China Eastern Yunnan Airlines -- a joint venture company of China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (CEA) and Yunnan government -- began operating officially on August 2. The new venture was originally known as China Eastern Airlines Yunnan Branch.

On May 31, 2009, CEA and Yunnan government signed an agreement to set up a joint venture based on China Eastern Airlines Yunnan Branch. After one year's preparation, China Eastern Yunnan Airlines was unveiled at an inauguration ceremony on July 27, 2010, marking the company entry into the establishment phase. Thanks to both parties' close cooperation, the joint venture successfully passed qualification examination and was officially certificated to operate on August 2, 2011.

In recent years, with Shanghai as its core hub, Kunming and Xi'an as its regional hubs, CEA focuses on building a network covering the nation and radiating the world. The carrier seeks to expand business to south and west and has launched international services from Kunming to Dubai, Colombo, Male, Chiengmai and Da Nang, and from Mangshi to Mandalay.

As an important strategic base of CEA in southwest China, the new joint venture operates a modern fleet that comprises a variety of 40 aircraft including A330-300, B737-700 and CRJ-200. The fleet's capacity is expected to double by 2015. Separately, the airline will fly to more than 70 destinations, both at home and abroad.

In the next five years, the carrier's total traffic is expected to achieve an annual increase of 15 percent to reach1.69 billion ton kilometers. Its passenger traffic will climb to 17 million, with an annual growth of 19 percent; while cargo and mails traffic will be up to 162000 tons, an annual increase of 12 percent on average.

As CEA has become a Skyteam member, the new venture can expand its network offerings to its customers relying on CEA's network as well as other Skyteam members' network. Passengers in Yunnan can get to 916 destinations in 169 countries with one air ticket and enjoy the "seamless transit" service.