Airline Identity
History
China Eastern Airlines was founded on 25 June 1988 as one of the regional carriers created from the breakup of the state-run CAAC, based in Shanghai. It expanded through numerous mergers and acquisitions, including China Yunnan Airlines and China Northwest Airlines in 2003 and Shanghai Airlines in 2010, and became the first Chinese airline to list shares internationally, in 1997. China Eastern joined the SkyTeam alliance in 2011, and Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM later each acquired minority stakes in the carrier.
Current Operations
China Eastern is one of China's largest carriers, operating dual hubs at Shanghai Pudong and Shanghai Hongqiao airports with an extensive domestic narrowbody network (largely Airbus A320-family) complemented by widebody international routes (A330, A350, Boeing 777/787) to Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. The airline is majority state-owned via China Eastern Air Holding, with Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM each holding small equity stakes. It has placed a landmark order for around 100 Comac C919 jets — the largest single order in that domestic aircraft program's history — and continues expanding codeshare partnerships, including new routes into South America via Air Europa from late 2024.
Last verified 2026-08-22· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.