China Eastern Airlines, one of the country's three biggest carriers, is expected to cut salaries of middle and top-level managers by 10 to 30 percent, the company said in a statement on Friday on its website.

The move takes effect February 1 despite the fact the company announced it was getting a 7-billion-yuan (US$1.02 billion) government cash injection in December 2008.

Without giving a specific figure, the airline said salary cuts only make up a small part of management costs. However, it believes the move reflects the board's attitude towards overcoming its financial problems together with employees.

China Eastern carried 37.05 million passengers last year, data provided on the company's website showed, down 5.4 percent year on year. Cargo volume fell 5.6 percent to 887,000 tonnes during the same period, it said.

It also posted a net loss of 2.29 billion yuan in the first nine months of 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2009)