTRAX five-star carrier, flies 787s nonstop to Europe and North America from Beijing and second-tier cities. The HNA family adds a dozen brands from Capital Airlines to Urumqi Air, spanning full-service to low-cost.

Among independents, Sichuan Airlines pairs an all-Airbus fleet with unmatched high-plateau experience from Chengdu, while privately-run Juneyao Airlines flies 787s on select intercontinental routes as a Star Alliance Connecting Partner.

Spring Airlines (9C) invented the ¥99 fare and blankets Japan and Southeast Asia from Shanghai. 9 Air, China United and West Air fill out the budget segment. Always price LCC tickets with baggage included — a bare fare plus airport-rate bags can cost more than a full-service ticket.

China Express (G5), the largest independent regional, links small cities to the hubs with CRJs and ARJ21s; Chengdu Airlines and Genghis Khan Airlines are the main operators of the home-grown ARJ21. For smaller destinations these are often the only nonstops.

Beijing Capital (PEK) and Daxing (PKX) split between the Air China and CEA/CSA camps — check which airport your flight uses. Shanghai Hongqiao is mostly domestic, Pudong international; Guangzhou Baiyun is China Southern's fortress; Chengdu Tianfu, Shenzhen, Kunming and Xi'an anchor the west and south. Allow 3+ hours for cross-town airport transfers in Beijing, Shanghai or Chengdu.

Domestic fares are usually best 2–6 weeks out — add a month around Chinese New Year and Golden Week. Early-morning and late-evening departures run 10–30% below prime time. Airline member days and the Nov 11 shopping festival release deep-discount inventory; a meta search on Trip.com puts the Big Three, HNA brands and LCCs side by side.