Tianjin Airlines came into existence as Grand China Express Air in 2004, and commenced operations three years later. Having initially flown smaller aircraft like the Dornier 328, the carrier, which assumed its current identity in June 2009, has since amassed a fleet of nearly 100 jets. This collection includes regional jets, narrowbodies, and even widebodies.

Embraer E-Jets

According to data from ch-aviation.com, there are presently 97 aircraft in the Tianjin Airlines fleet. All of them are powered by turbofan engines, with more than half (52 aircraft, or 53.6%) being examples of the Embraer E-Jet family. Of these, the most numerous variant is the E190AR, with 21 examples present. Seven of these 106-seaters are presently active.

Tianjin Airlines also flies a long-range version of the E190, known as the E190LR. There are 11 of these regional jets in the carrier's fleet, of which seven were active at the time of writing. They also seat 106 passengers in a four-abreast, all-economy setup.

Tianjin Airlines' largest Embraer aircraft are its 20 examples of the E195LR. These twinjets are 38.66 meters long, compared to 36.25 meters for the E190 series. As a result, they have a greater capacity, and can accommodate 16 extra passengers across four rows, bringing the total to 122. 12 of the 20 E195LRs are active, and they are 4.7 years old on average.

Tianjin Airlines Embraer E190
Embraer E-Jets account for more than half of the Tianjin Airlines fleet. Photo: byeangel via Flickr

The Airbus A320 family

Moving up in size, Tianjin Airlines also flies three types of aircraft from the wider Airbus A320 family. By far the most numerous of these are the standard A320-200s, of which there are 28 examples in the carrier's current fleet. 18 were active at the time of writing.

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On a smaller scale, Tianjin Airlines also has nine next-generation Airbus A320neos at its disposal. Six of these are active, and they began joining the carrier in July 2017. Finally, the airline also has a pair of active Airbus A321-200s in its fleet, seating 220 and 230 passengers. They are 4.9 years old on average, compared to a mean of 3.7 years old for the A320neos.

Tianjin Airlines Airbus A320
Almost 30% of Tianjin Airlines' jets are Airbus A320-200s. Photo: Airbus

Going big - Tianjin Airlines' Airbus A330s

In recent years, Tianjin Airlines has moved away from its regional focus to cultivate a growing intercontinental network. To serve these long-haul routes, it began flying aircraft from the Airbus A330 family in December 2016. It flies six in total, with four being examples of the smaller A330-200. Two of these are active, and they seat a total of 260 passengers.

Unlike its regional and narrowbody jets, Tianjin Airlines has fitted its A330s with a premium cabin. As such, the 260 seats onboard the A330-200 are split between 242 economy class passengers, with the remaining 18 being the domain of business class flyers.

Similarly, the carrier's two larger Airbus A330-300s (both active) also have a two-class configuration. This consists of 279 economy and 24 business class seats, giving a total capacity of 303 passengers. These A330s arrived a little later, in July and August of 2018.

What do you make of Tianjin Airlines' current fleet? Have you ever flown with this diverse Chinese carrier? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!