Founded in 1992, the airline was based in
Kunming Wujiaba International Airport in
Yunnan province and operated a fleet of
Bombardier CRJ-200,
Boeing 737-300 and
Boeing 767-300 aircraft before the merger with
China Eastern Airlines. China Yunnan Airlines operated mostly domestic flights from Kunming to major Chinese cities and also provided international services to
Hong Kong,
Singapore,
Thailand and
Laos. In 2003, China Yunnan Airlines and
China Northwest Airlines were merged into
China Eastern Airlines, with Yunnan Airlines becoming its Yunnan Branch (). All the airliners were transferred to China Eastern Airlines and now painted in parent company's
livery. From 31 March 2008 to 1 April 2008, 21 flights of Yunnan Branch returned unexpectedly due to the dissatisfaction of some pilots with the company's treatment, causing at least 1,500 passengers to be affected by the flight. In 2011, Yunnan Branch became China Eastern Yunnan Airlines, which was co-founded by China Eastern Airlines and Yunnan Communications Investment & Constructions Group (), with all its fleet painted in its parent company's livery with only slight modifications which includes the Yunnan title. == Branding and livery==