On 14 August 2026, China Eastern Airlines released unaudited operating data for July 2026, highlighting a healthy recovery in passenger demand and improved capacity utilisation across its network.
Passenger operations • Capacity (ASK) expanded 4.24 % year on year (YoY) to 30.98 billion seat-kilometres. • Traffic (RPK) climbed 7.13 % YoY to 26.99 billion seat-kilometres. • The passenger load factor advanced 2.35 percentage points to 87.11 %, marking continued efficiency gains. • The carrier transported 14.27 million passengers in July, up 3.98 % YoY. – Domestic segment: ASK 20.44 billion (+3.76 %), RPK 18.03 billion (+5.91 %), load factor 88.25 % (+1.80 ppts). – International segment: ASK 9.96 billion (+4.97 %), RPK 8.46 billion (+9.55 %), load factor 84.91 % (+3.55 ppts).
Cargo operations • Available freight tonne-kilometres (AFTK) fell 5.32 % YoY to 814.64 million. • Revenue freight tonne-kilometres (RFTK) edged up 2.77 % to 375.03 million, lifting the freight load factor by 3.62 ppts to 46.04 %. • Freight volume carried reached 95.83 million kg, a 1.82 % increase YoY. – International RFTK rose 4.21 % to 295.09 million, while domestic RFTK slipped 3.25 % to 77.04 million.
Overall production • Total available tonne-kilometres (ATK) grew 1.91 % YoY to 3.60 billion, and revenue tonne-kilometres (RTK) climbed 6.81 % to 2.71 billion. • The overall load factor improved by 3.45 ppts to 75.21 %.
Fleet developments • Two aircraft were introduced (one A320-series and one B737-series), while two similar models were retired, keeping the fleet size steady at 833 aircraft. • Composition: 114 wide-body jets, 687 narrow-body jets and 32 regional aircraft.
Network expansion in July • Domestic: new links such as Shanghai Pudong–Zhaosu and Chengdu Tianfu–Jingdezhen; resumptions including Shanghai Pudong–Manzhouli and Beijing Daxing–Bijie; frequency increases on several Beijing Daxing and Shanghai routes. • International and regional: new services to Tbilisi, Dublin, Cheongju and Bali; resumption of Xi’an–Seoul Incheon; higher frequencies on popular Southeast Asian routes.
Year-to-date performance (Jan–Jul 2026) • Cumulative ASK reached 188.70 billion (+2.14 %), RPK 164.11 billion (+4.75 %) and passenger load factor 86.97 % (+2.17 ppts). • Cumulative RFTK totalled 2.56 billion (+11.38 %), pushing the freight load factor up 4.49 ppts to 42.25 %.
Risk reminder The disclosed figures are unaudited and may be adjusted in subsequent statutory reports; investors should exercise caution when interpreting the data.
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