About Tianjin Airlines
Formerly Grand China Express Air, Tianjin Airlines is a regional airline headquartered in Tianjin, People's Republic of China, operating domestic scheduled passenger and cargo flights out of Tianjin Binhai International Airport.
The airline was established in 2004 in an effort to merge the major aviation assets of Hainan Airlines, China Xinhua Airlines, Chang'an Airlines and Shanxi Airlines, and received its operating licence from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in 2007. Scheduled flights were launched under the brand name Grand China Express Air, using 29-32 seat Dornier 328-300 jets. At that time, the company was China's largest regional airline, operating on 78 routes linking 54 cities. On 10 June 2009, the company name was changed to Tianjin Airlines. As of August 2011, 63 destinations are served (excluding those operated on behalf of Hainan Airlines), though by 2012, the airline intends to fly on more than 450 routes linking at least 90 cities, taking more than 90% of the domestic regional aviation market.
IATA: GS
ICAO: GCR
Call sign: China Dragon
Fleet details
Tianjin operates both 145 and 190 variants of the ERJ.
145LR - 25 in service
190-100LR – 37 in service.
Operating bases: Tianjin Binhai International Airport
Secondary hubs: Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, Hohhot Baita International Airport, Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport
Focus cities: Nanning Wuxu International Airport, Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport, Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport
About Tianjin Airport
Tianjin Binhai International Airport (IATA: TSN, ICAO: ZBTJ) is an airport located east of Tianjin, in Dongli District. It is one of the major air cargo centers in the People's Republic of China.
It is the hub airport for Tianjin Airlines, established in 2004, and privately owned Okay Airways. It's also a focus city for Air China.
International flights are primarily operated by Korean Air and Asiana Airlines to Seoul-Incheon International Airport, Japan Airlines to Nagoya-Chubu Centrair International Airport.
In 2010, Tianjin Binhai International Airport handled 7,277,106 passengers, a growth of 25.9% over 2009, making it the 22th busiest airport in China.
New terminal and second runway
Construction of a new terminal began in 2005 and was fully operating by 2008. The airport expansion provides a state-of-the-art terminal building, which is more than three times bigger than the current one at 116,000 m2. When the three construction phases are complete the airport terminal will be over 500,000 m2 and be able to handle 40 million passengers a year. Over the period of the project the airport site will enlarge from the current 25 km² to 80 km². The airport as a whole will resemble Amsterdam's Schiphol airport in size and will be able to handle over 500,000 tons of cargo and 200,000 flights a year.
The expansion, with a total investment of nearly 3 billion yuan (409.5 million U.S. dollars) widened the runway to 75 meters from 50 meters and lengthened it to 3,600 meters. In May 2009, the airport has also completed the construction of a second runway, and the expected number of passengers will exceed ten million.
