Air China (simplified Chinese: 中国国际航空公司; traditional Chinese: 中國國際航空公司; pinyin: Zhōngguó Guójì Hángkōng Gōngsī; literally "China International Airlines Company", abbreviated 国航) is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People's Republic of China. Based in Beijing Capital International Airport, Air China is the world's 10th largest airline by fleet size. The airline ranked behind its main competitors China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines in terms of total passengers carried. However, Air China is the most profitable airline in world, as well as the world's largest carrier by market value.
The enterprise logo of Air China consists of an artistic phoenix pattern, the Chinese name of the airline written in calligraphy by former national leader Deng Xiaoping, and “AIR CHINA” in English. The phoenix logo is also the artistic transfiguration of the word “VIP”. Air China is a member of the Star Alliance.
In 2010, Air China carried 60 million domestic and international passengers with an average load factor of 80%. The airline reported a net profit of 12 billion yuan (USD $1.83 billion) in 2010
Chinese description below:
中国国际航空股份有限公司，简称国航，是中国最大的国有航空企业，总部设在北京，以北京首都国际机场为基地。国航与中国东方航空股份有限公司和中国南方航空股份有限公司合称中国三大航空集团。现时，国航持有香港国泰航空的29.99%股权；国泰航空则持有国航18.09%总股权H股持股量53.34%。 2010年，公司总营业额825亿元，纯利120.05亿（人民币．下同），折合达142.6亿港元，成为全球赚钱最多的航空公司。
2011年6月，中国国际航空首度获得Skytrax授予四星级航空公司之评级