Shanghai Airlines to Leave Star Alliance as Result of China Eastern Merger

As a result of its recent merger with China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines has agreed with Star Alliance to terminate its membership by the end of October.

The alliance says Shanghai Airlines will continue to offer all Star Alliance customer benefits and its passengers will continue to receive worldwide alliance benefits until October 31. These include the collection and redemption of miles, participation in various Star Alliance fare products and the provision of extra benefits to Star Alliance Gold and Silver customers.

According to its current Star partner United Airlines, Shanghai Airlines was the fifth-largest carrier in China before its merger with China Eastern, China’s third-largest airline after China Southern Airlines and Air China. Shanghai Airlines has operations at both Hongqiao International and Pudong International airports in Shanghai.

Shanghai Airlines, which has now merged with China Eastern Airlines, has more than 80 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, as well as two other types. This photograph shows a Boeing 737-800 that Shanghai Airlines leased from International Lease Finance Corporation

The airline developed routes from Shanghai to most large and medium-sized cities in China, and according to Star Alliance now operates flights from Shanghai to more than 170 domestic destinations as well as 13 international and regional destinations in the Asia Pacific region. These include Hong Kong; Osaka, Japan; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Phuket, Thailand and Seoul, Korea.

Shanghai Airlines operates a fleet of 77 aircraft, mainly composed of Boeing types such as the 737-800, 757 and 767-300/767-300ER, but the carrier also operates several Airbus A320-family aircraft (with more on order) and five Bombardier CRJ200 50-seat regional jets. The carrier also has ordered five China-manufactured ACAC ARJ21 regional jets.

On June 11, 2009, it was announced that Shanghai Airlines would merge with China Eastern Airlines, a future Skyteam Alliance member. China Eastern Airlines and its subsidiary carriers China Cargo Airlines, China Eastern Airlines Wuhan and China Eastern Yunnan Airlines already operated about 250 aircraft (mainly Airbus and Boeing types) among them before China Eastern’s merger with Shanghai Airlines.