China Southwest Airlines

China Southwest Airlines was a civil airline headquartered in Shuangliu, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, from 1987 to 2002. It was merged into Air China in October 2002.

Destinations
China Southwest Airlines' main hub was at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and its secondary hub was in Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. It was the only airline flying to Lhasa Gonggar Airport until 2002. Although most routes from its hubs Chengdu and Chongqing were domestic, it also flew to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Osaka and Seoul.

Fleet
China Southwest Airlines operated a fleet of Boeing 737-300, Boeing 737-600, Boeing 737-800, Boeing 757-200 and Airbus A340-300 aircraft. It had formerly operated other aircraft, including the Ilyushin Il-18D, the Tupolev Tu-154, and the Boeing 707.

Incidents and accidents

 * On January 18, 1988, China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146, an Ilyushin 18D crashed while on approach to Chongqing Baishiyi Airport. All 108 people on board were killed.
 * On October 2, 1990, a hijacked Xiamen Airlines plane (operated as Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301) sideswiped a China Southwest Airlines Boeing 707 (operated as China Southwest Airlines Flight 4305) before crashing into a third airliner. Nobody on the 707 died.
 * On February 24, 1999, Flight 4509, a Tupolev Tu-154 crashed into a field while on approach to Wenzhou Airport, killing all 61 passengers and crew members on board, and leading to the withdrawal of all of China Southwest's Tu-154 fleet.