Report of Foreign Issuer (6-k)

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 6-K

 

 

Report of Foreign Private Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16

under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month of April 2020

Commission File Number: 001-14550

 

 

China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

 

 

Board Secretariat’s Office

5/F, Block A2, Northern District, CEA Building

36 Hongxiang 3rd Road, Minhang District

Shanghai, China 200335

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:  ☒    Form 20-F  ☐    Form 40-F

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:  ☐    Yes  ☒    No

If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): n/a

 

 

 

---

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

				China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited
				(Registrant)
Date April 20, 2020				By		/s/ Wang Jian
						Name: Wang Jian
						Title: Company Secretary

 

2

---

Certain statements contained in this announcement may be regarded as “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual performance, financial condition or results of operations of the Company to be materially different from any future performance, financial condition or results of operations implied by such forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these risks, uncertainties and other factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this announcement represent the Company’s views as of the date of this announcement. While the Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause the Company’s views to change, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, unless required by applicable laws. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this announcement.

 

3

---

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement.

 

INSIDE INFORMATION

OVERSEAS REGULATORY ANNOUNCEMENT

ANNOUNCEMENT ON OPERATING DATA FOR MARCH 2020

AND

THE IMPACT OF THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

EPIDEMIC ON THE BUSINESS OF THE COMPANY

 

This overseas regulatory announcement is made pursuant to Rule 13.09 and Rule 13.10B of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Listing Rules”) and the Inside Information Provisions (as defined under the Listing Rules) under Part XIVA of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong).

China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (the “Company”) and all members of the board of directors confirm that the information contained in this announcement is true, accurate and complete, and no misrepresentations, misleading statements or material omissions are contained herein.

 

I.	OPERATIONS OF THE COMPANY IN MARCH

In March 2020, the Company’s passenger transportation capacity (measured by available seat- kilometres) decreased by 69.00% year-on-year, among which, the passenger transportation capacity of its domestic, international and regional routes decreased by 63.72%, 77.45% and 91.92% year-on-year, respectively; passenger traffic volume (measured by revenue passenger- kilometres) decreased by 79.11% year-on-year, among which, the passenger traffic volume of its domestic, international and regional routes decreased by 74.72%, 86.55% and 97.48% year-on-year, respectively; and passenger load factor decreased by 27.01 percentage points year-on-year to 55.78%, among which, the passenger load factor of its domestic, international and regional routes decreased by 25.52, 32.31 and 57.98 percentage points year-on-year, respectively.

 

1

---

In relation to freight transportation, freight load volume in March 2020 decreased by 53.56% year-on-year. The freight transportation business of the Company only consists of bellyhold space freight operated through passenger aircraft, and such business is under contractual operation by Eastern Airline Logistics Co., Limited ( 東方航空物流股份有限公司) (“Eastern Logistics”), a subsidiary of the controlling shareholder of the Company. During the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, there has been relatively strong demand for medical and anti-epidemic materials, and therefore the Company has promptly carried out freighter conversion for some passenger aircraft (“Passenger-to-Freighter Conversion”) to enhance air freight transportation capacity. The relevant freight transportation business is operated by Eastern Logistics specifically for external operations, and the transactions between the two parties are on normal commercial terms on a fair basis. As of the date of this announcement, six A330 Passenger-to-Freighter Conversion aircraft have been put into operation.

In March 2020, the Company did not launch any new routes.

 

II.	IMPACT OF THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) EPIDEMIC ON THE COMPANY IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2020

Since the beginning of 2020, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has been spreading rapidly worldwide which had a significant impact to the transportation industry where the Company operates, and the demand and willingness of passengers to travel have been significantly reduced. As of the end of March 2020, the total available seat-kilometres, total number of passengers carried and passenger load factor of the Company decreased by 44.35%, 57.06% and 14.89 percentage points year-on-year, respectively. The Company timely adjusted its operating strategies, such as suspending or adjusting the operation of certain flights, enhanced epidemic protection for passengers and employees, and actively optimised and adjusted its transportation capacity deployment. Meanwhile, the Company actively strived for policy support from all aspects, implemented strict cost control measures, adjusted aircraft introduction schedule, reduced or delayed investment plans, accelerated the pace of financing, and ensured stable cash flow from operations. Although the Company took the above measures in a timely manner, its overall business operations have been adversely affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, and the Company is expected to suffer significant losses in the first quarter of 2020.

The Company will continue to pay attention to the progress of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, keep closely updated on the changes in market demand, actively respond to the risks and challenges brought by the epidemic to the Company’s production and operation, and strive to reduce the adverse impact of the epidemic.

As of the date of this announcement, there is still great uncertainty in the time span and severity of the epidemic around the world, which may magnify the impact on or result in a delay in the recovery of travel demand.

Shareholders and potential investors of the Company are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the Company.

 

2

---

III.	FLEET STRUCTURE

In March 2020, the Company recorded one retirement of B737-800 aircraft, and no introduction of new aircraft. As at the end of March 2020, the Company operated a total of 723 aircraft, including 262 self-owned aircraft, 262 aircraft under finance lease and 199 aircraft under operating lease.

As at the end of March 2020, details of the fleet structure of the Company were as follows:

 

																(Units)
No.		Model		Self-owned				Under finance lease				Under operating lease				Sub-total
		Wide-body passenger aircraft			39				49				5				93
1		B777 series			10				10				0				20
2		B787 series			3				7				0				10
3		A350 series			1				6				0				7
4		A330 series			25				26				5				56
		Narrow-body passenger aircraft			223				213				194				630
5		A320 series			136				125				68				329
6		B737 series			87				88				126				301
		Total			262				262				199				723

Note: The 11 business aircraft self-owned by and held under trust of the Company were not included in the fleet.

 

3

---

IV.	MAJOR OPERATING DATA

 

		Amount				Amount								Total amount completed from				Total amount completed from
		completed in March				completed in March				Year-on-				January to March				January to March				Year-on-
		2020				2019				year increase				in 2020				in 2019				year increase
Passenger Transportation Data
ASK (available seat- kilometres) (millions)			6,699.71				21,610.75				-69.00	%			36,647.31				65,857.24				-44.35	%
— Domestic routes			5,036.51				13,881.50				-63.72	%			22,902.66				42,149.14				-45.66	%
— International routes			1,618.58				7,177.18				-77.45	%			13,152.92				22,055.77				-40.37	%
— Regional routes			44.61				552.07				-91.92	%			591.73				1,652.33				-64.19	%
RPK (revenue passenger- kilometres) (millions)			3,737.08				17,892.12				-79.11	%			24,837.09				54,441.83				-54.38	%
— Domestic routes			2,952.10				11,679.27				-74.72	%			15,416.92				35,084.99				-56.06	%
— International routes			773.28				5,748.06				-86.55	%			9,058.35				18,000.26				-49.68	%
— Regional routes			11.69				464.79				-97.48	%			361.82				1,356.58				-73.33	%
Number of passengers carried (thousands)			2,262.36				10,654.82				-78.77	%			13,702.77				31,907.86				-57.06	%
— Domestic routes			2,115.45				8,880.53				-76.18	%			11,421.05				26,494.40				-56.89	%
— International routes			137.34				1,430.31				-90.40	%			2,006.66				4,406.86				-54.47	%
— Regional routes			9.56				343.98				-97.22	%			275.06				1,006.60				-72.67	%
Passenger load factor (%)			55.78				82.79				-27.01	pts			67.77				82.67				-14.89	pts
— Domestic routes			58.61				84.14				-25.52	pts			67.31				83.24				-15.93	pts
— International routes			47.78				80.09				-32.31	pts			68.87				81.61				-12.74	pts
— Regional routes			26.21				84.19				-57.98	pts			61.15				82.10				-20.96	pts
Freight Transportation Data
AFTK (available freight tonne-kilometres) (millions)			231.41				711.80				-67.49	%			1,329.13				2,213.38				-39.95	%
— Domestic routes			89.03				268.31				-66.82	%			432.64				830.15				-47.88	%
— International routes			139.16				425.73				-67.31	%			875.80				1,328.79				-34.09	%
— Regional routes			3.22				17.76				-81.86	%			20.69				54.44				-61.99	%

 

4

---

		Amount				Amount								Total amount completed from				Total amount completed from
		completed in March				completed in March				Year-on-				January to March				January to March				Year-on-
		2020				2019				year increase				in 2020				in 2019				year increase
RFTK (revenue freight tonne- kilometres) (millions)			112.62				231.54				-51.36	%			438.46				615.72				-28.79	%
— Domestic routes			38.18				78.36				-51.28	%			137.96				219.12				-37.04	%
— International routes			73.48				150.42				-51.15	%			297.12				389.64				-23.74	%
— Regional routes			0.96				2.75				-65.01	%			3.38				6.95				-51.41	%
Weight of freight carried (million kg)			36.81				79.42				-53.65	%			140.10				216.02				-35.14	%
— Domestic routes			25.80				55.24				-53.28	%			96.76				153.87				-37.12	%
— International routes			10.13				21.85				-53.64	%			40.31				56.20				-28.27	%
— Regional routes			0.87				2.33				-62.55	%			3.04				5.95				-48.96	%
Freight load factor (%)			48.67				32.53				16.14	pts			32.99				27.82				5.17	pts
— Domestic routes			42.88				29.21				13.68	pts			31.89				26.40				5.49	pts
— International routes			52.80				35.33				17.47	pts			33.93				29.32				4.60	pts
— Regional routes			29.91				15.51				14.40	pts			16.32				12.77				3.55	pts
Consolidated Data
ATK (available tonne-kilometres) (millions)			834.38				2,656.77				-68.59	%			4,627.39				8,140.54				-43.16	%
— Domestic routes			542.32				1,517.65				-64.27	%			2,493.88				4,623.57				-46.06	%
— International routes			284.83				1,071.68				-73.42	%			2,059.56				3,313.81				-37.85	%
— Regional routes			7.24				67.44				-89.27	%			73.95				203.15				-63.60	%
RTK (revenue tonne- kilometres) (millions)			443.32				1,824.60				-75.70	%			2,606.85				5,393.00				-51.66	%
— Domestic routes			299.61				1,119.45				-73.24	%			1,486.57				3,301.11				-54.97	%
— International routes			141.72				661.08				-78.56	%			1,085.27				1,966.16				-44.80	%
— Regional routes			1.99				44.07				-95.49	%			35.02				125.73				-72.15	%
Overall load factor (%)			53.13				68.68				-15.55	pts			56.34				66.25				-9.91	pts
— Domestic routes			55.25				73.76				-18.52	pts			59.61				71.40				-11.79	pts
— International routes			49.76				61.69				-11.93	pts			52.69				59.33				-6.64	pts
— Regional routes			27.46				65.34				-37.88	pts			47.35				61.89				-14.54	pts

 

Note:

Freight transportation data only contained data of bellyhold space in passenger aircraft. The table does not contain data of cargo services.

 

5

---

V.	RISK ALERT

The board of directors of the Company hereby reminds investors that the operating data set forth above was compiled in accordance with the Company’s internal information which has not been audited and may be subject to adjustment. The operating data set forth above may differ from the data disclosed in any regular report for the relevant period. The Company reserves its rights to adjust the operating data based on audit findings and the actual situation. The monthly operating data disclosed by the Company only serves as preliminary and periodical data for investors’ reference. Investors are hereby reminded of the investment risks which may result from inappropriate reliance upon or utilization of the information above.

The strike and impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic on the international and domestic businesses of the Company have great uncertainty in terms of their time span and severity, and the specific extent of impact is yet to be evaluated according to the actual situation in the future. Investors are reminded of the risks thereof.

The data set forth above is published on the website of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (www.sse.com.cn), the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (www.hkex.com.hk) and the column “Investor Relations” under “About China Eastern Airlines — Get to know China Eastern Airlines” on the website of the Company (www.ceair.com).

By order of the Board

CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES CORPORATION LIMITED

Wang Jian

Company Secretary

Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China

17 April 2020

As at the date of this announcement, the directors of the Company include Liu Shaoyong (Chairman), Li Yangmin (Vice Chairman), Tang Bing (Director), Wang Junjin (Director), Lin Wanli (Independent non-executive Director), Shao Ruiqing (Independent non-executive Director), Cai Hongping (Independent non-executive Director), Dong Xuebo (Independent non-executive Director) and Yuan Jun (Employee Representative Director).

 

6