Shanghai Airlines
上海航空公司
Shànghǎi Hángkōng Gōngsī

IATA ICAO Callsign FM CSH SHANGHAI AIR
Founded	December 30, 1985 (1985-12-30)
Hubs	Shanghai–Hongqiao Shanghai–Pudong
Frequent-flyer program	Eastern Miles
Alliance	SkyTeam (affiliate)
Fleet size	86
Destinations	80[1]
Parent company	China Eastern Airlines
Headquarters	Hongqiao Airport, Shanghai
Key people	Zhou Chi (President) Fan Hongxi (CEO)
Website	www.ceair.com

Shanghai Airlines (Chinese: 上海航空公司) is an airline headquartered in Shanghai. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, but its operations remain separate post-merger, retaining its distinct brand and livery. Shanghai Airlines operates domestic and international services. The logo is a white crane on a red vertical tail fin. The airline operates flights out of Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai.^[2] The airline is an affiliate member of the SkyTeam airline alliance with its parent company China Eastern Airlines which is a full member of the alliance.^[3]

History

Shanghai Airlines was established on December 30, 1985.^[4] It is China's first commercial airline of multidimensional investment funded by the Shanghai municipal government and Shanghai local enterprises. The airline was initially restricted to domestic flights, but has operated international services since 1997.^[5]

In late 2002, Shanghai Airlines was successfully listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which enabled the airline to fuel its further expansion. In 2006, the airline's cargo subsidiary was founded.^[5]

On December 12, 2007, Shanghai Airlines was officially welcomed as the 19th member of Star Alliance, which consolidated the alliance's presence in the Shanghai market.^[6]

On June 11, 2009, it was announced that Shanghai Airlines would merge with China Eastern Airlines. The merger of the two airlines was expected to reduce excess competition between the two Shanghai-based carriers, and allow them to compete more effectively with domestic rivals Air China and China Southern Airlines. It was also aimed at consolidating Shanghai's status as an international aviation hub.^[7]

In February 2010, the merger was completed. Shanghai Airlines was delisted from the Shanghai Stock Exchange and became a wholly owned subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines. The new combined airline is expected to have over half of the market share in Shanghai.^[8] Prior to the merger it was headquartered in Jing'an District.^[9]

As a result of the merger with China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines reached an agreement with Star Alliance to terminate its membership. On November 1, 2010, the airline officially left the Star Alliance and announced its intention to join its parent company in SkyTeam.^[10] Shanghai Airlines also maintained its own cargo division, Shanghai Airlines Cargo, which was merged into China Cargo Airlines.

Destinations

Shanghai Airlines' current headquarters at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, shared with China Eastern Airlines

Shanghai Airlines has a substantial domestic network shared with its parent company China Eastern Airlines. The airline serves over 140 domestic and international destinations, giving access to more than 60 large and medium-sized cities in mainland China and abroad. Its international flights focus on Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.^[5] Shanghai Airlines also operates services from Shanghai to Melbourne Airport, Australia on behalf of China Eastern Airlines utilising its own aircraft and crew. From June 2019, Shanghai Airlines opened direct flights to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport.

Destinations

Fleet

Current fleet

A Shanghai Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at Sydney Airport

A Shanghai Airlines Boeing 737-800

As of December 2023, Shanghai Airlines operates the following aircraft:^[19][20]

Shanghai Airlines fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers					Notes
			F	B	E+	E	Total
Boeing 737-700	4	—	—	8	—	132	140	[21]
Boeing 737-800	64	—	—	8	—	156	164
Boeing 737 MAX 8	11	8	—	8	—	168	176
Boeing 787-9	7	3	4	26	28	227	285	Order placed by parent company, China Eastern Airlines.[22]
Comac ARJ21-700	—	5	TBA
Total	86	16

Former fleet

A former Shanghai Airlines Boeing 707-320C

A former Shanghai Airlines Boeing 767-300ER

Shanghai Airlines has previously operated the following aircraft:^[23]

Shanghai Airlines fleet

Aircraft	Fleet	Introduced	Retired	Notes
Airbus A321-200	4	2009	2010	Transferred to China Eastern Airlines.
Airbus A330-200	3	2013	2019	Returned to China Eastern Airlines.
Airbus A330-300	4	2013	2023	Returned to China Eastern Airlines.
Boeing 707-320C	5	1985	1988
Boeing 737-300	1	1997	1999
Boeing 737-300SF	1	2004	2005	Disposed to Aerolíneas Argentinas Cargo.
Boeing 757-200	11	1990	2015	Received the last Boeing 757 ever produced.
Boeing 757-200PCF	2	2006	2011	Transferred to China Cargo Airlines.
Boeing 767-300	4	1994	2018	Last flight was on September 30, 2018.[24]
Boeing 767-300ER	5	2003	2018
Bombardier CRJ200ER	3	2000	2015	One aircraft is currently stored.
Bombardier CRJ200LR	2	2004	2011
McDonnell Douglas MD-11F	4	2005	2011	Three aircraft are transferred to China Cargo Airlines.

Frequent-flyer program

Crane Club (simplified Chinese: 金鹤俱乐部; traditional Chinese: 金鶴俱樂部) was the frequent-flyer program of Shanghai Airlines prior to the merger with China Eastern Airlines. However, Shanghai Airlines announced in April 2011 ^[25] that the Crane Club will be merged into China Eastern's Eastern Miles Program. It was officially merged into Eastern Miles on June 8, 2011. After the merger, members can earn and use their mileage on China Eastern's flights. The Crane Club had two tiers: Crane Club Gold and Silver.^[26]

Shanghai Airlines' frequent-flyer program is called Eastern Miles (东方万里行; 東方萬里行). After the merger with China Eastern Airlines, the frequent-flyer programs were also merged. Eastern Miles became the official frequent-flyer program of Shanghai Airlines on June 8, 2011. When enough miles are collected, members can be upgraded to VIP. VIP membership of Eastern Miles can be divided into three tiers: Platinum Card Membership, Golden Card membership and Silver Card membership.^[27]

References

External links

Media related to Shanghai Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (in Chinese)