China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) has finalized an agreement with Airbus SE to buy 10 A350-1000 passenger aircraft, which the carrier plans to fly as its next flagship model on high-demand, long-haul routes.
CAL chairman Kao Shing-hwang (高星潢) and Airbus executive vice president for commercial aircraft sales Benoit de Saint-Exupery signed the deal yesterday at the carrier’s corporate headquarters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
CAL expects to take delivery of the 10 A350-1000 aircraft in 2029, the airline said in a statement. It will be a new model in its fleet and be used on high-demand routes to European and North American designations, including London and New York, it said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
CAL said it also has an option to purchase five more A350-1000s, while the 15 A350-900s currently in its fleet will undergo a cabin upgrade starting in 2027.
Meanwhile, Kao told reporters at the signing ceremony that CAL is set to see its current fleet of 83 aircraft further expand to 90-95.
Nine more A321s will be delivered slightly behind schedule, and Boeing Co is set to ship CAL’s first B787 jet between late this year and early next year.
He also offered a positive outlook for CAL this year after it posted record revenue and net profit for last year, forecasting that the total number of passengers the carrier carries this year will exceed the level recorded in 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
According to Kao, the Asia-Pacific aviation market is still expected to see double-digit percentage growth, but ticket fares are not expected to drop, because of the high cost of sustainable aviation fuel.
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