China Eastern Airlines (CHINA EAST AIR) released unaudited operating data for April 2026, showing continued recovery in both passenger and cargo operations.
Passenger Operations • Capacity (ASK) reached 25.40 billion seat-kilometres, up 0.84% year on year, while traffic (RPK) rose 3.79% to 22.32 billion seat-kilometres. • The passenger load factor improved 2.50 percentage points to 87.87%, the highest monthly level so far in 2026. • International routes were the main driver: ASK increased 4.68% and RPK jumped 11.02%, lifting the international load factor 5.07 percentage points to 88.75%. Domestic capacity slipped 0.86%, but a slight traffic gain kept domestic load factor at 87.44% (+1.18 pts). • The carrier transported 11.91 million passengers in April, down 0.94% from a high base a year earlier, with international passenger numbers up 4.35%.
Cargo Operations • Available freight tonne-kilometres (AFTK) edged up 1.72% to 858.77 million, while revenue freight tonne-kilometres (RFTK) surged 19.10% to 368.31 million. • The freight load factor climbed 6.26 percentage points to 42.89%, supported by a 22.43% increase in international RFTK and a corresponding international load-factor improvement of 6.37 percentage points to 51.74%.
Year-to-Date Performance (Jan–Apr 2026) • Cumulative passenger capacity totalled 108.23 billion seat-kilometres (+4.94%), with traffic at 94.18 billion seat-kilometres (+8.28%). • Overall passenger load factor improved 2.67 percentage points to 87.01%. • The airline carried 50.14 million passengers, up 3.45% year on year. • Cargo traffic reached 1.45 billion freight tonne-kilometres, up 16.92%, pushing the cumulative freight load factor to 39.28% (+4.77 pts).
Fleet and Network Updates • Two aircraft were introduced in April (one A320-series and one C919) and two A320-series aircraft were retired, keeping the fleet at 823 aircraft: 113 wide-bodies, 679 narrow-bodies and 31 regional jets. The C919 fleet expanded to 15 units. • Route development included new domestic links such as Beijing Daxing–Hami and international additions like Xi’an–Vienna and Wuhan–Vientiane, alongside multiple frequency increases on key domestic and long-haul routes.
Consolidated Metrics • Available tonne-kilometres (ATK) rose 1.08% to 3.14 billion, while revenue tonne-kilometres (RTK) advanced 5.85% to 2.34 billion, lifting the overall load factor 3.36 percentage points to 74.52%.
Management reminds investors that all figures are unaudited and subject to adjustment when full financial statements are prepared.
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