China’s Tibet Airlines has changed its English-language name to Xizang Airlines. “Xizang” is how the Mandarin Chinese name for the region is spelled using the Latin alphabet. The change took effect on February, when the former designation “Tibet Airlines” was replaced in official international registries.
The first public appearance of the new name came on May 17, with the launch of a themed Airbus A319 painted in blue, green, and gold. The aircraft, named “Sacred Snowy City · Holy Land Lhasa,” displays “Xizang Airlines” on its fuselage instead of the old “Tibet Airlines” branding. The livery includes images of the Potala Palace, snow-capped mountains, and plateau lakes, alongside a local character called Tashi Drolma.
The rebranding follows a Chinese government push to standardize place-name translations. “Xizang” is the direct phonetic rendering of the Mandarin characters 西藏, replacing the historical exonym “Tibet” in official international use.
Tibet Airlines, now operating as Xizang Airlines, runs a fleet of 52 aircraft. Founded in 2010, the airline is China’s first high-altitude carrier, with its hub at Lhasa Gonggar International Airport at about 3,600 meters above sea level.
The company is co-owned by the Tibet Autonomous Region State-owned Assets and Air China. The airline holds a 45 percent share of weekly seat capacity at airports across the region. Despite the name change, the carrier’s Mandarin name (西藏航空) and IATA code stay the same.
COMAC C919
Xizang operates from airports located more than 3,600 meters above sea level. For this, the airline flies Airbus aircraft, especially the A319neo, which performs well in thin air conditions.
The carrier, however, is taking part in the development of the C919 from Chinese state-owned manufacturer COMAC. The jet has a version, C919-600, for hot and high airports, known as the “Plateau” variant.
The partnership was announced in February 2024 during the Singapore Airshow. The order includes 40 C919 Plateau aircraft and 10 ARJ21 Plateau aircraft. Xizang is the global launch customer for both versions.
