China Eastern Airlines

China Eastern Airlines
中国东方航空公司
Zhōngguó Dōngfāng Hángkōng Gōngsī

File:Mu-logo.jpg
IATA ICAO Call sign MU CES CHINA EASTERN
Founded	1988
Hubs	Shanghai Hongqiao Airport Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Focus cities	Kunming Wujiaba International Airport Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Nanjing Lukou International Airport Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Eastern Miles
Fleet size	194 (+61 orders)
Destinations	103
Headquarters	Shanghai, China
Key people	Li Fenghua (Chairman)
Website	http://www.ce-air.com

China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (Chinese: 中国东方航空股份有限公司) (SEHK: 670 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 Hongqiao Airport, with a hub at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

It currently does not belong to an alliance, but may be courted by Oneworld . China Eastern Airlines is also accredited by IATA with the IOSA (IATA Operations Safety Audit) for its safety practices.

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. 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). 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 . On 10 May 2007, the China Securities Journal reported that Singapore Airlines was in final talks to take a stake in China Eastern, resulting in a surge in the later's stock prices. However, a Singapore Airlines spokesman came forward to dispell these rumours and confirmed that while talks are in progress, they are as yet non conclusive.

Recent Disputes

Recently there has been talks of internal corruption as 3 high level managers have been sacked. Also huge loss margins has been reported as the airline take drastic actions to save money.

Incidents and accidents

• On August 15, 1989, a China Eastern flight from Shanghai to Nanchang, an Y-7 (Reg. B-3417disaster) 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-2171disaster), 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 crewmembers 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-2103disaster) jetliner crashed near Fuzhou airport, after a failed attempt to go around on approach, killing 2 of 80 on board.
• On September 11, 1998, Flight 586 from Shanghai to Beijing, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 (Reg. B-2173disaster) widebody jetliner crash landed at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport due to nose gear failure, none injured.
• On November 21, 2004, Flight 5210 from Baotou to Shanghai, a Bombardier CRJ-200 (Reg. B-3072disaster) 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-2383disaster) 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 May 13 2006, China Eastern Airbus A340-600 (Reg. B-6055disaster) flight 5042 from Seoul to Shanghai experienced a tire blowout while landing at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. None of the passengers suffered any injuries.

Destinations

Further information: [[:China Eastern Airlines Destinations]]

Cargo

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

Fleet

China Eastern Airlines Airbus A340-600

January 2006

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

• 9 Airbus A300-600R
• 13 Airbus A319-100 (plus 12 on order)
• 63 Airbus A320-200 (plus 24 on order)
• 6 Airbus A321-200 (plus 9 on order)
• 3 Airbus A330-200 (plus 2 on order)
• 7 Airbus A330-300 (plus 8 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.

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 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%).

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%).

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.

Partnerships with other airlines

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

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

External links

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