China Airlines (CAL) yesterday dismissed media speculation that it was planning to split the purchase of aircraft to replace its fleet of 12 Airbus A300-600Rs between Boeing and Airbus.
CAL spokesman Roger Han (
"Buying two different types of aircraft would not be cost-effective because it wouldn't enable us to simplify our fleet," Han told the Taipei Times.
China Airlines, majority owned by a government-run foundation, has been mulling the purchase of new planes as it moves to complete modernization of its fleet of aging aircraft before the end of this year.
As of July 18, CAL had simplified its fleet to four types of planes: B747-400s, B737-800s, A340-300s and A300-600Rs.
Under CAL's plan, it would replace its 12 Airbus A300-600Rs with either Boeing B-777s or Airbus A330s at a cost of between US$1.6 billion and US$2 billion.
Despite strong lobbying efforts from both Boeing, which is based in the US, and Airbus, a European consortium, CAL officials said the options are still under evaluation.
"Our main criteria in choosing our planes are technology, safety, and cost-effectiveness," Han said.
However, earlier reports said that CAL was considering purchasing the planes from Airbus because the price was lower.
As to reports that Boeing is willing to cut its price by 30 percent to win the contract, CAL officials said they have not been notified of any such offer.
Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications Tsai Duei (蔡堆) said yesterday that since both Boeing and Airbus are well-established companies, CAL should be able to make the decision which would be most beneficial for its business.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS