Shandong Airlines

Shandong Airlines, nicknamed SDA or 山航, is an airline based in the Shandong Airlines Center in Jinan, Shandong. Primarily it's a domestic carrier which provides a fairly standard onboard short-haul product. The airline developed from a small to a large enterprise with gradually enhanced strength It operates a sizable domestic network from Jinan, Qingdao and Yantai to major cities across China, together with an international network to regional Asian destinations. The airline's two largest shareholders are Shandong Aviation Group with a 42% controlling stake and Air China, a strategic partner, holding 22.8% of the airlines' shares. 

Shandong Airlines was established on 12 March 1994 and started operations in September of the same year. In September 1997 it became a founding member of the New Star (Xinxing) Aviation Alliance together with five other Chinese provincial airline.

For 20 consecutive years, no in-flight engine flameout has ever occurred, and it has continued to optimize its fleet structure, with a Boeing 737 fleet established with 134 aircrafts in total.

On 21 April 2014, Shandong Airlines committed to order 50 Boeing 737s, including 16 Next-Generation 737s and 34 737 MAXes.

Shandong Airlines caters to a spectrum of traveller preferences with its diverse cabin classes. Economy Class offers a comfortable and cost-effective travel experience and onboard meals and beverages, while Premium Economy introduces enhanced amenities and extra legroom. Business Class elevates the journey with premium services, ideal for those seeking an added touch of luxury. Business Class standards are below China Southern, China Eastern and Hainan Airlines. The epitome of opulence, First Class provides an unparalleled travel experience, combining exquisite comfort with personalized services. 

Now, Shandong Airlines has over 290 domestic, international and regional routes, with 4300+ flights to over 80 large and medium-sized cities operated every week. Meanwhile, it has opened routes to surrounding countries such as South Korea, Japan, Thailand, India and Cambodia, and routes to regions including Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, Shandong Airlines has taken the initiative to undertake tasks and perform its social responsibility and spared no efforts to provide urgent transportation guarantees for Shandong to help Hubei during the pandemic. Accumulatively, its aircraft were chartered 36 times to provide medical support, and 18 regular flights of Shandong Airlines were used to transport 3578 person-times of personnel and 144,498 kg of goods. 

On May 19, 2021, Civil Aviation Passenger Service Evaluation (CAPSE), China’s authoritative airlines assessment agency, announced the winners of the 7th CAPSE Aviation Services Awards, and Shandong Airlines received the “Best Airlines Award” for the 7th consecutive year. On June 22, 2021, World Brand Lab released the 18th list of “China’s Top 500 Most Valuable Brands,” and Shandong Airlines ranked 98th with a brand value of 63.832 billion yuan. This was the 4th consecutive year that it ranked among the top 100, and the 14th year that it was included in “China’s Top 500 Most Valuable Brands.”

Shandong Airlines 山东航空 is Certified as a 3-Star Airline by Skytrax for the quality of its airport and onboard products and staff service. Product rating includes seats, amenities, food & beverages, IFE, cleanliness etc, and service rating is for both cabin staff and ground staff.

The content of this article was created on 02 May 2024.