Carriers look to grasp opportunities from mainland's tourism boom

China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd and Japan Airlines Co Ltd announced on Thursday they will jointly operate more flights with lower prices for consumers and higher service quality, grasping the opportunities brought by China's outbound tourism boom.

During the signing ceremony, Ma Xulun, president of China Eastern, said it is a trend among major international airlines to launch joint flights to improve cooperation.

"We believe this partnership will improve the strength of both airlines amid the intensified global competition," said Yoshiharu Ueki, JAL's chairman. He said he expected to see more passenger traffic between the two countries and open up commercial opportunities.

According to Ueki, although the cooperation is still subject to official approval from both the Chinese and Japanese governments, it is expected to be launched in early 2019.

Under the agreement, flights to more than 50 cities in Japan and over 80 destinations in China will be jointly operated by the two sides.

The first move of its kind between the two Asian carriers' short haul business, it aims to tap into the growing number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan.

Currently, China Eastern operates 22 Sino-Japanese routes and 522 flights between the two countries per week, the highest among all carriers.

The robust growth of Chinese passengers has benefited both carriers. In 2017, China Eastern saw its Sino-Japanese route passenger numbers rise to 4.78 million, from 4.07 million in 2015.

"Globalization and the internet are the two directions China Eastern will be focusing on in the coming years. We are enhancing our global competitiveness through cooperating with renowned international carriers," Ma said.

Cooperation between China Eastern and JAL started in 2002 by code sharing.

China Eastern has been actively partnering with global airlines in recent years. In 2015, it inked an agreement to sell 3.55 percent of its equity to Delta Air Lines Inc for $450 million.

In July 2017, China Eastern and Delta Air Lines announced a deal to each buy a 10 percent stake in Air France-KLM Group, for about 375 million euros ($435 million).