China Eastern Airlines (Shanghai) and Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) are celebrating the delivery of the airline’s first 777-300 ER. The new airplane is the first of 20 777-300 ERs China Eastern has on order. The pictured Boeing 777-39P ER B-2001 (msn 43269) was handed over yesterday (September 24).

China Eastern will operate 777-300 ERs on routes between China and North America, which will be a major market for China Eastern over the next three years. The carrier plans to open new routes to North America and also boost frequencies on existing routes from Shanghai to Los Angeles, New York (JFK), San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto (Pearson). Starting in November, the carrier will deploy its first 777-300 ER on services to Los Angeles and New York (JFK).

China Eastern debuted this new simplified livery on the new 777-300 ER – a change to its 25-year old livery. The new look features an updated logo – a swallow consisting of two capital letters, C and E, which represent the carrier’s name.

China Eastern has configured its new 777-300 ER to feature three distinct cabins. Passengers will find six first class suits, 52 business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration and 258 economy seats in a 3-4-3 configuration.

The 777-300 ER is equipped with the world’s most powerful GE90-115B commercial jet engine, and can travel, with a standard three class configuration, a maximum range of 7,825 nautical miles (14,490 kilometers).

China Eastern has a fleet of 500 long-haul and short-haul airplanes with an average age of less than seven years, China Eastern serves nearly 80 million travelers annually and ranks among the world’s top five airlines in terms of passenger transportation volume.

Copyright Photo: Daniel Gorun/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-39P B-2001 is pictured on a test flight in the new look before the official hand over.

China Eastern Airlines: