China Eastern Airlines in search for new investors

SHANGHAI: China Eastern Airlines, the nation's second largest carrier by fleet size, said it has rolled out the red carpet for potential strategic investors after completing a merger with former local rival Shanghai Airlines.

The restructuring between China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines was officially wrapped up yesterday for a total of more than 150 billion yuan. The consolidated new carrier has a fleet size of 331 aircraft and will operate flights to 151 cities across the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Frankfurt.

"The completion of the transfer of capital assets only marks the first phase of restructuring and we expect China Eastern to further enhance its international competitiveness through, for example, strategic cooperation," said Meng Jianmin, deputy chief of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.