Hunnu Air

Summary

Hunnu Air (Mongolian: Хүннү Эйр, romanized: Hünnü Eir) is a Mongolian airline that began scheduled flights in 2011. The company changed its name from Mongolian Airlines Group (Mongolian: Монголиан Аэрлайнес Групп) in April 2013 to avoid confusion with the similarly named Mongolian international flag carrier MIAT Mongolian Airlines. The company slogan is Wings of Mongolia.[3] The name Hunnu refers to the Mongolian spelling of the Xiongnu.

Hunnu Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
MR MML TRANS MONGOLIA
Founded2011
HubsChinggis Khaan International Airport
Focus citiesBaikal International Airport[1]
Fleet size3
Destinations9
Parent companyMongolyn Alt MAK LLC
HeadquartersSükhbaatar district, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia[2]
Key peopleNyamtaishir (Director of Board)
Websitehunnuair.com

History edit

Hunnu Air is backed by the mining company Mongolyn Alt MAK LLC and the Bodi Group. The airline was launched as Mongolian Airlines on 2 December 2011 following the acquisition of Monnis Air Services and its fleet of Antonov An-2 single-engine biplane aircraft. Confusion soon arose over the name and its similarity to that of MIAT Mongolian Airlines and in April 2013, threatened with a legal dispute and possible government intervention, the name was changed to Hunnu Air.[4]

The airline purchased two Fokker 50 aircraft in 2011 and operated its first scheduled domestic flight (from Ulaanbaatar to Bayankhongor) on 2 January 2012. Other domestic routes were later opened from Ulaanbaatar to Mörön, Choibalsan, Khovd and Dalanzadgad. With the leasing of two Airbus A319 aircraft, delivered in January 2012, it was able to launch services to Tokyo and subsequently Bangkok, Shanghai and Hong Kong. In July 2013 a third Fokker 50 was acquired.[4] Hunnu Air also operated charter flights to destinations such as Jeju, Hainan and Shizuoka.[4]

Hunnu Air introduced its first long-haul direct flight from Ulaanbaatar to Paris for the summer period of 2014,[4] with one technical stop, using an Airbus A319. The airline planned to acquire an Airbus A330 aircraft and relaunch long-haul direct flights in 2015[4] to include Singapore, but this never materialized due to a financial crisis.[5] The two Airbus A319s were repossessed by their owner late in 2014.[6]

In 2019 and 2023, it acquired two Embraer 190 aircraft.[5]

Destinations edit

Hunnu Air operates within Mongolia and Central Asia from its Chinggis Khaan International Airport base.[7][8]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
China Beijing Beijing Daxing International Airport [9]
Hailar Hulunbeier Hailar Airport
Manzhouli Manzhouli Xijiao Airport
Changsha Changsha Huanghua International Airport
Kazakhstan Almaty Almaty International Airport [8][10]
Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport Airport Closed [8]
Chinggis Khaan International Airport Hub [8]
United Arab Emirates Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport [8][11]

Fleet edit

Current fleet edit

 
Hunnu Air Airbus A319 landing at Hong Kong International Airport

As of August 2023, the Hunnu Air fleet includes the following aircraft:[12][13]

Hunnu Air fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
ATR 42-500 1 TBA [14]
Embraer 190 2 6 92 98 [15]
9 89 98
Total 3 0

Former fleet edit

The airline previously operated the following aircraft:

References edit

  1. ^ "Hunnu Air откроет авиарейс из Улан-Удэ в Манчжурию". gazeta-n1.ru. 20 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Hunnu Air Website". Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Монголиан Аэрлайнес Групп ХХК-ийн оноосон нэр "Хүннү Эйр" болон өөрчлөгдсөн тухай албан мэдэгдэл". Gogo.mn (in Mongolian).
  4. ^ a b c d e Schmitz, Sebastian (December 2014). "Conquering Mongolia". Airliner World: 53–58.
  5. ^ a b Meier, Ricardo (2023-09-17). "Mongolian airline Hunnu Air has received its second Embraer E190". Air Data News. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  6. ^ "Conquering Mongolia". Airliner World: 17. January 2015.
  7. ^ "Timetable". hunnuair.com.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Destinations". hunnuair.com.
  9. ^ "Hunnu Air Begins Ulaanbaatar – Beijing Service From Dec 2023". AeroRoutes. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Hunnu Air Expands Almaty Service From May 2024". AeroRoutes. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Hunnu Air adds Ulaanbaatar - Dubai service from Dec 2023". aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World. October 2019: 21.
  13. ^ "Hunnu Air Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Mongolia's Hunnu Air begins ATR42-500 operations". Ch-Aviation. 17 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Hunnu Air becomes first Mongolian customer of Embraer E-Jets". airlinerwatch.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26.