China Eastern Airlines Airbus A340-600 in special
Expo 2010 livery
China Eastern Airlines
MD-90-30, January 2006
China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (simplified Chinese: 中国东方航空股份有限公司, abbreviated 中国东航; pinyin: zhōngguó dōngfāng hángkōng gǔfèn yǒuxiàn gōngsī) (SSE: 600115 SEHK: 0670 NYSE: CEA) is an airline based in Shanghai, People's Republic of 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]
On June 11th, it was announced that China Eastern will merge with Shanghai Airlines. All Shanghai Airline flights will codeshare with corresponding China Eastern flights until the official merge. The airline has been given a three-star rating from Skytrax.[2]
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 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.[3][4]
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.[5][6] 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.[7]
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.[8][9] However on September 24 Cathay Pacific announced that it had abandoned such plans.[10]
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. [11]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. [12]
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, the 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) however, China Eastern ended the route in May 2008. 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 twice per week.
According to Bloomberg, China Eastern Airlines will 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.[13] Other sources report that China Eastern will add extra frequencies to London, New York and Vancouver.
The company had promised to begin its flights to Algiers in August 2008 but never opened for the private company never justified. Although it is very likely to start its flights to Algiers in mid-2009.[1][2]
Fleet
The China Eastern Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (as of June 2009) [3]:
Subsidiaries
China Eastern Airlines has the 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
Main article:
Wuhan AirlinesThis 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-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, (Reg. B-2171), from Shanghai to Los Angeles, 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.
- On October 26, 1993, Flight 5398 from Shenzhen to Fuzhou, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 (Reg. B-2103) crashed near Fuzhou airport, after a failed attempt to go around on approach, killing 2 of 80 on board.
- On September 11, 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.[14]
- 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.
- 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 Kunming, Xishuangbanna and Dali.[15]
Codeshare agreements
As of April 2009, China Eastern Airlines had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
- Oneworld alliance airlines
- SkyTeam alliance airlines
- Star Alliance airlines
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 64. 2007-04-03.
- ^ 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. September 2, 2007. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/297472/1/.html. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
- ^ "Singapore Airlines, Temasek sign China Eastern deal". Channel NewsAsia. November 9, 2007. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/310621/1/.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Cathay Pacific to try and block Singapore Airlines: report". Agence France-Presse (Channel NewsAsia). September 22, 2007. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/301392/1/.html. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
- ^ 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. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a074aaaa-bdcc-11dc-8bc9-0000779fd2ac.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
- ^ Bloomberg.com: Canada
- ^ ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas MD-11 B-2173 Shanghai-Hongqiao Airport (SHA)
- ^ Aviation Week & Space Technology Vol. 169 No. 16, 27 Oct. 2008, "Rerouted", p. 18
- ^ Codeshare Alliances - China Eastern Airlines
External links
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North America regional office |
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