A unique moment for China Airlines, the two newly incorporated A350-900 XWB within the fleet have completed their very first intercontinental flight. Departing from Taipei, Taiwan, the first A350 touched down in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on January 9th. The second A350 in the China Airlines fleet completed her first long-haul flight and landed safely in Vienna, Austria.
During his speech at the handover ceremony earlier in 2016, Chairman Nanshan Ho noted that China Airlines first announced that it will be introducing fourteen A350-900 XWB passenger aircraft back in 2008. China Airlines expects four aircrafts in 2016, six in 2017 and another four in 2018. Apart from being the first airline in Taiwan to adopt this new aircraft, the introduction of the A350 will reduce the average age of the China Airlines passenger aircraft on long-haul routes to just 3.6 years from 2017 onwards as part of the progressive fleet revitalization strategy. The A350 are slated to fly non-stop from Taipei to Amsterdam, Rome and Vienna, consolidating China Airlines’ leadership in the Taiwan-Europe market.