China Airlines has placed another Airbus A350-900 into regular passenger service. Aircraft B-18923 operated CI104 from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) on October 22, marking its first revenue passenger flight for China Airlines and bringing the third A350-900 acquired from Sichuan Airlines into day-to-day operations.
B-18923 is an Airbus A350-941 with manufacturer serial number 055 and previously flew for Sichuan Airlines as B-304V. Public fleet records show the aircraft was built in 2016, withdrawn from Sichuan service in late May 2026, and subsequently transferred to China Airlines after return and transition work. It was recorded as delivered to China Airlines on August 29 under its new Taiwanese registration. Together with B-18920 and B-18922, all three former Sichuan A350s acquired this year have now progressively joined the fleet.
The steady addition of A350 capacity contrasts with the slower progress of another key widebody renewal program, the Boeing 787. China Airlines had originally expected to receive its first 787s earlier, but the schedule has been pushed back several times. In September, President Chen Han-ming said delays were related in part to seat crash-testing and certification work, while the airline was still targeting delivery of two 787s by the end of 2026 and another 12 aircraft in 2027.
China Airlines has planned a 24-aircraft 787 fleet comprising 18 787-9s and six 787-10s, intended to become a core medium-capacity widebody type. With B-18923 now entering passenger service, the airline's additional A350 capacity is already being deployed, putting renewed attention on when the first batch of 787s will finally be delivered and begin commercial operations. China Airlines has not publicly provided a more precise delivery date beyond its latest year-end target.
