Tianjin Airlines– Embraer, perfect Fit for China's Regional Expansion

Tianjin Airlines is also the largest E-Jets operator in Asia with 62 aircraft, which redefined the operation model of regional aviation in China.

- R.Chandrakanth

THE INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT Association (IATA) has forecast that China will displace the US as the world’s largest aviation market by 2024. India will be placed third. The growth of China and India are not surprising ones, expected as the two Asian giants are geographically and demographically huge. China’s land area is three times larger than India’s and China’s population is nearly 1.4 billion.

If these statistics is not going to change air traffic growth, nothing will. China has already made considerable progress in connecting the vast geographical area. It is forecast to add 817 million new passengers by 2024 to take the air passenger total to 1.3 billion by then. This is humongous. And these numbers are going to come from the hinterland for which regional airlines are going to be playing a major role.

FIRST E-JET OPERATOR IN CHINA 

Tianjin Airlines of the HNA group is one of them, making strong headway in the regional market. Tianjin Airlines owns a young and deluxe fleet. The total number of airplanes is 77, mainly consisting of A320, E190 and ERJ145. Tianjin was the first operator of an Embraer jet in China.

Helping Tianjin Airlines capture this growing regional market is Embraer which recently reached another milestone in its E-Jets programme, delivering the 1,300th aircraft from its stables. The E-Jet, an E195, was handed over to China’s Tianjin Airlines in a ceremony at the Embraer factory in Sao Jose dos Campos. This delivery brings the Tianjin Airlines E-Jet fleet to 45, the largest in Asia.