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.
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) is expected to miss the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump on Monday, bucking a trend among high-profile US technology leaders. Huang is visiting East Asia this week, as he typically does around the time of the Lunar New Year, a person familiar with the situation said. He has never previously attended a US presidential inauguration, said the person, who asked not to be identified, because the plans have not been announced. That makes Nvidia an exception among the most valuable technology companies, most of which are sending cofounders or CEOs to the event. That includes
TARIFF TRADE-OFF: Machinery exports to China dropped after Beijing ended its tariff reductions in June, while potential new tariffs fueled ‘front-loaded’ orders to the US The nation’s machinery exports to the US amounted to US$7.19 billion last year, surpassing the US$6.86 billion to China to become the largest export destination for the local machinery industry, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機械公會) said in a report on Jan. 10. It came as some manufacturers brought forward or “front-loaded” US-bound shipments as required by customers ahead of potential tariffs imposed by the new US administration, the association said. During his campaign, US president-elect Donald Trump threatened tariffs of as high as 60 percent on Chinese goods and 10 percent to 20 percent on imports from other countries.
Taiwanese manufacturers have a chance to play a key role in the humanoid robot supply chain, Tongtai Machine and Tool Co (東台精機) chairman Yen Jui-hsiung (嚴瑞雄) said yesterday. That is because Taiwanese companies are capable of making key parts needed for humanoid robots to move, such as harmonic drives and planetary gearboxes, Yen said. This ability to produce these key elements could help Taiwanese manufacturers “become part of the US supply chain,” he added. Yen made the remarks a day after Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said his company and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) are jointly
MARKET SHIFTS: Exports to the US soared more than 120 percent to almost one quarter, while ASEAN has steadily increased to 18.5 percent on rising tech sales The proportion of Taiwan’s exports directed to China, including Hong Kong, declined by more than 12 percentage points last year compared with its peak in 2020, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday last week. The decrease reflects the ongoing restructuring of global supply chains, driven by escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. Data compiled by the ministry showed China and Hong Kong accounted for 31.7 percent of Taiwan’s total outbound sales last year, a drop of 12.2 percentage points from a high of 43.9 percent in 2020. In addition to increasing trade conflicts between China and the US, the ministry said
RSS