China Eastern ends A340-600 revenue operations

China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) took delivery of its maiden A350-900 B-304D (msn 248) on November 29, 2018, the first out of twenty such aircraft ordered by the airline.

The aircraft was repositioned on a ferry flight directly from Toulouse Blagnac to Shanghai Hongqiao, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.

The first commercial flight of the type is scheduled for December 4 from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing Capital. Subsequently, China Eastern Airlines will deploy the type to Guangzhou and Chengdu domestically. The international debut to European, Australian, and Northern American destinations is set to take place in January 2019,

The aircraft is equipped with 288 seats, including 40 in Business Class (including four "premium business class seats"), 32 in Premium Economy, and 216 in Economy Class.

China Eastern's Airbus fleet also includes thirty A330-200s, twenty-two A330-300s, thirty-five A319-100s, 180 A320-200s, seventy-seven A321-200s, and fifteen A320-200neo. The airline also operates thirty-seven B737-700s, 102 B737-800s, three B737-8s, twenty B777-300(ER)s, and a single...

Saipan airport fully reopened to commercial traffic around the clock on November 20, more than three weeks after Typhoon Yutu caused substantial damage to the facility in late October and forced its closure.

The Saipan Tribune reported that so far, only United Airlines resumed flights to the airport from Guam Int'l. T'way Air (TW, Seoul Gimpo), HK Express, Jeju Air, China Eastern Airlines, and Sichuan Airlines are expected to follow shortly.

The airport previously opened to daytime traffic only on November 15, while repair works continued through the night.

The Commonwealth Ports Authority, the airport operator, said that while it was now safe and possible to accept round-the-clock traffic, the airport is still not fully repaired. The air traffic controllers are still operating from a provisional mobile tower after the permanent structure was destroyed. The local terminal is also not open yet.

"We’re trying to make it okay to make the flights come in," CPA executive director Christopher S. Tenorio said.

On November 17, the smaller...