Everything about China Eastern Airlines totally explained
China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited ( ) 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.
It currently doesn't belong to an
airline alliance, but may be courted by
Oneworld or
SkyTeam. The airline has been given a three-star rating from
Skytrax.
History
The airline was established on
June 25,
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
COSCO in
1998. In March 2001, it completed the takeover of Air Great Wall.
After receiving an approval from the
State Council of China, it was announced that on September 2, 2007,
Singapore Airlines and
Temasek Holdings (holding company which owns 55% of Singapore Airlines) would jointly acquire shares of China Eastern Airlines. On
November 9,
2007, investors signed a final agreement to buy a combined 24% stake in China Eastern Airlines: Singapore Airlines will own 15.73% and Temasek Holdings - 8.27% stake in the airline.
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 an 11% stake in China Eastern) at the shareholder's meeting in December 2007. However on September 24 Cathay Pacific announced that it had abandoned such plans.
Air China's parent company, the China National Aviation Corporation, a state-owned company, announced in January 2008 that it would offer 32% more than Singapore Airlines for the 24% stake in China Eastern, potentially complicating the deal that Singapore Airlines and
Temasek had proposed. However, minority shareholders declined the offer made by Singapore Airlines. It is thought that this is due to the massive effort made by
Air China to buy the 24% stake.
Either way, it could also mean that a
Star Alliance member would be the main airline stakeholder for China Eastern, which is considering entering the
Skyteam or
Oneworld alliance.
Destinations
China Eastern Airlines has a strong presence on routes in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. In 2004, airline terminated its unprofitable Shanghai-Brussels-Madrid route. However, this led to the creation of a new Shanghai-Melbourne route the same year. In 2007, China Eastern Airlines began servicing its first African destination, Johannesburg (via Male). Also in 2007, it began operations to New York from Shanghai, making it the longest non-stop route for the airline. On
November 22, China Eastern Airlines started a seasonal service on Shanghai-Brisbane route, flying two times a week.
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. Other sources report that China Eastern will add extra frequencies to London, New York and Vancouver.
Reports say that China Eastern is on the plan to order 40 more A320s for fleet growth. It won't order the A380, as it's losing money on International routes, especially the new Shanghai-New York JFK route, where it may have been pulled out immediately after launch due to low yields.
Fleet
The China Eastern Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft as of November 2007:
China Eastern Airlines Fleet>
| Aircraft |
Total |
Passengers
(First/Business/Ecomomy) |
Routes |
Notes |
| Airbus A300-600R |
7 |
|
Domestic, Asia |
Exit from Service: 2008 - 2010 |
| Airbus A319-100 |
15 |
122 (8/114) |
Domestic |
|
| Airbus A320-200 |
65
(42 orders) |
158 (8/150) |
Domestic |
|
| Airbus A321-200 |
10
(5 orders) |
177 (20/157) |
Domestic, Bangkok, Dhaka, Yangon |
|
| Airbus A330-200 |
4
(1 order) |
264 (24/240) |
Sydney, Melbourne, Delhi, Frankfurt, Singapore |
|
| Airbus A330-300 |
12
(3 orders) |
286 (24/262) |
Domestic and Asia |
|
| Airbus A340-300 |
5 |
287 (12/28/247) |
Domestic, Brisbane, London-Heathrow,
Vancouver, Johannesburg, Melbourne |
|
| Airbus A340-600 |
5 |
322 (8/42/272) |
London-Heathrow, Los Angeles,
New York-JFK, Paris-CDG |
|
| Boeing 737-300 |
23 |
145 (145) |
Domestic |
|
| Boeing 737-700 |
31
(12 orders) |
134 (8/126) |
Domestic |
|
| Boeing 737-800 |
7
(6 orders) |
|
Domestic, Asia |
|
| Boeing 767-300ER |
3 |
|
Domestic |
Based at Kunming, Yunnan
Ex- China Yunnan Airlines |
| Boeing 787-8 |
(15 orders) |
|
Ultra Long Haul |
Entry into service: 2009/10? |
| Bombardier CRJ-200LR |
5 |
|
Domestic |
|
| Embraer ERJ-145 |
8
(2 order) |
|
Domestic |
|
| McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 |
9 |
|
Domestic |
|
Cargo
A cargo subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, China Cargo Airlines, operates the following aircraft as of November 2007:
In March 2007, China Eastern Airlines fleet age is 6.4 years old.
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 in 2005, signing a deal with US aerospace giant Boeing for 15 of its new Boeing 787 jets in January. In 2004, it spent two billion dollars on 20 Airbus A330s to replenish its fleet in response to robust air travel demand.
China Eastern also added 3 Boeing 737-700s and 1 Boeing 737-800 order on December 30, 2005.
China Eastern Airlines has confirmed an order of 30 Boeing 737s for fleet growth and is to take delivery of those from July 2011 to November 2015. (External Link
)
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)
2 Antonov An-24B
5 Antonov An-24RV
Subsidiaries
China Eastern Airlines has following 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%).
On November 21, 2004, Flight 5210 from Baotou to Shanghai, a Bombardier CRJ-200 (Reg. ) 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. ) 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.
On 6 November 2007 a China Eastern Airlines's plane's tire burst in Hong Kong International Airport, causing the damage of a light. No one was killed.
On 8 April 2008 Two senior officials and some pilots have been suspended from duty by China Eastern Airlines over the "no-destination" flight action by some of the carrier's disgruntled pilots. The company confirmed yesterday that pilots intentionally disrupted flights last week in Yunnan Province. It apologized for the inconvenience, and pledged to severely punish those responsible and compensate passengers. Twenty-one flights returned to their departure point just after taking off from Yunnan on March 31 and April 1, postponing the travel plans of more than 1,000 passengers. An investigation showed that some of the flights were disrupted by pilots rather than poor weather, the Shanghai-based airline said in a statement yesterday. The carrier said earlier that the flights returned because of poor weather, which triggered public suspicion as other airlines operated normally on those days. Media reports suggested the pilots were protesting over pay and working conditions.
Codeshare agreements
As of may 2007, China Eastern Airlines had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
Oneworld alliance airlines
American Airlines - China Eastern Airlines operates domestic flights within China on behalf of American Airlines
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
Japan Airlines
SkyTeam alliance airlines
Aeroméxico
Air France-KLM
China Southern Airlines
Korean Air
Star Alliance airlines
Asiana Airlines
Shanghai AirlinesFurther Information
Get more info on 'China Eastern Airlines'.
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