Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) has announced it will acquire a 3.55% stake in China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) for USD450 million. As part of the acquisition, the US carrier will also be entitled to an observer seat on China Eastern's board of directors.
"The cooperation of the parties is based on a global vision and joint strategic blueprint," Shaoyong Liu, China Eastern CEO, said. "The parties will take advantage of their respective route networks, flight services, relevant businesses and advantageous resources to fully connect the world's two top economies as well as two top air transportation markets."
The agreement is conditioned on the finalization of a marketing agreement and approval by each carrier's board of directors.
Delta said in a statement that the partnership is part of a broader collaboration strategy that will allow both airlines to compete more effectively in the US-China market while offering customers more travel options.
In terms of operations, China Eastern serves Honolulu, San Francisco, New York JFK, and Los Angeles International from its Shanghai Pudong hub while Delta serves Beijing Capital and Shanghai Pudong from Detroit Metropolitan, Los Angeles International, and Seattle Tacoma International. In addition, the carriers currently codeshare on thirty domestic US routes, forty-three domestic Chinese routes, and seven trans-Pacific routes between China and the United States.
