China Eastern Airlines says it intends to “hardly” grow its international network as flights are planned to Africa, Europe and Asia.
In an operational update before the “Golden Week” holiday in May, SkyTeam operators have said they will increase the launch flights of planes from the Shanghai Pudong Hub to Abu Dhabi and frequency of cities such as Amsterdam and Moscow for the holidays.
The airline adds that “future” is considering launching flights from Shanghai to cities such as Milan, Copenhagen, Almaty and Geneva, as well as from Xi'an to Istanbul and Tashkent. Eastern China has stopped offering timelines for these new routes.
Airlines will also increase the frequency of major trunk routes within mainland China, including cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu.
A significant absence from the intended network strategy is a North American point, especially for the US.
In fact, eastern China has made no mention of the ongoing trade war between China and the US and the possible impact on operations. In the wake of the Trump administration's tariff policy, economic uncertainty has led to several US airlines warning that they will ease travel demand in the near future.
Eastern China reached its first post-pandemic operating profit of $1.6 billion ($220 million) in 2024, warning of competitive pressures on its outlook.
