China Eastern takes flight in Guangzhou

China Eastern Airlines, one of the three largest air carriers in China, announced on Sunday the establishment of its Guangdong branch, to further tap the South China market.

It plans to launch routes from Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong to various destinations in countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia, and then routes between Guangzhou and Americas and Oceania.

Domestically, it will expand its network between Guangzhou, the provincial capital, and air hubs in Shanghai, Kunming and Xi'an, while exploring markets in Shantou, Zhuhai and Zhanjiang in Guangdong.

Guangdong province stands as one of the most dynamic regions economically in the country and the new branch is also meant to serve the country's "Belt and Road" strategy, said Liu Shaoyong, chairman of China Eastern.

With the Guangdong branch, China Eastern's capacity for the Guangdong market will increase faster than before and hopefully faster than the market average, said Dong Bo, chief marketing officer of China Eastern.

China Eastern will be entitled to apply for more new routes in the Guangdong market, said Zhai Zhigang, general manager of the Guangdong branch.

China Eastern's Guangdong branch will fly mainly Boeing aircraft, expanding its fleet by five to eight planes annually to have 60 planes in Guangdong by 2020.

Currently, the company runs daily 120 flights from six cities in Guangdong to 59 domestic cities and three overseas destinations, carrying more than 10 million passengers annually.

Listed in New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai, with its headquarters in Shanghai, China Eastern carries more than 100 million passengers a year, which ranks it the seventh among all airline firms globally. It runs a fleet of 580 planes.