China Eastern Airlines seeks to revitalise its position with 777 long-haul growth and new brand

China Eastern Airlines is not Beijing's favourite child. China's second-largest airline and the world's eighth largest is still coming out of its merger with Shanghai Airlines some five years after being announced. This is partially due to competing interests from centrally owned China Eastern and municipally owned Shanghai Airlines, which has left neither side completely fulfilled. The clunky merger has fuelled anecdotal experiences of inefficiency. Passengers are able to take their business elsewhere, with Shanghai increasingly the most fragmented of major Chinese hubs, to China Eastern's disadvantage.

Nonetheless Shanghai is a hub with tremendous international growth opportunities, and China Eastern sits astride it. But the airline has failed to capitalise on this with slow long-haul growth. This owes much to 787 delays and then the carrier's conversion to 777s. Now the first 777 is due by the end of 2014. With 20 on order - a huge number for a Chinese airline - China Eastern is seeking long-haul growth, mainly in North America, and looking to make a statement change. This will be helped with a new brand, a first to occur in China, and spearhead Shanghai's growing position with a new Disneyland park and growing free-trade zone. China Eastern will be seeking to prove it is not too little too late. If its bet is correct, its stature will rise - to the detriment of others.