East Star Airlines

East Star Airlines (Chinese: 東星航空) was an airline based in Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China. It was a privately owned airline and operated scheduled domestic services on 10 routes from Wuhan, and was expected to add more routes as its fleet grew. Its main base was at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport.[2]

"East Star" redirects here. For other uses, see East Star (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Star of the East (disambiguation).
East Star Airlines
東星航空
IATA ICAO Callsign
8C DXH EAST STAR
Founded2005
Ceased operations15 March 2009 [1]
Operating basesWuhan Tianhe International Airport
Parent companyEast Star Airlines Company Limited
HeadquartersWuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China

History

The airline received its air operator's certificate from the CAAC on 10 June 2005, and started operations on 19 May 2006. It was wholly owned by the China East Star Group and had 541 employees (at March 2007).[2] Its inaugural flight was from Wuhan to Shenzhen using its first Airbus A319.[3]

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 were to be delivered in batches from the second quarter of 2006.[4]

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.[5]

On 15 March 2009, the airline announced that it was suspending its flights indefinitely.[1][6] On 30 March 2009, the airline was liquidated by the Wuhan Mid-Court.

On 27 August 2009, the airline officially went bankrupt, after the Intermediate People's Court of Wuhan rejected its last restructuring plan because the investment firm ChinaEquity that had promised to invest between CNY 200 and 300 million, did not specify the source of the funding, failed to provide certificates and documents, and lacked measures to protect creditors, the court stated.[7]

Destinations

East Star Airlines destinations included (at March 2009):

City Country Airport Ref Notes
ChangdeChinaChangde Airport[3]
ChangshaChinaChangsha Huanghua International Airport[3]
ChongqingChinaChongqing Jiangbei International Airport[3]
DalianChinaDalian Zhoushuizi International Airport[3]
GuangzhouChinaGuangzhou Baiyun International Airport[3]
GuilinChinaGuilin Liangjiang International Airport[3]
HaikouChinaHaikou Meilan International Airport[3]
HangzhouChinaHangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport[3]
Hong KongHong Kong Special Administrative RegionHong Kong International Airport[3]
MacauMacau Special Administrative RegionMacau International Airport[3]
NanjingChinaNanjing Lukou International Airport[3]
QingdaoChinaQingdao Liuting International Airport[3]
SanyaChinaSanya Phoenix International Airport[3]
ShanghaiChinaShanghai Hongqiao International Airport[3]
ShenyangChinaShenyang Taoxian International Airport[3]
ShenzhenChinaShenzhen Bao'an International Airport[3]
TianjinChinaTianjin Binhai International Airport[3]
WuhanChinaWuhan Tianhe International Airport[3]Base
Xi'anChinaXi'an Xianyang International Airport[3]
XiamenChinaXiamen Gaoqi International Airport[3]
ZhengzhouChinaZhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport[3]

Fleet
East Star Airlines Airbus A319

The East Star Airlines fleet included the following aircraft (at 2 March 2009):[8]

East Star Airlines Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Notes
Airbus A319-100 3
Airbus A320-200 6
Total 9

References
  1. http://www.avionews.com/index.php?%7Ccorpo=see_news_home.php&news_id=1101246&pagina_chiamante=index.php
  2. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 75.
  3. Asia Travel Tips 26 May 2006
  4. China Economic Net 14 December 2005
  5. China Daily 17 July 2007
  6. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/corporatenews/view/415647/1/.html
  7. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/27/content_11954674.htm
  8. East Star Airlines Fleet

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