China Airlines introduced three Airbus A350-900 aircraft formerly operated by Sichuan Airlines during 2026. After B-18923 entered passenger service on October 22, questions arose over whether the trio had been purchased or leased. The airline's annual report and stock-exchange disclosures identify the transaction as an aircraft purchase rather than a continuation of Sichuan Airlines' former leases.
The clearest evidence appears in China Airlines' 2025 annual report. Under significant contracts, it lists ILFC Ireland Limited as the counterparty for three A350-900s in the aircraft-purchase category. The report also states that China Airlines signed a contract to purchase three A350-900s on December 5, 2025. Purchase contracts and aircraft leases appear in separate categories in the report.
In a material disclosure dated November 7, 2025, China Airlines identified ILFC Ireland Limited as the counterparty and set a transaction ceiling of US$1.2 billion for the three aircraft. A supplementary disclosure on March 11, 2026, explicitly referred to a purchase-price ceiling and specified internal funds and bank financing as funding sources. The disclosed ceiling is not the final sale price, and dividing it by three would not establish the actual price of each aircraft.
The aircraft previously flew with Sichuan Airlines as B-304U, B-301D and B-304V, and subsequently received China Airlines registrations B-18920, B-18922 and B-18923. Public fleet histories show that Sichuan Airlines operated the aircraft under leases before returning them. Those earlier leases and China Airlines' later purchase describe different stages of the aircrafts' ownership and operation.
The acquisitions provide China Airlines with additional widebody capacity. An original June 2025 plan to introduce five A350-900s was reduced to three in a March 2026 disclosure, with the remaining two cancelled for strategic reasons. For the purchase-versus-lease question, the airline's own annual report and securities disclosures offer stronger evidence than descriptions of the aircrafts' previous leasing arrangements.
