Total Airport Services Awarded China Eastern Airlines Contract at Chicago O'Hare

CHICAGO - Jan. 29, 2016 - PRLog -- Total Airport Services, LLC, or TAS, a leading North American aviation service provider, recently signed a contractual agreement with China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. for services at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). Effective in March 2016, TAS will oversee China Eastern’s passenger-flight ground-handling needs at the international terminal, Terminal 5 (T5).

“These are exciting times,” stated Daniel Malinowski, TAS Vice President of Business Development, who spearheaded the project. “Not only is this the beginning of a new relationship with a renowned Asian passenger airline, but it will also strengthen our position on T5.”

While the agreement marks the carrier’s entry into the Chicago market, the addition of China Eastern to the TAS portfolio is only the latest in a series of new contracts for the company at Chicago O’Hare.

“Over the past six months, the TAS team has attracted three international passenger carriers — Air France, KLM and, now, China Eastern,” explained Gerald Kolasch, TAS Chief Commercial Officer. “This goes in line with our strategic vision to expand into passenger ground-handling and passenger services at major airports throughout the United States.”

China Eastern Airlines is China’s second-largest carrier by passengers, serving more than 80 million travelers annually in 2014. The airline operates a fleet of 430 long- and short-haul aircraft with an average age of less than seven years. China Eastern, along with its subsidiary, Shanghai Airlines, is an official member of the SkyTeam alliance.