China Eastern Airlines
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| Founded | 1988 | ||||||
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| Focus cities | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Eastern Miles | ||||||
| Fleet size | 213 (+86 orders) | ||||||
| Destinations | 103 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Shanghai, China | ||||||
| Key people | Li Fenghua (Chairman) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.ce-air.com | ||||||
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China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (Chinese: 中国东方航空股份有限公司) (SSE: 600115 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 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 or SkyTeam.[2] The airline has been given a three-star rating from Skytrax.[3]
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.[1] China Yunnan Airlines and China Northwest Airlines merged into China Eastern Airlines in 2003.
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 (as of March 2007).[1] It had only 16,435 employees in January 2005. On April 20, 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.[4][5]
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.[6][7] 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.[8]
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.[9][10] However on September 24 Cathay Pacific announced that it had abandoned such plans.[11]
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. [12]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. [13]
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.[14] 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 will not order the A380, as it is 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:
| 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:
| Aircraft | Total | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300-600RF | 3 | |
| Boeing 747-400ERF | 2 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11F | 6 | |
| Tupolev Tu-204-120C | (2 orders) |
In March 2007, China Eastern Airlines fleet age is 6.4 years old.[15]
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. [1]
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%).[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, a 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, (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 950 nm 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-2103disaster) 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-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.[16]
- 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 November 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[17]
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Japan Airlines
- Qantas
SkyTeam alliance airlines
Star Alliance airlines
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 64.
- ^ China Eastern Airlines seeking to join oneworld alliance - report
- ^ China Eastern Airlines Official 3 Star Ranking for China Eastern Airlines product and China Eastern Airlines service quality
- ^ Shanghai Daily
- ^ Channel News Asia
- ^ SIA approved to buy into China Eastern Flight Global, 31/08/07
- ^ "SIA, China Eastern Airlines announce strategic tie-up". Channel NewsAsia. 2 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Singapore Airlines, Temasek sign China Eastern deal". Channel NewsAsia. 9 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Cathay Pacific to try and block Singapore Airlines: report". Agence France-Presse. Channel NewsAsia. 22 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/trad/low/newsid_7000000/newsid_7009900/7009931.stm Chinese
- ^ Cathay Pacific abandons China Eastern plan
- ^ FT.com / Companies / Transport - Air China pursues China Eastern stake
- ^ Anderlini, Jamil (2008-01-08). "Shareholders reject Singapore Air offer". FT.com. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ Bloomberg.com: Canada
- ^ China Eastern Airlines Fleet Age
- ^ Flight International, July 2005
- ^ Codeshare Alliances - China Eastern Airlines
External links
- China Eastern Airlines
- London Office - China Eastern Airlines
- Europe and North America - China Eastern Airlines
- Eastern Airlines Fleet Details
