CHINA Eastern Airlines has applied for government permission to operate as an investment firm, a move that would allow it to reduce its reliance on ticket sales and diversify into other businesses.

    Wang Haitao, vice-president of China Eastern’s strategic development unit, told financial magazine Yicai that China Eastern’s airline business would remain its core business but the change would allow the Shanghai-based firm to explore investment opportunities across the aviation sector.

    A spokesman for the airline yesterday confirmed the remarks as reported by Yicai.

    China’s travel boom has brought in large profits for its State-owned airlines but revenue per passenger has begun to fall due to fierce competition and slowing growth in traveller numbers.

    China Eastern and rivals, Air China Ltd. and China Southern Airlines, also face competition at home from a fast-growing high-speed rail network.

    China Eastern, the country’s second-largest carrier after China Southern Airlines, last year sold a 3.55 percent stake to Delta Air Lines Inc., which became the first U.S. carrier to own part of a Chinese airline.

    China Eastern, which lists shares in Shanghai and Hong Kong, said last month its net profit for the first nine months of the year rose 25.5 percent.

    (SD-Agencies)