The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has given China Eastern Airlines permission to reopen its previously suspended Kunming-Dali and Kunming-Jinghong routes, half a year after stripping the Shanghai-based airline of the routes because of mid-air protests by several of its Yunnan subsidiary's pilots.

In March of this year, China Eastern pilots are reported to have deliberately turned back midway through their provincial flights out of Kunming as a form of protest over dissatisfaction with strict lifetime contracts and low pay.

The airline quickly fired its Yunnan management, but that was not enough to prevent regulators at CAAC from discontinuing its Kunming-Dali and Kunming-Jinghong routes on May 4 and reducing feeder routes from Kunming to Lijiang, Shangri-la, Mangshi, Lincang, Pu'er and Wenshan by 20 flights daily, on April 26.

CAAC said that it had restored the routes plus increased the frequency of other China Eastern routes in Yunnan as a result of the airline's 'impressive contribution to Sichuan earthquake relief and rescue efforts', according to aviation trade publication ATW Daily News.

Analysts say the restoration of the routes may not help offset the estimated loss of 405 million yuan (US$59 million) in revenue from the route suspensions, as Chinese domestic tourism has been slumping since the Wenchuan earthquake in May.

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The Yunnan provincial government and Grand China Air – which is partially owned by billionaire financier George Soros – have agreed to establish Yunnan Airlines, a joint venture airline that will challenge China Eastern Airlines' dominance of the Yunnan air travel market, according to a Reuters report.

The announcement comes at a time when air travel in Yunnan and elsewhere in southwest China is expected to continue its rapid growth and Kunming is building what will be one of China's largest airports. The news also came shortly after state regulatory body the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) stripped Shanghai-based China Eastern of several air routes in Yunnan – including flights to Dali and Xishuangbanna – after an apparent mid-air strike by pilots in March of this year.

The company is still awaiting regulatory approval from the central government - which is likely, given that a provincial government will be a stakeholder in the company.

Despite the potential conflict of interest, the Yunnan government released a statement in which it said that in addition to Yunnan Airlines' plans to establish its hub in Kunming it hopes that other airlines including China Eastern's Yunnan subsidiary will further develop their operations in Kunming, according to a Xinhua report.

Xinhua is reporting that Yunnan Airlines will start out with a fleet of at least 30 planes.

Image: Xinhua

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The regulatory fallout for China Eastern Airlines after an apparent organized act of protest by several of its Yunnan-based pilots in late March has finally hit the Shanghai-based carrier, which has been stripped of its Kunming-Xishuangbanna and Kunming-Dali routes, effective May 4, according to Kunming media reports.

The cancellation of the popular routes by aviation regulatory body the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) comes as a result of a rare public display of defiance by pilots on 21 flights last month. China Eastern Airlines had stated that pilots in its Yunnan subsidiary deliberately turned back midway through their provincial flights out of Kunming in late March – effectively going on strike in midair – with dissatisfaction with strict lifetime contracts and low pay both cited as reasons for the pilots' actions.

China Eastern released a statement in early April saying that two high-ranking officials in the company's Yunnan subsidiary had been fired and a deputy general manager from the company's Shanghai headquarters would serve as head of the branch.

In addition to the canceled Xishuangbanna and Dali feeder routes, CAAC reduced the number of flights China Eastern can fly from Kunming to Lijiang, Shangri-la, Mangshi, Lincang, Pu'er and Wenshan by 20 flights daily, effective April 26.

Details are unavailable regarding whether the routes will be available to other carriers or if China Eastern will later be eligible to service the routes again. Passengers who have purchased canceled flights are entitled to a full refund at China Eastern offices.

The cancellation of the Xishuangbanna and Dali routes comes as both regions prepare for an influx of summer and Olympics-related tourism.

Update: Bloomberg is reporting that Air China and three other carriers will receive the canceled routes beginning May 4.

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Tags: China Eastern Airlines, Dali, Lijiang, Lincang, Mangshi, pilot strike, Pu'er, Shangri-la, Wenshan, Xishuangbanna

China Eastern Airlines has officially stated that pilots in its Yunnan subsidiary deliberately turned back midway through their provincial flights out of Kunming on Monday and Tuesday of last week – effectively going on strike in midair, according to a China Daily report.

According to the report, all pilots from the total of 21 affected flights have been suspended from their jobs. An internal investigation by China Eastern and a probe by aviation regulator Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) are both currently underway.

China Eastern released a statement yesterday saying that two high-ranking officials in the company's Yunnan subsidiary have been fired and a deputy general manager from the company's Shanghai headquarters has been named head of the branch, where he will investigate the reason for the rare demonstration.

The China Daily report said the reason for the mid-air pilot strike was related to grievances related to low pay for pilots of feeder routes such as those within Yunnan as well as overtime and night shift-related issues. But a report last week on China.org.cn attributed the disrupted flights to pilot anger regarding restrictive contracts aimed at preventing poaching by other airlines:

Pilots in state-owned companies have been forced to sign 99-year contracts with their employers. If they quit, they must pay compensation ranging from 700,000 to 2.1 million yuan.

While China Eastern and CAAC investigate the incidents of last week, passengers on the disrupted flights continue to seek compensation. China Eastern said it has compensated some of the passengers and will eventually compensate all of those affected.

Related article: China Eastern officials, pilots meet after Kunming protest

Tags: China Eastern Airlines, pilot strike, travel

China Eastern Airlines and its Yunnan subsidiary held an emergency meeting this week regarding what appears to be an organized protest by the airline's pilots in Kunming.

On Monday, 14 planes leaving Kunming for destinations elsewhere in Yunnan turned back, with pilots citing bad weather as the reason, despite normal weather conditions at all the airports in question.

Officials from China Eastern's Shanghai headquarters and its Yunnan subsidiary met with 50 pilot representatives in Kunming on Wednesday for closed-door talks that lasted more than three hours, according to Kunming media reports. According to some Chinese media reports, the pilots involved are facing lifetime bans from flying on the mainland.

The apparent strike is the third major protest by pilots in China in the last month. On March 14, 40 Shanghai Airlines pilots called in sick. On March 28, 11 pilots from East Star Airline in Wuhan requested sick leave.

China's aviation industry is currently expanding flights so quickly that the supply of pilots cannot keep pace. According to a report on the website China.org.cn, the problem is expected to intensify in the coming years:

In 2004, when China's first private airline, Okay Airways, was founded, China had about 10,000 pilots flying 700 airplanes. Private capital has since poured into the industry. By 2010, China expects to have 1,250 domestic commercial jets, which will require at least 6,500 more pilots.

Domestic aviation schools train only 600 to 800 pilots each year, so private companies have frequently been forced to headhunt for more pilots.

The short supply of pilots has led to state-owned airlines including China Eastern to force their pilots – who are not allowed to form labor unions – to sign 99-year contracts under which a pilot must pay its employer compensation ranging from 700,000 to 2.1 million yuan if they quit, the report said.

Several lawsuits have been filed by disgruntled pilots in the last two years, but none have made it to court.

Image: clzg.cn

Related article: Security tightening at Kunming's airport

Tags: China Eastern Airlines, pilot strike, travel

With much of the city's traffic in disarray, travelers leaving Kunming via Kunming Wujiaba International Airport have needed to allow some extra time for their journey to the airport. Now that the airport has tightened security – especially with regards to liquids – it is advisable to give yourself even more time.

According to Kunming media reports more than 60 percent of passengers going through the airport's security check have had their bags searched recently. The increase in security at the airport – which previously had been quite lax – has reportedly led to many travelers missing their flights.

The recent tightening of security comes after Chinese media reported a foiled hijacking of an Urumqi-Beijing flight last week, which quickly and mysteriously disappeared from Chinese media.

On an unrelated note, Indian media is reporting that a China Eastern flight from Kolkata to Kunming this weekend had to dump its fuel and make an emergency landing when the plane's landing gear failed to retract after takeoff.

Tags: China Eastern Airlines, Kolkata, Kunming Wujiaba International Airport, security, terrorism, travel

China Eastern Airlines will begin offering direct flights from Kunming to Kolkata before the end of the year, according to an interview in the Indian Express with China's General Consul to Kolkata. The opening of the air route between the two cities is expected to increase business and tourism exchanges between the world's most populous countries and their rapidly growing economies.

The route will be Kunming's first direct link to India and Kolkata's first direct flight to China. Kolkata is home to India's largest Chinatown and will soon be home to China's second consulate after Mumbai. The Kolkata consulate will be opened by Consul General of China to Kolkata Mao Siwei, who emphasized the large Chinese presence in the city and the need of residents of eastern India to have direct access to China.

"Every year a lot of people from eastern India visit[ing] China, either for business or for travel. That has necessitated the inauguration of direct flights between Kolkata and Kunming," Mao said.

Manmohan Singh and Hu Jintao

After decades of icy relations, China and India are quickly warming up to each other both diplomatically and economically. As trust has grown between the two countries' governments, commercial exchanges have mushroomed from less than US$2 billion in bilateral trade in 1999 to a projected bilateral trade of US$30 billion this year.

In April of this year India began working on rebuilding its section of the Stilwell Road, a World War II-era supply route that connected Kunming to northeast India via Myanmar. Once completed, the road will be the only highway linking India to a major city in China.

Update: Kolkata-based newspaper The Telegraph is reporting that the Kunming-Kolkata route will launch on October 29. The thrice-weekly flight will arrive at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 11:40 pm and Kunming Wujiaba International Airport at 5:10 am (both local time).

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China Eastern Airlines will open passenger flights between Kunming and the city of Nyingchi in eastern Tibet this summer, according to a Xinhua report. China Eastern's Yunnan Branch recently ran a trial flight of a Boeing 737-700 from Kunming to Nyingchi, which due to being located in a winding valley with challenging weather conditions is one of the world's most difficult airport landings.

Total flying time from Kunming to Nyingchi, Tibet's third civilian airport, will be just under two hours. Once China Eastern concludes negotiations with the two airports it is expected to announce the maiden flight date and flight schedule.

Nyingchi, which means 'throne of the sun' in Tibetan, is located 400 kilometers east of Lhasa. It is home to the ruins of Buchasergyi Lakang Monastery, an Eighth Century Buddhist Temple built by King Songsten Gampo.

Tags: Buchasergyi Lakang Monastery, China Eastern Airlines, King Songsten Gampo, Nyingchi, Tibet, travel