Qingdao Airlines (QW, Qingdao Jiaodong) officially launched operations on April 26 with its maiden flight between Qingdao Jiaodong and Chengdu Shuangliu. In a statement to mark the event, the start-up said flights to Shenzhen, Changsha Huanghua and Shenyang Taoxian International will launch in the near term.
Traffic rights to serve Beijing Capital, Guangzhou and Shanghai, in addition to permission to use Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Xiamen for overnight bases, are also being sought from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
Though it currently operates a single A320-200 (sl), the self-styled "boutique airline" plans to acquire a further four machines before year end. With five A320s and 18 A320neos due for delivery from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) from 2016 onwards, Qingdao intends to expand its fleet to 50 aircraft by 2020 and 100 by 2025. It will also use two ex-Shandong Airlines (SC, Jinan) CRJ700s.
