China Airlines was launched in the year 1959 on December 16 by retired air force officer and thereby concentrated on charter flights.
The shares of this airline are held by the Republic of China government.
During 1960s, this airline established its scheduled routes and in the year 1962, October the first domestic service was operated from Taipei to Hualien.
The growth pursued and in 1966 on December 1, it started its initial international destination to South Vietnam and in 1970, 2 February, Trans Pacific flights were initiated to San Francisco.
China Airlines was the flag carrier for China and owing to various disputes over political and people pressure; it was stopped from flying to countries having diplomatic relations with PRC.
After the establishment in 1959, nearly 20 years it showed far-reaching growth and the routes were opened to New York, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Dhahran and Honolulu. They purchased jets and added Boeing 747 in their fleet.
The airline also inaugurated round flight and the first destination in Europe was Amsterdam.
In the mid-1990s, Mandarin Airline, a subsidiary airline of China Airlines took over Vancouver and Sydney international routes and in 1995, it replaced its logo with the national flag that earlier appeared on the tail fins.
This was done to avert any sort of international controversy.
China Airlines employed ex-Air Force pilots, but after 1990s, they recruited trainees having pilot training program.
This company altered its operational and maintenance procedures keeping in mind the safety record.
The political status of Taiwan also was a blessing in Japan for this airline. They used Tokyo International Airport for China Airlines flights. In 2004, renaming was proposed, but after raising concern voices, this issue was dropped.
This airline in one of the best international airlines in India, that targets continuously to fortify profits, besides encouraging competitiveness among the international carriers.
China Airlines joined SkyTeam alliance by signing an agreement on 14 September, 2010 and also plans in 2011 to join SkyTeam.
The in-flight entertainment is best as they offer video or audio on demand featuring video games, tv shows, songs and is obtainable in three languages, Japanese, Mandarin and English.
