Happy 30th Birthday China Eastern

CHINA EASTERN A330-243 B-5938 (CN 1479)           File Photo

China Eastern Airlines, established on the 25th June 1988  is owned by the China Eastern Airlines Group, (a state-owned enterprise supervised by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council) is China's second-largest carrier by passenger numbers. China Eastern and its subsidiary airline, Shanghai Airlines, became the 14th member of SkyTeam in June 2011. China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited 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 Beijing Capital International Airport, Kunming Changshui International Airport and Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. 

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.  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 the 20th 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 confirming that negotiations were underway. 

China Eastern Airlines was the first Chinese airline to place an order with Airbus. 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, but placed another order in 2016, for 787-9s. On 18 October 2011, China Eastern Airlines placed an order for 15 Airbus A330s.  On 27 April 2012, China Eastern Airlines ordered 20 Boeing 777-300ERs pending government approval. The airline received its first 777-300ER aircraft on 26 September 2014. In 2015 the airline announced plans to acquire a further 15 Airbus A330 aircraft for delivery in 2017 and 2018.

As of June 2018, the China Eastern Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:

China Eastern Airlines Passenger Fleet

Aircraft	In Service	Orders	Passengers					Notes
			P	J	W	Y	Total
Airbus A319-100	35	—	—	8	—	114	122
Airbus A320-200	180	44	—	8	—	150	158
Airbus A320neo	1	69	—	8	12	138	158	Deliveries began on 2018 to 2020
Airbus A321-200	77	—	—	20	—	155	175
			—	12	—	166	178
			—	12	—	170	182
Airbus A330-200	27	—	—	24	—	240	264
			—	30	—	204	234
			—	30	—	202	232
Airbus A330-300	23	3	—	38	—	262	300
			—	32	32	230	294
Airbus A350-900	—	20	TBA					Deliveries from 2018 to 2022
Boeing 737-700	37	—	—	8	—	126	134
			—	8	—	120	128
			—	—	—	140	140
Boeing 737-800	93	22	—	8	—	156	164
			—	8	—	162	170
			—	12	—	150	162
			—	20	—	138	158
			—	8	18	150	176
Boeing 737 MAX 8	3	57	—	8	18	150	176	Deliveries began on 2017 to 2020
Boeing 777-300ER	20	—	6	52	—	258	316
Boeing 787-9	—	15	TBA					Deliveries will start from 2018 to 2022
Comac C919	—	20	TBA
Total	496	251

On the 9th September 2014, China Eastern introduced their new look logo and livery

CHINA EASTERN A330-243 B-5936 (CN 1461)         File Photo