Taking Off

Taking Off

Eastern Airlines Yunnan Co. Ltd. has high hopes for the future

On July 28, 2010, China Eastern Airlines’ Yunnan Branch officially changed its name to Eastern Airlines Yunnan Co. Ltd. and became a joint venture between China Eastern Airlines and the Yunnan Provincial Government.

Air transportation is a crucial component of Yunnan’s economy and infrastructure. The province is mountainous and construction costs for roads, specifically bridges and tunnels, are high. Estimates hold that building 1 km of highway in Yunnan costs as much as 70 million yuan ($10.3 million). The money necessary to build 6.5 km of highway is enough to build an airport.

Yunnan’s strategic goal in boosting the airline industry coincides with China Eastern Airlines’ ambition to build a major air transportation hub in Yunnan. The two sides decided to establish a joint venture to achieve this goal.

Strong performance

China Eastern Airlines’ Yunnan Co. Ltd. owns more than 40 airplanes, employs nearly 5,000 people and operates more than 600 direct or indirect routes. It has flights to approximately 70 domestic or international destinations.

In recent years, the company expanded in the domestic market and actively engaged to become a regional air transportation hub in Asia.

Shi Fukang, the company’s general manager, said that in 2009 the company earned 5.2 billion yuan ($765 million) in revenue and 170 million yuan ($25 million) in profit. Various business operation indicators were at historic levels. In the first half of 2010, the company transported a total of 3.57 million passengers, up 6.2 percent from the previous year, and brought in an income of 2.62 billion yuan ($385 million), up 22.1 percent from the previous year.

Shi Fukang, General Manager of Eastern Airline Yunnan Co., Ltd.

The company has been committed to ensuring flight safety and delivering quality services and products.

Safe flights

Flight safety is the most important part of providing air transportation for any airline company.

Because of treacherous topography and volatile weather on the flight routes between Yunnan and its neighboring Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, pilots must be extremely cautious, said Xiang Hui, a senior official of the company’s flight department. Strong winds, heavy storms and fog are common, he said. Moreover, many airports in the region are located in valleys, or on top of mountains. Runways are short so it is not an easy task to fly in these challenging situations, Xiang said.

To ensure flight safety, the company has taken great efforts to train pilots and strengthen its management. Every year, two special seminars on aviation skills are held exploring how to fly under different weather conditions in different seasons. All pilots are required to attend and pass examinations.

Weekly safety meetings and monthly safety reviews are held. During the safety reviews, flight data are reviewed and assessed, and flights ranked by their quality. The company set stricter safety standards than those required by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Veteran pilots are asked to write down their experiences in flying in complicated weather conditions, and share them with other pilots.

The company has a strict pilot training, evaluation and promotion system. Only pilots with advanced qualifications are allowed to fly routes to destinations within the province or on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The company is among the safest airlines in China.

Quality service

Eastern Airlines Yunnan Co. Ltd. is dedicated to providing quality service both on the ground and in the air. It strives to build a service brand reflecting Yunnan’s unique geographic and cultural characteristics.

A crew member at work

Ground service primarily involves serving passengers stranded by flight delays. Wang Yinping, an official in the ground service department of the company, said that currently, 76 percent of passenger complaints are about services provided to passengers suffering flight delays.

Due to the complicated weather conditions in Yunnan, flight delays are inevitable. Delays in one flight may have a domino effect on several flights. The company has taken measures to improve its ground services. First, it has appointed a manager-on-duty to handle delays. The company has also sent managers to delay-prone airports at tourist resorts to cope with delays. The company has trained its staff on how to calm down anxious passengers, such as updating information and providing passengers with food, drinks and accommodations. Passengers are also allowed to choose alternative routes to their designations. These measures paid off. This year, the company has seen a drop in complaints and an increase in praise.

The company offers innovative and special services in the air. They designed an aerobic exercise on the plane, which allows passengers to stretch themselves while beautiful music plays. The exercise has become popular among travelers.

The Golden Peacock crew, formed in 1992, is a model team in the company. It has won several national honors. Every month, it hosts some special events. Sometimes, the crew members dress in traditional costume of ethnic minority groups in Yunnan and perform short programs for passengers.

Expanding the market

Although the company is based in Yunnan, its market extends far beyond the province. Currently, the company has flights to 12 countries and two regions. It operates nearly 100 flights per week and it looks to expand both nationally and internationally.

The company has developed strategies both to expand southward into Southeast Asia markets and westward to Middle East and European markets, said Wan Nengsong, the company’s deputy general manager for marketing.

The company resumed or opened flights to designations in Southeast Asia and South Asia, such as Bangkok in Thailand, Vientiane in Laos, Rangoon in Myanmar, Phnom Penh in Cambodia and Jakarta in Indonesia. Currently, there are one to two flights daily from Kunming, capital of Yunnan, to the above-mentioned destinations. The company is going to open flights from Kunming to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and from Colombo to African cities.

Last February, the company opened flights from Kunming to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. In the past months, the passenger and cargo load has been increasing on this route.

Wan said the company plans to open a route from Yinchuan to Kunming and Dubai. Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, has a large Muslim population and is culturally connected to Dubai. The flight will facilitate trade between China’s northwest and southwest regions and countries in the Middle East. The company also plans to open flights to other Middle East and European destinations.

Shi said that the company’s goal is to maintain an 8-percent annual growth rate, and expand the company’s market share in Yunnan from 45 percent to above 50 percent within three years. The company is going to increase its planes from 45 now to 75 in 2015. The company aspires to be the best provincial-level airlines in China.

By DAI XIAOHUA