East Star Air

Infobox Airline
airline = East Star Air
東星航空

logo_size = 181
fleet_size = 10 (+1 order)
destinations = 21
IATA = 8C
ICAO = DXH
callsign = EAST STAR
parent = East Star Airlines Company Limited
company_slogan =
founded = 2005
headquarters = Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
key_people =
hubs = Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
secondary_hubs =
focus_cities =
frequent_flyer =
lounge =
alliance =
website = http://www.eaststar-air.com/

East Star Air ( _zh. 東星航空) is an airline based in Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China. It is a privately-owned airline and operates scheduled domestic services on 10 routes from Wuhan, and expects to add more routes as its fleet grows. Its main base is Wuhan Tianhe International Airportcite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | page= 75 | date= 2007-04-03] . In July 2007, it was granted rights to operate international services after only a year of service, the first privately-owned Chinese airline to be granted permission to operate international flights before Civil Aviation Administration of China's (CAAC) requirement of three-year service. [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-07/17/content_5438115.htm China Daily] 17 July 2007]

History

The airline received its air-operators certificate from the CAAC on 10 June, 2005, and started operations on 19 May, 2006. It is wholly owned by the China East Star Group and has 541 employees (as at March 2007). Its inaugural flight was from Wuhan to Shenzhen using its first Airbus A319 [http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news06/265-EastStar.shtml Asia Travel Tips] 26 May 2006] .

Destinations

East Star Airlines destinations include (as at September 2007):
*Wuhan
*Shenzhen
*Haikou
*Nanjing
*Shenyang
*Guangzhou
*Guilin
*Changde
*Changsha
*Xian
*Hangzhou
*Tianjin
*Qingdao
*Chongqing
*Sanya
*Dalian
*Shanghai
*Xiamen
*Zhengzhou
*Hong Kong
*Macau

Fleet

The East Star Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (as at March 2007) :
*2 Airbus A319-100 (plus 1 on order)
*8 Airbus A320-200

On 27 November, 2005, the airline signed a Letter of Intent with Airbus for the purchase of 10 Airbus A320s plus a firm lease deal with GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) for another 10 Airbus A320s. The aircraft are to be delivered in batches from the second quarter of 2006. [ [http://en.ce.cn/Insight/200512/14/t20051214_5517409.shtml China Economic Net] 14 December 2005]

External links

* [http://www.eaststar-air.com/ East Star Air]

References