VANCOUVER — China Airlines is introducing its new Airbus A350 aircraft on the Vancouver-Taipei route, starting this month. The latest addition means that all North American destinations including L.A., New York and San Francisco will now be flown by new 777 or A350 aircraft.
China Airlines’ latest A350 liveried aircraft, dubbed the ‘Urocissa caerulea’ for the Taiwan blue magpie, was unveiled on Aug. 1 for the Vancouver flight. The Taiwan blue magpie, an endemic species found only in Taiwan, now appears on the fuselage of China Airlines’ liveried aircraft along with Tung blossoms in bloom.
China Airlines began introducing its new long-haul fleet of NexGen 777 and A350 passenger aircraft in 2014. All 10 777 aircraft have now been delivered while all 14 A350 aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in 2018.
Vancouver joins L.A., New York and San Francisco on the list of destinations served by A350 aircraft as well. The latest move means that the last piece of the puzzle in China Airlines’ grand plan to operate NexGen aircraft for all North American destinations is now finally in place, said China Airlines Chairman Nuan-Hsuan Ho.
The Urocissa caerulea aircraft is China Airlines’ second A350 liveried aircraft as well as the 100th A350 to be delivered by Airbus. China Airlines has unveiled a number of liveried aircraft such as the elegant ‘350 Syrmaticus Mikado’ and the fun ‘Buddy Bears’ to demonstrate its support for environmental protection.
To improve the quality of service for jet-setting passengers, China Airlines will begin operating the A350 passenger aircraft on the Taipei-Honolulu route starting Oct. 29, 2017, as well as the Taipei-London and Taipei-Sydney route from Dec. 1 onwards. The London route will have four flights a week while the Sydney route will be increased to two flights a day.
SkyTeam codesharing means that passengers flying to Vancouver can continue on to Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Georgetown, Terrace and Victoria with WestJet.
The new A350 passenger aircraft is configured for 306 seats. The three cabin classes are Premium Business (32 seats), Premium Economy (31 seats), and Economy (243 seats).
