Under the depression of Air Cargo market, major domestic airlines are exploring their ways of using new opportunities to expand market. China Eastern Airlines Logistics was lately reported to have rented aircrafts from the American Air South Airlines, and transported their first batch of Chilean fruits to Shanghai, which marked an important transformation for CEA Logistics from a traditional freight forwarder to a modern logistics service integrator.

This August, after CEA’s integration of its air and ground services, it launched its own E-commerce platform-EAEMall.com, which clarified CEA’s blueprint of its business model: “Express, E-commerce and Trading”. It was reported that these chartered aircrafts were China’s first ones to carry fruits from another continent, opening an entry for South American agricultural and fishery products. In the past, most of CEA’s cargo business was done by using its own freight forwarding company and the bellyhold capacity of its passenger planes. Now in order to meet the market’s demands, CEA will integrate all the resources it has to become a logistics service integrator.

Taking E-commerce as an opportunity and focusing on providing products directly from origins to the household tables is a strategic move of CEA’s stimulating logistics business demands. However, it still faces challenges from T-mall, Yihaodian, SF Best and COFCO’s Womai.com, etc., who are focusing on similar business.