China Airlines' inclination towards a Boeing wide body fleet is being scritinized, and at a legislative session on Wednesday, KMT Legislator Huang Chien-hao questioned China Airlines (CAL) Chairman Hsieh Shih-chien, about the shift from an Airbus-dominated fleet to increased Boeing plane acquisitions.
It's being reported that China Airlines will sign an order for a long-haul passenger plane that could reach $4 billion, and the order will be split between American aerospace giant Boeing and European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
As per the report from Reuters, on November 07, Taiwan's China Airlines is nearing a decision to split a multi-billion-dollar order for long-distance passenger jets between Airbus and Boeing.
Now, CAL is under scrutiny following reports of significant aircraft purchases, sparking claims of political influence playing a role in aircraft orders.
Back in the year 2022, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham stated that Taiwan had been urged to buy 16 Boeing 787-9 aircraft for NT$140 billion (US$4.33 billion) after his visit. By 2023, CAL increased its order to 24 Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 planes, valued at NT$230 billion (US$7.12 billion).
As mentioned above, the Recent reports suggest an additional NT$130 billion (US$4.02 billion) purchase of 20 long-haul planes split between the U.S. Boeing and French Airbus aircraft, prompting accusations of yielding to U.S. pressure.
As per sources, Taiwan's CAL has been weighing Boeing's B777X and the Airbus A350-1000 as replacements for its fleet of 10 Boeing 777-300ER wide body planes and to reinforce future growth.
Legislator Huang questioned the basis for this decision, pointing out Boeing's recent controversies, compatibility issues between Boeing and Airbus systems, and the retraining required for pilots. He asked if political factors influenced the decision.
However, Hsieh denied any political intervention. He says that when acquiring aircraft, CAL consults international advisory firms for evaluations. He says that CAL focuses on selecting the best models according to needs. Hsieh says the fleet currently includes more Airbus than Boeing planes, and that most airlines globally aim for a 50/50 balance.
Huang Jianhao also made a query regarding the degrading rating of the China Airlines with relation to the Skytrax, that announced the ranking of the world's best airlines in 2024, and Taiwan's EVA Air improved by 1 place compared with last year; Star Airlines also improved by 4 places, while China Airlines fell by 3 places.
Hsieh Shih-chien replied to this query as China Airlines did not accept the evaluation this time, but respected the results. At present, the old models of China Airlines have poor interior decoration, but the new aircraft are all up to standard, and we will wait for all the old fleets to be eliminated and more consistent, and then participate in the evaluation.
