Yunnan Feathers Pt1: China Eastern 737-800s

Yunnan is a mountainous province in the Southwest of China bordering Vietnam, Laos and Burma. It had a population of 45.7 million in 2009 and its capital city is Kunming. From this important regional city China Yunnan Airlines was setup in 1992 and though it was merged into China Eastern in 2002 the Yunnan province's aircraft haven't lost their independent identity...

China Yunnan Airlines had by the late 1990s a fleet of CRJS, Boeing 737-300s and 767-300s all of which wore an attractive green livery with a tail symbol of a golden feather. China Eastern had chosen the A320 series as replacement for its MD80s in the late 1990s however it received its first 737-79P (part of a China Yunnan order) in October 2002 and has since built a fleet of 69 737NGs - most of which seem to be based in Yunnan and Wuhan.

The 737s are still however dwarfed by the size of the A320 series fleet which by March 2015 numbered over 220 aircraft. MU’s first pair of 737-86Rs arrived in October 2002 but weren’t joined by more series 800s until 737-89Ps began to arrive on lease from ILFC from February 2005. Series 800 numbers remained low with only 15 in service by 2011, however since then they have more than doubled to 39 units.

China Eastern - Boeing 737-89P(WL) B-5527
MSN / LN: 36671 / 3343
Delivery Date: 23/07/10

China Eastern had previously taken over China Yunnan Airlines in 2003 and turned its operation into a branch of the parent, however in August 2011 it was announced that China Eastern Yunnan Airlines would be setup as a joint venture with the provincial government, based at Kunming to enhance the destination as a regional hub. China Eastern has a 65% share in the airline. Historically relations between Yunnan and China Eastern had been strained due to the reallocation of much of the former China Yunnan's fleet to service China Eastern's Shanghai hub. Since 2011 many China Eastern 737s have begun to appear with the Golden Feather symbol on the fuselage near the passenger door clearly indicating they are in the China Eastern Yunnan fleet.

By September 2014 the fleet of China Eastern Yunnan Airlines included a pair of A330s amongst its 64 aircraft servicing over 10 million passengers annually. The airline operates to 85 domestic and international destinations. Unfortunately the aircraft do not wear China Eastern Yunnan titles and it is uncertain exactly which aircraft operate specifically for the airline other than those with the feather logo.

China Eastern Yunnan - Boeing 737-89P(WL) B-5796
MSN / LN 41306 / 4559
Delivery Date 10/09/13

Since 2012 China Eastern has begun painting several members of its 737 fleet in a special Yunnan themed Peacock livery. Nine 737-700s and six 737-800s, along with a single A330, wear the orange version of the scheme whilst one 737-700 and two 737-800s wear a purple variation of the same scheme. One of the latter B-5756 was the 1000th Boeing aircraft to be delivered to a Chinese Airline.  It is unclear whether all the Peacock themed aircraft are in the China Eastern Yunnan fleet however B-5796, which wears the orange variant, certainly appears to be based at Kunming.

References

2009. Go Kunming. Yunnan Government , China Eastern form Joint Venture airline
2014. WCARN. China Eastern Yunnan Airlines Receives New Airbus A33E Aircraft
Airlineupdate.com China Eastern Yunnan Airlines