The respected China Business News said four executives of China Eastern's China Cargo Airlines - Wang Qiang, Wu Sen, Yu Longjiang and Xiao Qixian - were being held by Shanghai's Changning District prosecutor's office.

It said investigators were looking into charges the four accepted bribes of 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million;euro94 million).

The report didn't say what positions the officials held at the Shanghai-based company, China's third-largest airline.

Another newspaper, the 21st Century Business Herald, said three officials from China Cargo Airlines, including a deputy general manager, had been detained in the bribery investigation, together with two officers from China Eastern's cargo management office.

An officer at the Changning prosecutor's publicity department said "some officials" from China Cargo had been investigated for "serious violations of discipline" - a term commonly used to indicate corruption.

The probe comes on the heels of the replacement of a top China Eastern Airlines Corp. executive, Li Wenxin, following first-half losses 1.72 billion yuan (US$215.8 million; euro168 million). The loss was mainly blamed on rising fuel prices.