China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) took delivery of its maiden A350-900 B-304D (msn 248) on November 29, 2018, the first out of twenty such aircraft ordered by the airline.

The aircraft was repositioned on a ferry flight directly from Toulouse Blagnac to Shanghai Hongqiao, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.

The first commercial flight of the type is scheduled for December 4 from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing Capital. Subsequently, China Eastern Airlines will deploy the type to Guangzhou and Chengdu Shuangliu domestically. The international debut to European, Australian, and Northern American destinations is set to take place in January 2019,

The aircraft is equipped with 288 seats, including 40 in Business Class (including four "premium business class seats"), 32 in Premium Economy, and 216 in Economy Class.

China Eastern's Airbus fleet also includes thirty A330-200s, twenty-two A330-300s, thirty-five A319-100s, 180 A320-200s, seventy-seven A321-200s, and fifteen A320-200neo. The airline also operates thirty-seven B737-700s, 102 B737-800s, three B737-8s, twenty B777-300(ER)s, and a single B787-9.