Industry China Airlines chooses A321neo for narrowbody fleet renewal

In order to meet the rising demand in China, the carrier has now chosen to use the airbus A321neo as new aircraft for short- and medium-haul routes. The state-of-the-art aircraft will replace the aging fleet of Boeing 737-800s. China Airlines also took a look at the 737 MAX but decided to go for Airbus´ latest generation aircraft family.

Over months, the carrier studied several objective perspectives for new narrowbody aircraft and carefully evaluated the economic benefits. Further aspects in choosing the new aircraft type were financial requirements, safety concerns, environmental aspects and maintenance advantages. After assessing all these features and aspects, the carrier chose the A321neo over the Boeing 737 MAX. All MAX series aircraft are currently grounded after two fatal crashes in the past months.

In total, China Airlines will initially introduce 14 leased A321neo which will enter into service from 2021. Moreover, the carrier is in talks with Airbus to purchase 11 firm and 5 option aircraft directly from the manufacturer.

After the airline has taken delivery of 14 A350-900 and 10 777-300ERs for long-haul operations, this new introduction for the narrowbody fleet is another milestone for the carrier. The new aircraft represent the carrier´s willingness to offer newest and safest flights to its customers. In addition, the airline will also benefit from the good operational and economical performances of the new generation aircraft.

With the introduction of new aircraft types, China Airlines always provided a new cabin product. Again, the carrier will offer new cabin designs for the new A321neo fleet which is likely to include a new seating configuration and new in-flight entertainment systems.

As national carrier of Taiwan, China Airlines is the largest airline in the country as well. The airline was founded in 1959 and has its main operational base at Taipei – Taoyuan airport. China Airlines is member of the SkyTeam alliance, flies to over 100 destinations, and operates a fleet of 87 aircraft, including 22 A330s, 14 A350s, 19 B737-800s, 22 B747-400Fs and 10 B777s.