China Eastern Airlines

China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (中国东方航空股份有限公司) ( ) is an airline based in Shanghai, China. It is a major Chinese airline operating international, domestic and regional routes. Its main bases are Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport. It currently does not belong to an alliance, but may be courted by Oneworld ^*.

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 16,435 employees (at January 2005).

Incidents and accidents

On August 15, 1989, a China Eastern flight from Shanghai to Nanchang, an Antonov An-24 (Reg. ) crashed on take off, due to No.2 engine failure, killing 34 of 40 on board.
On October 26, 1993, Flight 5398 from Shenzhen to Fuzhou, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 (Reg. ) jetliner crashed near Fuzhou airport, after a failed attempt to go around on approach, killing 2 of 80 on board.
On September 10, 1998, Flight 586 from Shanghai to Beijing, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 (Reg. ) 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. ) small passenger jet crashed in Inner Mongolia in 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 (ref: Flight International, April 19, 2005; July 2005).
On May 13 2006, China Eastern Airbus A340-600 (Reg. ) flight 5042 from Seoul to Shanghai experienced a tire blowout while landing at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. None of the passengers suffered any injuries. ^*^*

Services

China Eastern Airlines operates the following services (at January 2005):

Domestic scheduled destinations: Baoshan, Baotou, Beihai, Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Dayong, Diqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Guilin, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Hefei, Hohhot, Huangshan, Huangyan, Jinan, Jinghong, Jinjiang, Kunming, Lanzhou, Lianyungang, Lijiang City, Lincang, Longyan, Luxi, Luzhou, Mianyang, Nanchang, Nanjing, Nanning, Ningbo, Qingdao, Sanya, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Shijiazhuang, Simao, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Ürümqi, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Wuxi, Wuyishan, Xi'an, Xiamen, Xining, Xuzhou, Yantai, Yibin, Yinchuan, Zhaotong, Zhengzhou, Zhoushan and Zhuhai.
International scheduled destinations: Bangkok, Busan, Cheongju, Daegu, Delhi, Dhaka, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gwangju, Hiroshima, Hong Kong, Jeju, Kagoshima, Komatsu, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mandalay, Matsuyama, Melbourne, Moscow, Nagasaki, Nagoya, New York (in December 2006), Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Paris, Phuket, Saipan, Sapporo, Seoul, Siem Reap, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Vancouver and Vientiane.

Fleet

The China Eastern Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at August 2005):

In March 2006, China Eastern Airlines fleet age is 6.9 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 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.

External links

Airlines of China | Asia Miles | Transport in Shanghai