Tag Archives: B-2002

China Eastern introduces a CIIE-themed Boeing 777-300

China Eastern Airlines made this announcement:

The high-profile China International Import Expo (CIIE)-themed airplane will fly to Sri Lanka, the last destination of its global tour, on Sept. 18.

The plane will fly to Beijing Daxing International Airport on Sept. 25 to mark the first anniversary of the airport’s operation.

The special CIIE-themed aircraft was jointly launched by China Eastern Airlines (CEA) and the CIIE Bureau on July 2 and made its maiden flight to Pairs one day later, marking the beginning of its global tour.

Serving as the image ambassador of the CIIE during its global tour, the aircraft will fly to 10 countries, including France, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and Sri Lanka, with a total range exceeding 100,000 kilometers.

Meanwhile, the CIIE-themed airplane has attracted great attention from international aviation enthusiasts for its gorgeous appearance and “Fly with CIIE” has become a hot topic on social media platforms.

A Boeing 777-300ER jet (B-2002), which is CEA’s international long-haul flagship aircraft with the largest passenger capacity, the longest range, and leading passenger service system, was chosen as the world’s first CIIE-themed airplane.

The dominant tones of the colored aircraft were the shades of yellow and blue, which are also the theme colors of the CIIE. Besides, the CIIE’s mascot panda “Jinbao” holding a four-leaf clover on the plane expresses good wishes to passengers from all over the world and promotes the CIIE’s idea of openness and cooperation.

CIIE exhibitors from various countries expressed their expectations about the flight schedules of the plane after they were released.

Australian vitamin maker Blackmores has participated in the expo in the past two years and will take part in the third CIIE.

“It’s a very important platform for international cooperation for all companies participating in the China International Import Expo. Encouraging exporters and importers to share some innovations and new products is also important,” said the company’s CEO Alastair Symington, expressing his expectation to attend the third CIIE in Shanghai.

Besides, CEA launched full-process featured services such as CIIE-themed passenger entertainment system, broadcast and boarding passes, and given a CIIE-themed makeover at overseas airports including CIIE mascot dolls, CIIE-themed airplane models, and billboards of the aircraft’s global tour, providing an immersive experience for passengers. A large number of passengers stopped to take pictures.

CEA also chose the digit 115 as a lucky number, which indicates Nov. 5, the opening day of the expo, to present CIIE souvenirs to the passenger with the check-in serial number of 115 on the airplane’s each flight.

The CIIE-themed plane will fly to Beijing Daxing International Airport on Sept. 25 to mark the first anniversary of the airport’s operation. It will also continue its domestic tour in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi’an, and Kunming to support local governments and enterprises in attending and publicizing the CIIE. The plane will mainly operate flights between Beijing and Shanghai during the third CIIE from Nov. 5 to 10.

As the seventh-largest airline in the world and the largest main base airline in Shanghai, the host for the CIIE, CEA will play multi-roles of a sponsor, carrier, purchaser, and service provider.

CEA will seize the opportunities brought by the expo to realize “purchasing, flying and serving worldwide.” It will continue to optimize the external cooperation of the aviation industry chain, serve the expo, and inject new vitality and new impetus into the internationalization strategy and high-quality development of enterprises for mutual benefits.

Delta and China Eastern solidify their strategic partnership, Delta to acquire a 3.55% share

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) and China Eastern Airlines (Shanghai) today signed an agreement to expand their partnership and better connect Delta’s global network with China Eastern, one of the leading airlines in China. The agreement will include a $450 million investment by Delta to acquire a 3.55 percent stake in China Eastern.

Delta continued:

This move marks a significant step in the airlines’ collaboration and partnership that will allow Delta and China Eastern to compete more effectively on routes between the U.S. and China, provide more travel options for customers in both countries and make joint investments in the customer experience.

“The execution of the Subscription Agreement and the launching of commercial cooperation plan by China Eastern and Delta indicate significant strategic moves of China Eastern to comprehensively reform further, actively explore and develop mixed ownership economy, and actively promote globalized development,” said Shaoyong Liu, China Eastern CEO. “The cooperation of the parties is based on a global vision and joint strategic blueprint. The parties will take advantage of their respective route networks, flight services, relevant businesses and advantageous resources to fully connect the world’s two top economies as well as two top air transportation markets. The parties wish, through excellent operation and international cooperation, to optimize customer experience, enhance the parties’ global competitiveness and promotes the development and revenue growth of both parties.”

“Delta’s relationship with China Eastern is long-standing. We share a vision that will create the most profitable, enduring franchise between the U.S. and China, with world-class customer service,” said Richard Anderson, Delta CEO. “For the past three years, Delta has welcomed members of the China Eastern team at our headquarters for sharing best practices and work study opportunities. We have learned much from one another already and look forward to deepening our already effective partnership.”

China Eastern, with its wholly owned subsidiary Shanghai Airlines, and Delta currently operate codeshare flights on 30 domestic routes in the U.S., 43 domestic routes in China and seven trans-Pacific routes between China and the U.S. China Eastern serves the three largest U.S. markets, with four nonstop flights from Shanghai and Delta serves the three largest cities in China with six daily non-stop flights from the U.S.

China Eastern and Delta continue to strengthen cooperation and support each other in the China-U.S. market through greater access to each other’s networks and an improved customer experience. Among recent improvements:
China Eastern and Delta have expanded their joint China-U.S. offering – further cementing their position in the largest market to/from Shanghai – with Delta’s recent addition of new Los Angeles to Shanghai service.
Delta’s recent move to Terminal 1 at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport to co-locate with China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines has resulted in more convenient connections and a seamless airport and baggage experience for customers.

Newly developed joint corporate sales provide more competitive products to customers in China and the U.S.

Equity investment

As part of the enhanced strategic partnership, China Eastern and Delta entered into a conditional subscription agreement where Delta will invest $450 million in China Eastern’s H-shares, which trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The investment equals approximately 10 percent of China Eastern H shares and [3.55] percent of the total shares of China Eastern. Delta also will be entitled to an observer seat on the China Eastern board of directors. The agreement is conditioned upon achievement of a final marketing agreement and approval by each carrier’s board of directors.

China Eastern in the U.S.

China Eastern will operate 35 weekly departures to 4 destinations in US from Shanghai, 2 flights a day to Los Angeles, daily to New York, San Francisco and Hawaii, also 3 flights a week from NanJing to Los Angeles. China Eastern operates Luxurious new 777-300ERs on routes between China and North America, which will be a major market for China Eastern over the future years. China Eastern plans to open new routes to North America and also boost frequencies on existing routes.

Delta in China

Delta will operate 28 weekly departures to Shanghai this summer. Delta also offers daily service to China’s capital, Beijing, from Seattle and Detroit and to Hong Kong from Seattle. Delta has grown its China network by nearly three times in the past five years.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. China Eastern’s new Boeing 777-39P ER B-2002 (msn 43288) climbs away from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Delta aircraft slide show (current livery only):