CHINA Eastern Airlines, the nation's third-largest carrier, is to ask for government permission to resume routes taken away after its pilots aborted flights in protest at working conditions.

Board Secretary Luo Zhuping said the airline will ask to resume the routes as soon as possible.

China Eastern's routes in the southern province of Yunnan are to be given by the government to four rivals, including Air China, beginning May 4.

The pilots were protesting having to pay the Shanghai-based airline restitution when they quit as the carrier tried to keep staff from being poached, Bloomberg News said.

"It's going to be difficult for China Eastern to solve the row with their pilots in the near future," said Edward Wong, an analyst at Quam Ltd. "The number of pilots being added can't catch up with the expansion of China's aviation industry."

To keep trained staff, the airlines demands pilots pay amounts of up to 10 times their annual salaries to quit.

The government also fined China Eastern 1.5 million yuan (US$214,000) and reduced the frequency the airline could fly some routes in Yunnan Province following the pilots' protest.

"China Eastern has the most experienced pilots who are familiar with the air and land conditions in the area," said Luo.

The carrier returned to profit in the first quarter, partly helped by more efficient usage of aircraft, Luo said.

Bargaining

China Eastern will have to pay more staff costs by giving pay raises or getting experienced pilots from other airlines, Wong said. "It takes time to train pilots, who have more bargaining power than the company," he said.

China Eastern fell 1.2 percent to HK$3.29 (US$0.42) as of 1:03pm in Hong Kong.

China's yuan, which appreciated 4 percent against the dollar in the first quarter, has helped carriers including China Southern Airlines and Air China post profits during the off-peak season.

China Eastern filled 71.8 percent of its available seats in the first quarter, lagging behind Air China's 77.1 percent and China Southern's 74 percent. China Eastern had a loss of 510.9 million yuan in the first quarter of 2007 on sales of 9.02 billion yuan.