What is China Eastern Airlines?

China Eastern Airlines 中国东方航空公司 Zhōngguó Dōngfāng Hángkōng Gōngsī
IATA MU	ICAO CES	Callsign CHINA EASTERN
Founded		1988
Hubs		Shanghai Hongqiao Shanghai Pudong
Focus cities		Kunming Wujiaba Xi'an Xianyang Nanjing Lukou Wuhan Tianhe
Frequent flyer program		Eastern Miles
Fleet size		204 (+61 order)
Destinations		103
Headquarters		Shanghai, People's Republic of China
Key people		Li Fenghua (Chairman)
Website: [1]

China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (Simplified Chinese: 中国东方航空股份有限公司) (SSE: B>600115 SEHK: 0670 NYSE: CEA) is an airline based in Shanghai, China. It is a major Chinese airline operating international, domestic and regional routes. Its main base is Shanghai Pudong International Airport, with a hub at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport^[1].

It currently doesn't belong to an airline alliance, but may be courted by Oneworld. It is currently given a 2 star rating from Skytrax.

History

The airline was established on 25 June 1988, on the basis of the CAAC Huadong Administration. In 1997, China Eastern took over loss-making China General Aviation and also became the country's first airline to offer shares on the international market. It founded China Cargo Airlines in a joint venture with China Ocean Shipping in 1998. In March 2001 it completed the takeover of Air Great Wall^[1]. China Yunnan Airlines and China Northwest Airlines merged into China Eastern Airlines in 2002.

China Eastern Airlines is owned by the Chinese government (61.64%), publicly held H shares (32.19%) and publicly held A shares (6.17%) and has 29,746 employees (at March 2007)^[1]. It had 16,435 employees at January 2005. On 20 April 2006, the media broke news on the possible sale of up to 20% of its stake to foreign investors, including Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airline and Japan Airlines, with the former confirming that negotiations were underway ^[2][3].

On 10 May 2007, the China Securities Journal reported that Singapore Airlines was in final talks to take a stake in China Eastern^[4], resulting in a surge in the latter's stock prices.^[5] However, a Singapore Airlines spokesman came forward to dispel these rumors and confirmed that while talks are in progress, they are as yet non conclusive.^[6]

A report on the 31 August 2007 stated that Singapore Airlines had been approved by China's State Council and that a deal would be in place on 2 September in which SIA and parent company Temasek Holdings would jointly acquire a 25% stake in China Eastern Airlines.^[7] On 2 September 2007, the airline concluded its deal with SIA with a sale of a 15.7% stake, and a further 8.3% to Temasek Holdings,^[8] pending approval in a general meeting to be held in November.

Singapore Airlines pending entry into the Chinese market prompted the Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific to launch an attempt to block the deal by buying a significant stake in China Eastern and voting down the deal together with Air China, which already holds a 11% stake in the airline at the shareholder's meeting in December 2007, as revealed by the South China Morning Post ^[9] and the Daily Telegraph ^[10] on 21 and 22 September. Cathay Pacific announced on 24 September that the proposal had been shelved. ^[11] Meanwhile, Air China is aiming to become a Super carrier like United Airlines, so Air China is considering to acquire China Eastern Airlines as part of the expansion of the airline.

Destinations

Main article: China Eastern Airlines destinations

According to Bloomberg, China Eastern Airlines will only add an extra 2 frequencies to its Shanghai - Los Angeles route, to start in June 2008. All of the other major airlines in China are adding 4 - 5 destinations.^[12]

In 2004, it has terminated its unprofitable Shanghai - Munich - Madrid route. However, this has led to a new Shanghai - Melbourne route which began the same year. In 2006, its began operations to Johannesburg (via Male), and it became the 1st African destination for the airline. That same year, it began operations to New York from Shanghai, making it the longest non-stop route China Eastern operates. China Eastern Airlines is to begin service from Shanghai - Brisbane route 2 times weekly. Nevertheless, China Eastern Airlines has a strong presence in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia.

Fleet

The China Eastern Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (as of March 2007)^[1] :

• 9 Airbus A300-600R
• 13 Airbus A319-100 (plus 12 on order)
• 64 Airbus A320-200 (plus 23 on order)
• 6 Airbus A321-200 (plus 9 on order)
• 4 Airbus A330-200 (plus 1 on order)
• 10 Airbus A330-300 (plus 5 on order)
• 5 Airbus A340-300
• 5 Airbus A340-600
• 2 Antonov An-24B
• 5 Antonov An-24RV
• 1 BAe 146-100
• 4 BAe 146-300
• 23 Boeing 737-300
• 29 Boeing 737-700 (plus 14 on order)
• 7 Boeing 737-800 (plus 6 on order)
• 3 Boeing 767-300ER
• 5 Bombardier CRJ-200LR
• 5 Harbin Embraer ERJ 145 (plus 4 on order)
• 3 McDonnell Douglas MD-82
• 9 McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30
• On order: 15 Boeing 787-8

In March 2007, China Eastern Airlines fleet age is 6.4 years old^[13].

Previously operated

• 3 Airbus A310-200 (at September 2006)
• 2 Airbus A310-300 (at December 1994)
• 5 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (at August 2005)
• 15 McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (at October 2000)
• 3 BAe 146-100 (at December 2003)
• 4 BAe 146-300 (at April 2005)
• 10 Fokker F100 (at October 1999)

Aircraft Orders

• China Eastern Airlines said it has signed an agreement to purchase 5 Airbus A319 aircraft in a deal worth 1.9 billion yuan (230 million dollars) and will take delivery of the 124-seater planes between February 2006 and July 2007. It also has orders in place for 4 Airbus A320 and 11 Airbus A321 aircraft.
• China Eastern has been on a buying spree recently, signing a deal with US aerospace giant Boeing for 15 of its new Boeing 787 jets in January. Last year, it spent two billion dollars on 20 Airbus A330s to replenish its fleet in response to robust air travel demand.
• China Eastern also recently added 3 737-700 and 1 737-800 order as of December 30th, 2005 to its order backlog.

Subsidiaries

China Cargo Airlines

China Cargo Airlines is a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, it became independent in 2004, serving destinations in Japan, North America and Europe.

China Eastern Airlines Jiangsu

This subsidiary airline is based in Nanjing, started operations in 1993 and operates services from Nanjing using aircraft from the parent company. Its main base is Nanjing Lukou International Airport. It is owned by China Eastern Airlines (63%) and Jiangsu Provincial Guoxin Asset Management Group (24%)^[1].

China Eastern Airlines Wuhan

This subsidiary airline (ICAO Code: CWU) is based in Wuhan, started operations in 1986 and operates domestic scheduled services from Wuhan and international services to Thailand. In September 1997, the airline jointly founded the Xinxing (New Star) Alliance with five other provincial airlines. In August 2002 the airline was acquired by China Eastern Airlines and renamed China Eastern Airlines Wuhan, operating under the China Eastern name and using the parent company's aircraft. Its main base is Wuhan Tianhe International Airport. It is owned by China Eastern Airlines (96%), state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (2%) and others (2%)^[1].

China Eastern Yunnan Airlines

This subsidiary airline (IATA Code: 3Q, ICAO Code: CYH), was established in July 1992 and operates scheduled domestic services on trunk and secondary routes, as well as tourist routes from Kunming to Southeast Asia, using aircraft from the parent company. It was established in 1992 from the CAAC Yunnan regional authority. In October 2002, China Eastern Airlines took control with approval from the Chinese Cabinet. It is wholly owned by China Eastern Air Holding and its main base is Kunming Wujiaba International Airport^[1].

Incidents and accidents

• On August 15, 1989, a China Eastern flight from Shanghai to Nanchang, an Y-7 (Reg. B-3417) crashed on take off, due to No.2 engine failure, killing 34 of 40 on board.
• On April 6, 1993, China Eastern Flight 583, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-11, (Chinese Reg. B-2171), from Beijing to Los Angeles with an intermediate stop in Shanghai, had an inadvertent deployment of the leading edge wing slats while cruising, approximately 950nm south of Shemya, Alaska, due to possible unintentionally touching of the plane's flap/slat handle. The plane progressed through several violent pitch oscillations and lost 5,000 feet of altitude. Two passengers were killed, and 149 passengers and 7 crew members were injured, including one passenger who was paralyzed, and one flight attendant who sustained severe brain damage.
• On October 26, 1993, Flight 5398 from Shenzhen to Fuzhou, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 (Reg. B-2103) jetliner crashed near Fuzhou airport, after a failed attempt to go around on approach, killing 2 of 80 on board.
• On November 21, 2004, Flight 5210 from Baotou to Shanghai, a Bombardier CRJ-200 (Reg. B-3072) small passenger jet crashed in Inner Mongolia one minute after departure, killing all 53 occupants.
• On 7 April 2005, a China Eastern Airbus A340-300 (Reg. B-2383) aircraft at London Heathrow Airport suffered a significant tailscrape at take-off and the crew, although informed by the control tower, elected to continue to Shanghai, China ^[14].

Partnerships with other airlines

China Eastern operates domestic flights within China on behalf of American Airlines, which is a oneworld alliance member.^[15]

China Eastern is also an airline partner of Asia Miles, which is run by Cathay Pacific, which is a oneworld alliance member.

China Eastern Airlines also codeshares with Japan Airlines and Qantas, both are oneworld alliance members.

China Eastern struck an alliance with Singapore Airlines with a sale of 15.7% of its shares to the latter on 2 September 2007^[16], the latter of which is a Star Alliance member. There are, however, attempts by Cathay Pacific to block the deal.^[17].

References

External links

• China Eastern Airlines
• London Office - China Eastern Airlines
• Europe and North America - China Eastern Airlines
• Eastern Airlines Fleet Details

•  • [ e] Airlines of the People's Republic of China

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