Delta Air Lines' Taiwan branch office confirmed yesterday that its business arrangement with China Airlines (CAL) will be delayed due to the crash of a CAL passenger jet over the weekend.
Saying only that the arrangement with Taiwan's largest airline, which was to kick off Friday, will be temporarily delayed, Delta did not make it clear whether or not it will be canceled outright.
A Hong Kong-bound China Airlines flight carrying 206 passengers and 19 crew members Saturday afternoon disappeared from radar screens shortly after taking off from Taipei. The ill-fated aircraft was said to have broken apart at high altitude before plunging into the sea in pieces off the island of Penghu. No survivors have been found so far.
According to the original arrangement between CAL and Delta, passengers flying with CAL from Taipei to Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York would transfer to a Delta flight to one of six land-locked US cities, including Salt Lake City and Dallas, and then fly with Delta on their return trip from the US to Taiwan.
The Asian Wall Street Journal said yesterday that China Airlines has operated in near isolation over the last three years as a result of a spate of deadly crashes.
"China Airlines was set to mark its return to international acceptance with the new Delta partnership, an important step for the carrier's prestige and it's finances," the newspaper said.
RSS