CAAC approves China Eastern's sole proprietorship of OTT Airlines

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

On 26  February 2020, OTT Airlines under China Eastern is officially inaugurated and established. It will mainly operate ARJ21, C919 and other aircrafts, serving the coastal areas of the Yangtze River Delta and the surrounding areas in China. 

OTT Airlines' development goal, through the introduction of ARJ21, C919 and other domestic aircraft, with the operation of domestically-made commercial aircraft as the main body, combined with the existing business jet business, is to promote the "two wings" of public aviation and business aviation, and create a transportation product that combines "main and secondary support". It will gradually improve and expand, form a full-industry, full-service, convenient and fast aviation service network, and enrich China Eastern's operating brand image.

OTT Airlines' company logo is inspired by the O+T+T letters, and adopts the looking back Yanou bird as the logo style main body. The dynamic posture of two Yanou birds flying constitutes the main logo of the logo, which contains the great moment of the origin of everything and the birth of life. It connotes profound continuous growth and vigorous development.

The Chinese characters for OTT Airlines "一二三航空" is derived from the traditional Chinese culture's philosophical thinking about the laws of nature. Lao Tzu said, "Dao begets one, one is two, two begets three, three begets everything. One of them is the mother of heaven and earth. It is a kind of ability. Dao can produce one, the ability to produce an existence from none, and the ability to produce all things, which means that all things and everything have infinite possibilities; second, the Tao is perpetual, it is a kind of law, it is natural There is a unique order, and everything must follow the law. This name shows that OTT Airlines, as a pioneer in embracing China's manufacturing industry, has full confidence in China's aircraft manufacturing industry.

The name "OTT Airlines" has a modern definition. The English short form for ONE TWO THREE, or "OTT"  can be understood as ON TIME TRAVEL, meaning that the journey will always be punctual; it can also be understood as OVER TOP TRAVEL, meaning incomparable aviation experience. 

On 28 June 2020, OTT Airlines officially receives its first ARJ21-700 aircraft. According to the plan, it will receive 3 ARJ21s this year, 6 in 2021, and 8 in 2022. By 2025, the fleet size of this aircraft will reach 35.

Recently, CAAC has officially approved China Eastern to form and own solely OTT Airlines on the basis of China Eastern Business Aviation operations with headquarters in Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.

China Eastern Business Aviation has 32 pilots (27 captains), 21 flight attendants, 16 dispatchers, and 42 maintenance crews (39 licensees) that will form the backbone of OTT Airlines' domestic flight operations. Follow-up personnel will be transferred from China Eastern Airlines.

Person in charge of the preparation company: Zhai Zhigang, former general manager of China Eastern Business Aviation Co., Ltd.;

Person in charge of flight: Fu Xiaoyong, former deputy general manager of China Eastern Business Aviation Co., Ltd.;

Person in charge of maintenance: Hu Zhibin, former deputy general manager of China Eastern  Business Aviation Co., Ltd.