COMPANY PROFILE: Air China

COMPANY: Headquartered in Beijing and set up in July 1 1988, Air China is the country's only national flag carrier and claims to have the largest cargo capacity in the world. It is China's largest air carrier, both in terms of traffic volume and company assets.

PLANES: Air China has 69 airplanes -- including 18 B747s, 7 B777s, 10 B767s and 26 B737s -- and operates 114 routes, including 43 international routes and 71 domestic ones, according its website. The total number of seats is over 13,600.

SCHEDULE: Air China operates more than 1,000 scheduled flights each week, serving 29 cities in 19 countries and most of the provincial capitals, major cities and tourist attractions in China.

WORKERS: The carrier has over 11,000 workers, including more than 1,300 pilots and 2,052 flight attendants.

FINANCIAL: Air China's registered capital is 1.5 billion yuan, and the total assets is 35.9 billion yuan.

AUDIO CNN reports on the crash 1.97 MB / 3 mins WAV sound

SAFETY: Air China has not had any crashes, and in recognition of this achievement was awarded the ICAO 50th Anniversary Honorary Medal. China's State Council and Civil Aviation Administration also awarded the carrier with the 'National Safety Pacesetter' award.

EXTRA INFORMATION • INFOGRAPHIC: Boeing 767 aircraft   • FACTSHEET: Air China   • CHRONOLOGY: Asian air disasters

BRAND RECOGNITION: In 1995, the American Academy of Restaurant and Hospitality Sciences awarded Air China an international "Five Star Diamond award" for it's achievements in flight safety, customer service and quality operations. Air China is the first one to have gained this honor.

In the 1999 Brand Recognition contest in China, Air China ranked the first place among airlines that annually transports over 6 million passengers.

Source: Air China Web site