China United Airlines (KN, Beijing Daxing International) is considering reinventing itself as a budget carrier to help differentiate itself from parent, China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao). "China United is aiming at the overflow from the Beijing market," a source at China Eastern told WCARN. "Passenger traffic overflow at Beijing Capital, one of the busiest airports worldwide, stands at roughly 8 to 10 million a year. This could could turn out to be an important customer source for China United." Originally formed out of a joint venture between Shanghai Airlines (FM, Shanghai Hongqiao) and China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group Corporation (CASGC) in 2004, China United later became a China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) subsidiary when Shanghai Airlines was incorporated into the former. China United currently operates ten B737-700s and fifteen B737-800s on an exclusively Chinese domestic network.