China Airlines

China Airlines (Chinese: 中華航空公司 (pinyin: Zhōnghuá Hángkōng gōngsī), commonly abbreviated 華航) is the flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The airline is not a state-owned corporation nominally, but belongs to China Aviation Development Foundation (中華航空事業發展基金會). However, the foundation belongs to the government of the Republic of China. The chairman does not have to report to the Legislative Yuan, unlike other state-owned companies in Taiwan.

The airline, based at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport and with headquarters in Taipei, currently flies to many destinations in Asia, Europe, North America and the South Pacific. Because of political obstacles over the establishment of the Three Links, it does not have regularly scheduled flights into mainland China; passengers to mainland China must go through Hong Kong, transferring to another airline. Its main competitor is EVA Air.

History

Before the Chinese Civil War, there were a total of three airlines operating in the Republic of China. One was Civil Air Transport, created by General Claire L. Chennault and Whiting Willauer in 1946. The other two were joint ventures of Pan American World Airways with the ROC government, and Lufthansa with the ROC government. The Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the Communists in control of mainland China, and only Civil Air Transport moved along with the Kuomintang-controlled ROC government to Taiwan.

With a total fleet of 2 PBY Amphibians, China Airlines was established on December 10, 1959 to create an airline with shares completely held by the ROC government, and started operations in 1959. It was founded by a retired air force officer and initially concentrated on charter flights. During the 1960s, China Airlines was able to establish its first domestic and international routes, and in October 1962, a flight from Taipei to Hualien became the airline's first domestic service. Growth continued and on December 1, 1966, Saigon,Vietnam became the airline's first international destination. Transpacific flights to San Francisco were initiated on 2 February, 1970.

The next 20 years saw sporadic but large growth for the company. Routes were opened to Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris, among others. Jets were acquired, and China Airlines employed such planes as the Boeing 747 in their fleet. In 1984, the airline launched a new service to Amsterdam, the airline's first European destination. Later, the airline inaugurated its own round-the-world flight until 1986 or 1987: (Taipei-Anchorage-New York - Amsterdam-Dubai-Taipei). 1993 saw China Airlines listed in the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

As the flag carrier for the Republic of China, China Airlines was affected by disputes over the political status of Taiwan, and under pressure from the People's Republic of China, was barred from flying into a number of countries maintaining relations with the PRC. As a result, in the mid-1990s, China Airlines subsidiary Mandarin Airlines took over some of its international routes. Partly as a way to avert the international controversy, China Airlines unveiled the "plum blossom flower" logo, replacing the national flag and red-white-blue national colors on its aircraft, on October 7, 1995.

On April 17, 2002, China Airlines operated the last scheduled international flights from Tokyo's Haneda Airport before all Tokyo international flights were moved to Narita Airport on April 18.

In recent years, pro-Taiwan independence activists have sought to rename the airline to "Taiwan Airlines", arguing that foreigners in the past have confused this airline with Air China and that "China" is not a representative name for an airline that does not service mainland China. In late 2004, President Chen Shui-bian proposed to rename all state-owned enterprises bearing the name "China" to "Taiwan." This was opposed by the pan-blue coalition. The issue was dropped after the 2004 Legislative Yuan election when the pro-Chen pan-Green Coalition failed to win a majority.

Classes of Service

China Airlines operates three classes of services.

First Class - available on B747-400

Dynasty Supreme (Business) Class - available on A330-300, A340-300

Dynasty (Business) Class - available on older A300-600R, B747-400, B737-800

Economy Class

Onboard Entertainment

PTV is available in Dynasty/Dynasty Supreme (Business) and First on A330-300, A340-300, B747-400

PTV is available in Economy only on A330-300, A340-300 and new B747-400 (Tail number B-1821x).

PTV is not available on A300-600R and Economy on old B747-400 (Tail number B-1820x, B-1825x, and B-1827x). However, China Airlines is planning to fit PTVs on old B747-400.

Fantasy Sky is the entertainment system on A330-300, A340-300 and new B747-400. Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) is available in all classes.

DYNASTY is the inflight magazine. It has articles in English, Chinese and Japanese.

Incidents and accidents

China Airlines has a poor reputation for safety, often blamed on poor maintenance and lack of emphasis on safety. Since 1970, the airline has averaged 7.16 fatal events per million flights while the worldwide average is under 1.0 [http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/rate_mod.htm.

In 1970, August 12, a NAMC YS-11 of the airline struck a ridge while landing at Taipei, killing 14 people. This was the first fatal incident the airline had.
In 1971, a Caravelle airplane of China Airlines blew up after a bomb in it exploded, causing the deaths of 25 people over the Penghu Islands.
In 1985 Flight 006 went out of control, recovered, and made an emergency landing at San Francisco.
In 1986 a China Airlines Boeing 737 crashed in Makung, Penghu, with 13 killed.
In 1991 at Wanli, Taiwan, a China Airlines Boeing 747 freighter hit a hillside after separation of Nos.3 & 4 engines, killing five people.
In 1993 Flight 605, a brand new Boeing 747-400 overran the Kai Tak Airport runway 13 while landing during a typhoon. It touched down more than 2/3 down the runway and was unable to stop before the runway ran out, ending up in the water. All 396 people on board were safely evacuated.
In 1994 Flight 140 an Airbus A300 of the airline crashed at Nagoya, Japan, and 264 people died. This accident happened during landing.
In 1998 another incident occurred when another China Airlines Airbus A300 crashed during landing in Taipei, killing all 196 aboard and 9 on the ground, including the head of Taiwan Central Bank chief Hsu Yuan-Dong.
In 1999, China Airlines Flight 642, an MD-11, crashed while landing at Hong Kong airport during a typhoon. Three people were killed.
In 2002 an Airbus A340, Flight 011 departed Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska at night from taxiway Kilo instead of runway 32. The 3 cockpit crew members, 12 cabin crew members, and 237 passengers, were not injured. The airplane was not damaged.
In 2002, a Boeing 747-200, Flight 611 broke up in midflight on the way to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong from Chiang Kai Shek International Airport in Taiwan. All of the passengers (206 persons) and crew (19 persons) on board perished.

Destinations

Fleet

The China Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of March 31, 2006)^*:

The average China Airlines fleet age is 4.9 years old in March 31, 2006.

External links

Airlines of Taiwan | Companies of Taiwan | Transportation in Taiwan

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