China Eastern links Chicago, Shanghai

China Eastern Airline's inaugural direct flight from Shanghai to Chicago rolled to Gate M11 at the international terminal of O'Hare Airport early in the afternoon of March 18.

It received a ceremonial water-cannon salute outside on the runway and a warm welcoming reception inside the terminal.

"The flight was packed," said pilot Sun Yongjian as he emerged from the jet. "It's quite exciting to fly the first flight from Pudong to Chicago."

Ginger Evans, Chicago Department of Aviation commissioner,extended her welcome to China Eastern's service to the Windy City.

"The addition of the airline's service will generate $170 million in estimated annual economic impact for the Chicago metropolitan region," she said.

"After a 13-hour non-stop flight from Shanghai, here comes China Eastern to Chicago!" said Dong Bo, chief marketing officer at China Eastern, who was onboard the maiden flight.

Bo said China Eastern will service all its new gateways in the US with brand new Boeing 777-300ERs, an announcement that was met with enthusiastic applause.

Bo noted that Shanghai and Chicago celebrated their 30th anniversary as sister cities in 2015.

"The direct flight will set up a new bridge between these two great cities," he added.

Bo said that with household revenue increasing in China, 120 million Chinese will be travelling out of China in 2015, among them, 2 million to the US.

"We believe the number of passengers to the US will increase to 5 million by 2020," Bo said, adding that means ample business opportunities for airlines.

Zhao Weiping, Chinese consul general to Chicago, was among those who came to the airport to welcome the flight's arrival.

"Today has opened a new page in the history of the civic aviation cooperation between China and Chicago," Zhao said, congratulating both China Eastern Airlines and the City of Chicago for establishing a hub in the city.

As passengers from Shanghai disembarked from the plane, a long line of passengers was checking in at the China Eastern counter for their flight to Shanghai, scheduled to depart at 2:50 pm.

China Eastern is one of the top airlines in China, with 550 aircraft serving 100 million passengers across the globe each year.