China Airlines

China Airlines is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Republic of China. Although not directly state-owned, the airline is owned by China Airlines Group, which is owned by the China Aviation Development Foundation, which is in turn owned by the Government of the Republic of China.
The airline is headquartered in CAL Park at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. China Airlines" wholly owned subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines, manages regional flights to secondary cities with smaller capacity requirements. China Airlines" cargo division China Airlines Cargo operates CAL's dedicated freighter fleet, and manages the cargo-hold capacity in CAL's passenger aircraft.

History

China Airlines was established on December 16, 1959, with its shares completely held by the Republic of China government. 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 scheduled routes. In October 1962, a flight from Taipei to Hualien became the airline"s first domestic service. Growth continued and on December 1, 1966, Saigon, South Vietnam became the airline's first international destination. Trans-Pacific flights to San Francisco were initiated on February 2, 1970.

The next 20 years saw sporadic but far-reaching growth for the company. Routes were opened to Los Angeles, New York, Honolulu, Dhahran and Johannesburg, among others. Jets were acquired, and China Airlines employed such planes as the Boeing 747 in its fleet. Later, the airline inaugurated its own round-the-world flight. 1993 saw China Airlines listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Main route

China Airlines now serves 98 destinations in 29 countries and territories on four continents, with a well-developed Asian network, including: Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, UAE, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, UK, Canada, US, Australia, Guam, New Zealand and Palau.

Fleet

The China Airlines passenger fleet consists of 21 Airbus 330-300, 6 Airbus A340-300, 10 Boeing 737-800 and 13 Boeing 747-400.