China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (simplified Chinese: ????????; traditional Chinese: ????????, colloquially known as ??/??, SSE: 600115 SEHK: 0670 NYSE: CEA) is an airline headquartered in the China Eastern Airlines Building, on the grounds of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Changning District, Shanghai, China. It is a major Chinese airline operating international, domestic and regional routes. Its main hubs are at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, with secondary hubs at Kunming Changshui International Airport and Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. China Eastern Airlines is China's second-largest carrier by passenger numbers. China Eastern and its subsidiary Shanghai Airlines became the 14th member of SkyTeam on 21 June 2011.
In 2014, China Eastern Airlines carried 83.08 million domestic and international passengers with an average load factor of 73%.
§History and development
China Eastern Airlines was established on 25 June 1988 under the CAAC Huadong Administration. In 1997, China Eastern took over unprofitable China General Aviation and also became the country's first airline to offer shares on the international market. In 1998 it founded China Cargo Airlines in a joint venture with COSCO. In March 2001, it completed the takeover of Great Wall Airlines. China Yunnan Airlines and China Northwest Airlines merged into China Eastern Airlines in 2003.
The Chinese government has a majority ownership stake in China Eastern Airlines (61.64%), while some shares are publicly held (H shares, 32.19%); A shares, 6.17%. On 20 April 2006 the media broke the news of a possible sale of up to 20% of its stake to foreign investors, including Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Japan Airlines, with Singapore Airlines confirming that negotiations were underway.
After receiving approval from the State Council of China, it was announced that on 2 September 2007 Singapore Airlines and Temasek Holdings (holding company which owns 55% of Singapore Airlines) would jointly acquire shares of China Eastern Airlines. On 9 November 2007 investors signed a final agreement to buy a combined 24% stake in China Eastern Airlines: Singapore Airlines would own 15.73% and Temasek Holdings an 8.27% stake in the airline. Singapore Airlines' pending entry into the Chinese market prompted the Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific to attempt to block the deal by buying a significant stake in China Eastern and voting down the deal together with Air China (which already held an 11% stake in China Eastern) at the shareholders' meeting in December 2007. However, on 24 September Cathay Pacific announced that it had abandoned these plans.
Air China's parent company, state-owned China National Aviation Corporation, 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 was due to the massive effort made by Air China to buy the 24% stake.
On 11 June 2009 it was announced that China Eastern Airlines would merge with Shanghai Airlines. The merger of China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines was expected to reduce excess competition between the two Shanghai-based carriers while consolidating Shanghai's status as an international aviation hub. In February 2010 the merger was completed. Shanghai Airlines became a wholly owned subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines. However, Shanghai Airlines retained its brand and livery. The new combined airline was expected to have over half of the market share in Shanghai, the financial hub of China.
In March 2012 it was announced that China Eastern was forging a strategic alliance with the Qantas Group to set up Jetstar Hong Kong, a new low cost airline to be based at Hong Kong International Airport, which would commence operations in 2013. China Eastern would hold a 50% stake in the new airline, with the Qantas Group holding the other 50%, representing a total investment of US$198 million.
In April 2013, China Eastern got a temporary permit to operate in the Philippines, but the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines required them to obtain a technical permit and an airport slot.
In 2012, China Eastern was awarded the "Golden Ting Award" at the China Capital Market Annual Conference 2012, recognizing it as one of the 50 most valuable Chinese brands by WPP and ranking in the top ten of FORTUNE China's CSR Ranking 2013.
On September 9, 2014, China Eastern was introduced the new logo and new livery.
The airline announced a 25% fall in earnings for 2014 from their net profit of 2.38bn Chinese Yuan in 2013. It commented that tougher competition from low-cost airlines and a newly launched high-speed rail network is affecting profitability.
§Destinations
China Eastern Airlines has a strong presence on routes in Asia, North America and Australia. The airline looks to exploit the domestic market potential as it boosts flight frequencies from Shanghai to other Chinese cities. The airline is also accelerating the pace of international expansion by increasing flight frequencies to international destinations. In 2007 it began operations to New York from Shanghai, making it the longest non-stop route for the airline. On 22 November China Eastern Airlines started twice-weekly seasonal flights on the Shanghai-Brisbane route but these flights didn't continue during 2010/11. Instead, the carrier operated charters to Cairns. On 9 August 2011, China Eastern started services to Honolulu from Shanghai, which marked the first ever direct service between mainland China and Hawaii.
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As of January 2013, beside SkyTeam members, China Eastern Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
§Fleet
China Eastern Airlines was the first Chinese carrier to place an order with Airbus. The backbone of the fleet is the A320 series, which are used primarily on domestic flights.
In 2005, China Eastern Airlines placed an order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The airline subsequently cancelled its order owing to continuous delays, instead ordering Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft. On 18 October 2011, China Eastern Airlines placed an order for 15 Airbus A330.
On 27 April 2012, China Eastern Airlines ordered 20 Boeing 777-300ERs from Boeing pending government approval. Some of these aircraft will replace its fleet of five Airbus A340-600s, which will be phased out by 2015. The airline received its first Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on 26 September 2014.
As of March 2015, China Eastern Airlines's fleet includes the following aircraft:
§Eastern Miles
China Eastern Airlines's frequent-flyer program is called Eastern Miles (simplified Chinese: ?????; traditional Chinese: ?????). Shanghai Airlines, China Eastern's subsidiary, is also part of the program. Enrollment is free of charge. Eastern Miles members can earn miles on flights as well as through consumption with China Eastern's credit card. When enough miles are collected, members can be upgraded to VIP. VIP membership of Eastern Miles can be divided into two tiers: Golden Card membership and Silver Card membership. VIP membership can enjoy extra privileged services.
§Cargo
After the merger with Shanghai Airlines, China Eastern Airlines signaled that it would combine the two carriers' cargo subsidiaries as well. The airline's new subsidiary cargo carrier, consisting of the assets of China Cargo Airlines, Great Wall Airlines and Shanghai Airlines Cargo, commenced operations in 2011 from its base in Shanghai, China's largest air cargo market. China Eastern Airlines signed a strategic co-operation framework agreement with Shanghai Airport Group, which controls both Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The airline will allocate more capacity to Pudong Airport to open more international routes and boost flight frequencies on existing international and domestic trunk routes.
§China Cargo Airlines
China Eastern Airlines's cargo subsidiary, China Cargo Airlines, is China's first all-cargo airline operating dedicated freight services using China Eastern Airlines' route structure. The cargo airline carries the same logo of China Eastern Airlines.
§Incidents and accidents
- On 15 August 1989, an Antonov An-24 operating a flight from Shanghai to Nanchang crashed on takeoff due to an engine failure, killing 34 of 40 people on board.
- On 6 April 1993, China Eastern Airlines Flight 583, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 flying from Beijing to Los Angeles via Shanghai, had an inadvertent deployment of the leading edge wing slats while cruising. The aircraft progressed through several violent pitch oscillations and lost 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of altitude. Two passengers were killed, and 149 passengers and 7 crew members were injured. The aircraft landed safely at Shemya.
- On 26 October 1993, Flight 5398 from Shenzhen to Fuzhou, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 crashed near Fuzhou airport after a failed attempt to go around on approach, killing two of 80 on board.
- On 11 September 1998, China Eastern Flight 586, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-11, flying from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport, suffered a nose gear failure after take-off. The aircraft landed back in Shanghai with the nose gear up on a foamed runway. A clip from the landing is available online.
- On 21 November 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.
- In March 2008, pilots of 21 CEA flights returned their aircraft to the airport of departure, citing various reasons for doing so, as part of a union contract dispute. In retaliation, the government removed the carrier's rights to a range of services in the southern China province of Yunnan. In late October 2008 Chinese media reports indicated that the carrier would shortly be able to resume flights to Dali, Kunming and Xishuangbanna Prefecture .
- On 7 June 2013, China Eastern Flight 2947, an Embraer EMB-145LI flying from Huai'an Lianshui Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport veered off of runway 18L at Hongqiao Airport during landing. The plane came to a stop on an adjacent taxiway with its nose gear collapsed. No passengers or crew suffered any injuries; however, the plane received substantial damage.
§In popular culture
- A movie named "Crash Landing" was made by Shanghai Film Studio, based on the incident of China Eastern Flight 586. The airline name was eliminated, but the livery of the aircraft is recognizable.
- China Eastern Airlines appears frequently on the Japanese air traffic control video game Air Traffic Controller.
§See also
- Civil aviation in China
- List of airlines of the People's Republic of China
- List of airports in China
- List of companies of the People's Republic of China
- Transport in China
§References
§External links
- Official Website (Global)
- Official Website (Chinese Version)
- Official Website (US Version)
- China Eastern Yunnan Airlines (simplified Chinese)
- Investor Relations Asia Pacific
- China Eastern Airfreight Business Management System
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