Founding China Southern Airlines was established on July 1, 1988, as part of the Chinese government's initiative to decentralize the
Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), and liberalize the Chinese aviation market. This restructuring aimed to transform CAAC's regional divisions into independent commercial entities. China Southern emerged from the former Guangzhou Regional Administration of CAAC, marking its inception as a separate airline. However, the airline's first commercial operations under its own name and livery didn't launch until February 1991. The airline completed its decentralization from CAAC when it gained independence on 10 October 1993. During the airline's early years, the carrier was the dominant domestic carrier. Together with the two major airlines of China – Air China and China Eastern – the airline handled half of the passenger traffic carried by all Chinese carriers. Owing to Air China's status as the country's
flag carrier, the airline is entitled to extensive international service rights, with China Eastern and China Southern's international networks confined to mainly East Asia and within Asia, respectively. Like other Chinese carriers, China Southern was subjected to CAAC's exclusive right to grant route-specific operating licenses and domestic prices.
Expansion To raise its operating standards and distance itself from mostly unprofitable second and third-tier domestic airlines, the carrier signed agreements with several foreign carriers regarding staff training and
aircraft maintenance, with the ultimate aim of being listed on the , possibly as soon as early 1995. Starting in the mid-1990s, China Southern sought to expand its international reach beyond Asia. In December 1995, the Chinese and United States governments signed an aviation agreement that would allow the commencement of non-stop air services between the two countries. After having been granted the right to establish services to
Amsterdam in early 1996, the airline started Guangzhou–Beijing–Amsterdam, its first
long-haul route, in November 1996. The following year, the carrier commenced non-stop trans-Pacific services to
Los Angeles, as well as services to
Brisbane. The start of European and American services coincided with the arrival of the long-range Boeing 777s, the first of which was delivered in late December 1995, as well as a general expansion and upgrade of the carrier's fleet and the associated facilities. Due to engine certification and labor relations issues, the delivery of the first Boeing 777 was more than a month behind schedule. As a result, the carrier considered, but ultimately decided against, leasing the
Boeing 747-400, which would have been used to cover anticipated delays as well as to launch trans-Pacific services to the United States. Nevertheless, the airline planned to double its fleet of 67 aircraft. In April 1996, the Chinese government placed an order, on China Southern's behalf, for 10 Airbus A320s; the delivery of the first aircraft, and China Southern's first Airbus, was made the following year.
Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company, which was jointly established with
Lockheed Aircraft Services International and
Hutchinson Whampoa, was carrying out expansion of its aircraft maintenance facilities in anticipation of the increase. In July 1997, China Southern Airlines went public, listing on both the Hong Kong and New York Stock Exchanges. The airline raised $600–$700 million, which was mainly used to expand its fleet, pay off debt, and invest in other key areas. In 2003, China Southern Airlines listed domestically on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange. By 1997, the airline, along with its joint-venture airlines
Xiamen Airlines, Shantou Airlines and Guangxi Airlines, was carrying some 15 million passengers per year using about 90 aircraft, operating about 270 routes among 68 destinations and almost 2,450 flights per week. The airline group's revenue totaled some US$1.4 billion with a net income of $90 million.
Mergers and acquisitions The end of the 1990s was a period of consolidation for the Chinese airline industry. Initially, China Southern looked to acquire several smaller non-profitable domestic carriers as it sought to highlight its expansion plans intoaise funds; among the deals was the purchase of 60% shares of Guizhou Airlines. Due to the weakening economy amidst the
1997 Asian financial crisis and intense competition among the some 30 Chinese carriers, in 1998,
CAAC considered a comprehensive restructuring of the industry that would see the consolidation of the airlines into three or five carrier groups. At one stage, it was reported that CAAC was contemplating a forced merger of Air China and China Southern. Given the latter's dual listing in Hong Kong and New York, it was thought that such a merger would have eased Air China's path towardits own share offering. China Southern confirmed that such talks between them were occurring, although they ultimately proved fruitless. Had the merger proceeded, their combined fleets would have numbered some 250 aircraft, which would have made the resultant airline the largest in Asia. Although there was considerable resistance to CAAC's call to rationalise the industry, in July 2000, the administrative body announced that the 10 airlines under its direct management will be merged into three airline groups, revolving around Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern itself. Within a month, China Southern had started absorbing
Zhengzhou-based
Zhongyuan Airlines, which at the time operated five Boeing 737s and two
Xian Y-7 turboprops. The carrier would later merge with
Shenyang-based
China Northern Airlines and
Urumqi-based
Xinjiang Airlines to form China Southern Air Holding Co., a process that took more than two years and would culminate in China Southern's acquisition of their US$2 billion's worth of assets (as well as $1.8 billion of debt) in November 2004. Consequently, China Southern's fleet expanded from some 140 aircraft to over 210. The takeovers meant that the carrier became the main airline in Shenyang and Ürümqi, with passenger numbersjumping from 28.2 million in 2004 to 44.1 million in 2005. As a result, China Southern Airlines became one of the "Big Three" carriers in the country. Since then, it has successively taken over shareholding stocks and joined the equity in numerous Chinese carriers. The airline is the major shareholder of
Xiamen Airlines (55%) and
Chongqing Airlines (60%); it also invests in
Sichuan Airlines (39%). Amidst the major consolidation of the airline industry, China Southern in April 2000 started dedicated cargo services from
Shenzhen using a Boeing 747-200F (which was quickly upgraded to the Boeing 747-400F)
wet-leased from
Atlas Air. To capitalize on the economic growth of the
Pearl River Delta region (which includes Hong Kong), the carrier constructed a dedicated cargo center in Shenzhen. Successful operations prompted an order for two Boeing 747-400Fs the following year. The airline by now had commenced operations to
Sydney and
Melbourne. In September 2003, China Southern signed a purchase agreement for four
Airbus A330-200s to be delivered in 2005. This was part of the order placed in April by the China Aviation Supplies Imp. & Exp. Group covering 30 aircraft. China Southern became the first mainland Chinese A330 operator with the delivery of the first example in February 2005. China Southern followed up in September 2005 with a further order for eight A330-300s and two A330-200s. The month of January 2005 proved to be significant for
civil aviation in China in general and China Southern in particular. In preparation for the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China Southern, and the Chinese government placed several landmark widebody-aircraft orders from
Airbus and
Boeing. More specifically, on 28 January 2005, the carrier became the first (and so far the only) Chinese carrier to commit to the
Airbus A380 double-deck aircraft, when it signed a general-terms agreement for five examples worth US$1.4 billion at catalog prices. On the same day, China Southern, along with five other domestic carriers, placed a bulk order for 60 Boeing 7E7s (later renamed the
Boeing 787 Dreamliner). The aircraft was worth $7.2 billion at list prices, and the first example was expected to be delivered in time for the Olympics; however, the first aircraft did not arrive until June 2013. Earlier during the month, the CAAC had approved the temporary operations of charter flights between mainland China and
Taiwan. On the same day as the widebody orders, a China Southern Airlines Boeing 777–200 took off from Guangzhou and landed in
Taipei the following day, becoming the first mainland Chinese aircraft to land in the
Republic of China since 1949, when the
Kuomintang were involved in
Chinese Civil War with the
Chinese Communist Party. The flight carried 242 passengers home after the
Chinese New Year. Previously, passengers traveling between the mainland and Taiwan had to transit through a third port such as Hong Kong or
Macau. Within three years, in July 2008, a China Southern Airlines Airbus A330 carrying 230 tourists again landed in
Taipei. The governments of China and Taiwan had both agreed to allow direct flights across the
Taiwan Strait in June, ending six decades of limited air travel between the two sides. Following the flight, China Southern Airlines Chairman and pilot of the flight, Liu Shaoyong, said, "From today onward, regular commercial flights will replace the rumbling warplanes over the skies of the Taiwan Strait, and relations between the two sides will become better and better." On 15 November 2007, China Southern officially joined SkyTeam, becoming the eleventh carrier to join the grouping and the first mainland Chinese carrier to join an airline alliance. The welcoming ceremony was attended by high-ranking Chinese government and SkyTeam corporate officials and was held at the
Great Hall of the People. The carrier's integration with the alliance continued with its entry into
SkyTeam Cargo in November 2010, and its joint-venture carrier Xiamen Airlines' formal joining in November 2012. With China Eastern's ascension in June 2011, SkyTeam furthered its leading presence on the mainland Chinese market; the remaining Big Three carrier, Air China, is a member of
Star Alliance. It followed up with another Airbus order on 7 July 2006, when it confirmed a deal covering the purchase of 50 more A320 narrow bodies for delivery in 2009. The order included 13 A319-100s, 20 A320-200s and 17 A321-200s, reportedly worth $3.3 billion at list prices. In December 2005, China Southern Airlines along with CASGC, announced an order with Boeing for 9
Boeing 737-700s and 11
Boeing 737-800s. In June 2006, China Southern Airlines confirmed another order of three Boeing 737-700s and seven Boeing 737-800s. The deliveries would continue through 2010. On 18 October 2006, China Southern Airlines placed an order for six
Boeing 777 freighters, striding forward a brand new step in its cargo development. The aircraft would be delivered from November 2008 to July 2010. On 20 August 2007, China Southern Airlines announced its intention for an order of 25 Boeing 737-700s and 30 Boeing 737-800s, which will be delivered from May 2011 to October 2013. It was a mere two months before, on 23 October 2007, China Southern Airlines announced that it had placed an order for 10 additional Airbus A330-200s. The order has a listed price of US$1.677 billion and the aircraft will be delivered from March 2010 to August 2012.
Recent developments During 2009, China Southern Airlines remodeled its strategy from a point-to-point hub to a full hub and spoke carrier, which has been proven successful. Along with that, the airline has rapidly expanded its international market share, particularly in
Australia, where passenger numbers in 2011 have been 97% greater than in 2010. On 21 January 2010, China Southern Airlines announced an order for an additional 20 A320-200s, scheduled for delivery in 2011, due to the falling fuel costs and surging passenger demand. In March 2010, the Chinese carrier issued new shares in
Hong Kong and
Shanghai 2010 to raise 10.75 billion yuan ($1.57 billion) in a bid to pay off outstanding loans. In December, CNY810 million ($121.5 million) was injected by China Southern Airlines into its subsidiary
Xiamen Airlines to fund its fleet expansion. In November 2010, China Southern Airlines signed an agreement with Airbus for the purchase of 6 A330s and 30 A320–200s. On 11 January 2011, China Southern Airlines announced a lease for 10
Embraer E190 aircraft, set to be delivered from the second half of 2011. On 27 January 2011, China Southern Airlines was awarded a four-star ranking by
Skytrax. It is the largest airline to hold this title. On 17 October 2011, China Southern Airlines made its
first flight with the
Airbus A380. Initially, the airline deployed the A380s on domestic routes, flying between Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. At the same time, the carrier conducted negotiations to commence A380 international services. Due to the government-imposed limitation that confined an international route to a single airline, China Southern in August 2012 announced its intention to initiate Beijing-
Paris services in cooperation with Air China, pending government approval. Two months later, the A380 was deployed on Guangzhou-Los Angeles services. Early A380 operations were unprofitable and the aircraft, underutilised; services to Sydney were thus launched in October 2013. By May 2013, talks with Air China on Beijing-Paris services had ceased. While China Southern, like the other two of the big three Chinese carriers,
Air China and
China Eastern Airlines, had been expanding rapidly since 2000, much of their activities had been focused on the domestic market. With the increase in outflow of Chinese tourists, who in 2012, for example, spent $102 billion internationally, as well as the rapid construction and introduction of
high-speed rail in China, the carrier shifted its outlook overseas to sustain growth. an alternative to the
Kangaroo Route flown by carriers such as Qantas. It hoped to attract the predominantly business traffic that travel between Europe and Australia, and channel such sixth-freedom traffic as well as traffic from mainland China through its Guangzhou hub (thereby transforming the carrier's network from one that emphasises point-to-point to a hub-and-spoke system). The carrier by now had added cities such as
Auckland,
Istanbul,
Perth, and
Vancouver to its route map. During May–June 2012, China Southern Airlines has recruited Dutch flight attendants to serve the First and Business class sections for flights from Guangzhou to Amsterdam. On 7 June 2013, China Southern operated its first
Boeing 787 on a route from
Guangzhou to
Beijing Capital, the first Chinese airline to introduce the 787-8. The 787s were going to be part of China Southern's fleet for only a dozen years: in November 2024, the airline announced its intention to sell all 10 aircraft of the type by 2026 due to
challenges in recovering long-haul services following the
COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2015, it was announced that the airline would lease 24 Airbus A320neo aircraft from
AerCap for delivery between 2016 and 2019. On 15 November 2018, the airline announced that it would leave SkyTeam by 1 January 2019 and will strengthen its partnership with
American Airlines and others. The announcement lead to speculation that it will join
Oneworld alongside Hong Kong carrier
Cathay Pacific. Various media outlets reported that while analysts predict that its Oneworld move could threaten Cathay Pacific's position in the alliance, other analysts state that China Southern joining Oneworld would benefit Cathay more due to different target markets. In March 2019, the airline announced a frequent flyer partnership with
American Airlines. In early January 2025, China Southern Airlines suspend its daily service between
Beijing Daxing and
Moscow Sheremetyevo from 20 January to 30 March 2025. No reason was given by the airline. However, experts commented it may be due to the on-going
conflict between
Russia and
Ukraine. ==Corporate affairs==