The C919 roll out marked a milestone for Comac. (Photo: Zhang Anchao/Comac)
According to XinHua, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has approved Genghis Khan Airlines to start operations. The brand-new carrier may commence the flight operations as early as early 2019.
Genghis Khan Airlines was established in 2015 and selected Hohhot Airport as their main hub. Hohhot is the capital city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, which is located at northwest of Beijing and is just a short 90-minute flight away. Inner Mongolia has an area of 1.183 million kilometers squared. In recent years, an improvement in airport facilities has not attracted carriers as originally planned.
According to the company proposal, the airline will use Chinese-manufactured Comac ARJ21 aircraft and hope to operate a fleet of 25 the type. It plans to fly 40 destinations and 60 routes within the first five years. In the next eight years, a fleet of 50 aircraft are expected and the airline has set a goal to reach 80 destinations and 150 routes, the route map will be covering the country’s major cities, Mongolia and Russia.
Inner Mongolia has 28 civil airports, the most airports in a region of China. In 2017, 58 airlines served across the region, reaching 116 destinations and 426 routes, including 37 international route and 21 destinations.
In the first seven months of 2018, the total passengers volume of the airports in Inner Mongolia was 14.28 million, an increase of 17.6 percent over the same period last year. Expecting rapid economic growth, the number of airports will 50 by 2030. At that point, Hohhot will become a major hub for the region.The airline has already employed maintenance personal, safety regulators, safety management teams and customer services agents.
Hao Yutao, the chairman of Genghis Khan, said, “the airline has reached an agreement with Commercial Aircraft Cooperation Of China Ltd (COMAC). The company is going to setup Aero institute, aircraft maintenance center and training center in the region and support surrounding airports.”
As a result of the rapid economic growth in China, the airline network of Inner Mongolia can’t meet popular demand. Genghis Khan Airlines commencing service may solve the region’s problems, but the airline has to face competition with the high speed train in the long run, meaning the future is cautiously optimistic.
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