Delta invests $450m in China Eastern

DELTA Air Lines will invest US$450 million in China Eastern Airlines for a 3.55 percent stake and expand their cooperation on the China and US routes, China Eastern announced yesterday. Nevertheless, the agreement is conditioned upon the achievement of a final marketing agreement and the corresponding approval by the board of directors of each one of the carriers. Pairing up with China Eastern increases our reach and further cements our commitment to the market and to our customers who travel between China and the US.

“Delta’s equity investment in China Eastern is an investment in the future success of the partnership”, Delta CEO Richard Anderson said in a statement. And in April, Delta moved its operations in Shanghai’s Pudong Airport to the same terminal as China Eastern and its subsidiary Shanghai Airlines.

“The cooperation between China Eastern and Delta is a strategic cooperation between two excellent airlines which connect the world’s two top economies as well as two top air transportation markets”.

Liu said both airlines, which belong to the SkyTeam Alliance, have long-term collaboration.

Delta now operates codeshare flights with China Eastern on 30 domestic routes in the U.S., 43 domestic routes in China, and seven trans-Pacific routes between China and the U.S., according to the companies’ press release.