China SSS

History

Spring Airlines received government approval to launch on 26 May 2004 and began flying on 18 July 2005, founded as the aviation subsidiary of Shanghai Spring International Travel Service to become China's first true low-cost carrier. Its inaugural Airbus A320 was delivered to a Shanghai Hongqiao base in July 2005, and the airline built out an initial domestic network to cities including Yantai and Guilin before expanding internationally with its first overseas flight, to Japan's Ibaraki Airport, on 29 July 2010. The carrier steadily added regional international routes through the early 2010s, including daily Shanghai-Hong Kong service from September 2010 and Shanghai-Macau flights from April 2011, while also establishing a Japan-based subsidiary, Spring Japan, to extend its low-cost model abroad. Spring Airlines listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in January 2015, becoming mainland China's first publicly traded budget carrier, while remaining under the umbrella of its parent travel-services group. The airline has since grown into one of China's largest and most consistently profitable low-cost carriers, a rarity in a market segment that has struggled elsewhere in Asia. Note: the code 9C is sometimes mislabeled in third-party airline databases; the airline that actually operates under IATA code 9C today is Spring Airlines, not any similarly-named entity.

Current Operations

Spring Airlines operates an all-Airbus A320-family fleet, flying a dense, high-utilization network of domestic Chinese routes alongside international service across East and Southeast Asia, including Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian points. Its primary base is Shanghai, split across Hongqiao (SHA) and Pudong (PVG) airports, with additional operating bases supporting its point-to-point, no-frills low-cost model. The airline operates independently of the three major global alliances, consistent with its low-cost positioning, though it maintains close ties to its Japan-focused subsidiary, Spring Japan. In December 2025 Spring Airlines agreed to purchase 30 additional Airbus A320neo-family aircraft for delivery between 2028 and 2032, underscoring continued fleet growth. As a publicly listed company on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Spring Airlines is widely regarded as one of Asia's most profitable low-cost carriers and a bellwether for China's budget travel market.

Last verified 2026-08-22· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.

Serves These Profiled Airports30

Sample Routes6