China Airlines President Chen Han-Ming said in Amsterdam that the carrier aims to take delivery of two new Boeing 787-9 aircraft by the end of this year and another 12 next year. He also indicated that the airline's operations are performing better than last year and that year-end bonuses could be at least as high as last year's.
As part of its 2050 net-zero carbon emission target, China Airlines announced Thursday it has joined SkyTeam's The Aviation Challenge (TAC) for the fifth time this year, using 40% Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) on a flight from Taoyuan to Amsterdam on September 12.
Chen stated that on the new Boeing 787-9 fleet, besides replacing older aircraft, fuel consumption could be reduced by 20% and noise by 30%. He noted that delivery was delayed due to seat crash tests, but progress is positive and the plan remains to deliver two aircraft by the end of this year and 12 next year.
The carrier is advancing with its fleet upgrade, aiming for a future 787 fleet of 24 aircraft, with 18 787-9s and 6 787-10s, with deliveries beginning this year to be deployed on Asian routes such as Seoul and Osaka.
Despite fuel price volatility this year, Chen said revenue has not been impacted. Over the past three months a review of capacities has been conducted, swapping aircraft types based on loads and using larger freighters on stronger routes to raise cargo revenue. He also said the Middle East conflict boosted Taiwan's transit traffic to North American routes.
Excluding fuel, revenue this year is far better than last year, according to Chen, who noted strong 7-to-8-month passenger performance and cargo revenue of each month between 30 billion to NT$800 billion, among other figures, with caution for the final quarter of this year.
