Like many of the major Chinese airlines, China Eastern can trace it's origins when the China Civil Aviation Administration (CCAC) was formed on November 2, 1949, about a month after the creation of the People's Republic of China. CCAC was started with the scattered administration, personnel and aircraft left behind as airlines sponsored by anti-communist Chinese and American interests fled to Taiwan to escape the Communists. At first, the CAAC was dependent on Soviet support. It operated, for the most part, Soviet-designed aircraft during the Cold War, except for a few leftover American designs and a few modern turboprops and jets bought from Great Britain in 1961. It bought more Western aircraft in the 1970s, including some British Trident jets in 1971 and ten Boeing 707s in 1972.

By the time it was disassembled in 1984, the CAAC, did it’s best in providing western levels of service, that is, concerning the types of aircraft used on international routes. The carrier even had bought a few Boeing 747 wide body jets, which were placed in service to Paris, San Francisco, and New York. After 25 years without a reported accident, a string of fatal crashes in the late 1970s gave impetus to modernizing the airline's operations. In late 1984, CAAC was divided into one international carrier (Air China) and four regional airlines-- Southern, Southwestern, Northwestern, and Eastern, based in Shanghai. Two of the regionals, China Southern and China Eastern, were allowed to fly abroad because of the commercial importance of their home bases, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Both soon developed into major airlines in their own right. 

After a few years of consolidation, China Eastern Airlines was established on 25 June 1988 under the Civil Aviation Administration of China. CAAC Airlines was divided up into a number of individual air carriers, each named after the region of China where it had its hub. Since then, CAAC acts solely as a government agency and no longer provides commercial flight service. It's first aircraft to be operated under the new name of China Eastern were Airbus A310-300, British Aerospace BAe-146-100 and McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft. 

In 1991, China Eastern carried up to 8,000 passengers a day on a total of 70 routes, including flights to several Japanese destinations and Seattle and Los Angeles in the United States. In 1992 it ordered five Airbus A340s and received Fokker 100. In June, the airline launched its first European route with service from Brussels, originating in Shanghai with stops in Beijing and Bahrain. A route to Madrid followed the next spring, in 1993. It also received in 1993 Airbus A300 aircraft for high demand domestic routes. 

In 1994 it began flying to Seoul, in the Republic of Korea. It operated 41 aircraft at the time. The Airbus A340-300 arrived in 1996 and helped to replace older types and increase capacity on routes to Madrid for example. 

During 2004, the airline acquired the Bombardier CRJ-200ER and Embraer ERJ-145 for regional routes.In 2005, China Eastern Airlines initially placed an order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners but with continuous delays, it cancelled and instead it ordered Boeing 737 Next Generation and acquired Airbus A330 for it's long haul operation, which joined in 2007. 

At the time, the Chinese government had a majority ownership stake in China Eastern Airlines (61.64%). On 20 April 2006 the media broke the news of a possible sale of up to 20% of its stake to foreign investors, including Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Japan Airlines, with Singapore Airlines confirming that negotiations were underway. After receiving approval from the State Council of China, it was announced that on 2 September 2007 Singapore Airlines would jointly acquire shares of China Eastern Airlines. However, Singapore Airlines' pending entry into the Chinese market prompted the Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific to attempt to block the deal by buying a significant stake in China Eastern and voting down the deal together with Air China. Then Air China's parent company, announced in January 2008 that it would offer 32% more than Singapore Airlines for the 24% stake in China Eastern. This made Singapore Airlines back away from the initial deal. 

On 11 June 2009, it was announced that China Eastern Airlines would merge with Shanghai Airlines. In February 2010 the merger was completed. Shanghai Airlines became a wholly owned subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines. However, Shanghai Airlines retained its brand and livery. The new combined airline was expected to have over half of the market share in Shanghai, the financial hub of China. 

China Eastern and its subsidiary Shanghai Airlines became the 14th member of SkyTeam on 21 June 2011, and one year later it was awarded the “Golden Ting Award” at the China Capital Market Annual Conference 2012. On 18 October 2011, China Eastern Airlines placed an order for 15 Airbus A330s. 

In April 2013, China Eastern got a temporary permit to operate in the Philippines. On September 9, 2014, China Eastern introduced a new logo and new livery. Later, in September 2014, the airline received it’s first of 20 Boeing 777-300ERs, which it placed back in 2012. 

In 2015, the airline entered a partnership with Delta Air Lines in which Delta will buy a 3.55% share in China Eastern. Also in 2015 the airline announced plans to acquire a further 15 Airbus A330. In 2016, China Eastern Airlines announced its plans to introduce new cabin products for its Airbus A330-300 aircraft, the Vantage XL model from Thompson Aero lie-flat Business Class seat and new Economy Class seats with extra legroom. 

Also, China Eastern Airlines ordered new long-haul aircraft, 20 Airbus A350-900XWB and 15 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which are scheduled for delivery from 2018 and will offer a four-class configuration, including a new Premium Economy Class. In May 2017, China Eastern Airlines received its first of the 15 Airbus A330 aircraft ordered in 2015. With a strong presence on routes in Asia, North America and Australia, the airline expected to add more international routes for its growing network. November 2018, China received it's first Boeing Dreamliner 787-9, it deployed the aircraft on its routes to North America. The same month the airline took delivery of its first Airbus A350-900. 

History source: Wikipedia.org / ceair.com