Key Points Read carefully the case study provided entitled China Eastern Airlines (CEA): Strategic Pathway to Going Global. Assume you are in December 2016 and have just been hired as a specialist aviation consultant, to advice the China Eastern Airlines (CEA)s Board of Directors on a suitable strategy for becoming a global player in the next 5 years (2017 2021).

Prepare a report with your own views, addressing the following key points:

1) Strategic analysis Perform:

a) A careful assessment of the current strategic positioning of China Eastern Airlines (CEA), identifying the various opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses ahead. Draw your own conclusions.

b) What are the main drivers of success for China Eastern Airlines (CEA)? Justify.

c) Identify the main critical success factors (CSFs) of China Eastern Airlines (CEA) and explain how to best leverage those to become a stronger global airline in the future.

2) Strategic choices and reflections

a) Perform a critical analysis of China Eastern Airlines (CEA) past initiatives to engage on a path of internationalization, highlighting the various positive and negative outcomes of each venture. Explain your thoughts and draw your conclusions.

b) Recommend a proper strategy for the internationalization of CEA, highlighting the various pros, cons, risks and expected outcomes. Use some strategic frameworks and justify your thinking.

3) Plan of action for implementation Assume your recommended strategy has been approved. Prepare a brief and simple 5-year strategic plan of action (from 2017 to 2021) containing a:

a) clear mission and vision

b) Set your targets/objectives

c) Define your priorities

d) Organize your actions by focus-areas

e) Propose a small number of initiatives with deadlines

f) Define some key performance indicators (KPIs)