Yangtze River Airlines (Shanghai Hongqiao) has announced it has officially rebranded itself as Suparna Airlines (Y8, Shanghai Hongqiao) effective July 7, 2017. Suparna represents a Garuda, or divine bird, in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.
The HNA Group carrier currently operates in both the scheduled passenger and cargo segments. At this time, it is uncertain if the change in name applies to both parts of the company or to passenger services only.
In terms of passenger services, Suparna Airlines operates five B737-800s on flights throughout China while in terms of cargo services, it operates twelve B737-300(F)s, two B737-300(QC)s, three B737-400(F)s, and three B747-400(F)s on scheduled flights throughout China as well as to Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.
