China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) yesterday said that it is optimistic about this year’s business outlook, and expects to receive five Airbus SE 321neo passenger aircraft and three Boeing Co 777F cargo jets as the airline continues to renew its fleet and enhance its overall performance.
The airline plans to retire its fleet of Boeing 737-800 passenger planes in phases to maintain stability in its regional flight schedule, China Airlines president Kao Shing-hwang (高星潢) said on the sidelines of a news conference in Taipei, at which the airline introduced new in-flight meals designed by chefs at Grand Mayfull Hotel Taipei (台北美福大飯店).
China Airlines is to continue its fleet renewal as the airline positions itself for future growth, with plans to lease at least one Airbus 350-900 passenger plane this year and introduce 24 Boeing 787 passenger planes from next year to 2028 to improve its operating efficiency on long-haul routes, it said at an earnings conference in November last year.
Photo: CNA
The airline is also looking to accelerate the retirement of its Boeing 747-400F cargo jets this year to reduce fuel costs, it added.
Kao said the airline is still in the process of developing new routes. Earlier this month, the airline announced that it would begin a nonstop service between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Seattle on July 14 after a 16-year hiatus.
China Airlines joins US carrier Delta Air Lines Inc and fellow Taiwanese carriers EVA Airways Corp (長榮航) and Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) in adding a nonstop service to Seattle this year as airlines expand their North American network of destinations to take advantage of growing demand for travel between Taiwan and the US.
Photo: CNA
While the direct flights to Seattle offered by rival carriers would increase competition, China Airlines does not expect a significant impact on its ticket prices given robust demand, Kao said.
China Airlines last year posted revenue of NT$184.82 billion (US$5.78 billion), a 22.6 percent year-on-year increase, driven by a 354.14 percent surge in passenger revenue of NT$115.72 billion, despite a setback in cargo revenue compared with a year earlier.
The airline’s net profit surged 138.47 percent year-on-year to NT$6.82 billion last year, while earnings per share rose to NT$1.13 from NT$0.48, company data showed.
China Airlines’ new in-flight meals are available on Taiwan-China and Taiwan-Southeast Asia routes, as well as some flights to Japan and South Korea, starting on Monday next week, the airline said.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS