China Eastern aims to expand Beijing market share

Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines Co Ltd, one of China's three largest airlines, wants to enlarge its market share in Beijing through restructuring its subsidiary in the Chinese capital.

On Tuesday, the carrier said it had combined its branch in Hebei province and its subsidiary — China United Airlines Co Ltd — to establish a carrier with virtually the same name, China United Airlines.

The new airline, based at Beijing Nanyuan Airport, has a fleet of 23 Boeing aircraft and this will increase to 50 aircraft by 2015.

China Eastern Airlines' market share in Beijing is about 17 percent and the new carrier will help it to expand this, Tang Bing, president of China United Airlines, told Beijing Business Today.

Beijing is China's largest civil aviation market by passenger traffic.

To achieve its ambition, China Eastern has to compete with Air China Ltd, which enjoys a near-50 percent market share in Beijing.

Some business insiders say it is reasonable for China Eastern to expand at Beijing Nanyuan Airport rather than at Beijing Capital International Airport, the base of Air China.