China Airlines to expand fleet by 8 aircraft in 2024

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) China Airlines (CAL) is expanding its fleet by eight new aircraft this year, including five Airbus A321neo passenger aircraft and three Boeing 777F freighters, airline President Kao Shing-hwang (高星潢) announced on Wednesday.

Currently, CAL has a total fleet of 82 aircraft, including 62 passenger and 20 cargo aircraft, according to the website of the Taipei-based carrier.

CAL also plans to retire its current fleet of 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, Kao said at the press conference.

Meanwhile, Kao confirmed that the airline will launch a direct flight to Seattle in mid-July, after a gap of 16 years.

Kao said after the airline expanded its network in Europe by adding destinations such as London, Prague and Rome, it is now seeking to do the same in the United States.

He went on to say that, although American carrier Delta Air Lines already operates a Taiwan to Seattle route and Taiwan-based startup carrier Starlux Airlines also plans to launch its own service, CAL's planned direct flights to Seattle should not impact ticket prices too much.

He added that CAL will continue to observe market demand before deciding whether to increase aircraft on certain routes, for example, flights to Frankfurt, Germany, in a bid to meet customer needs.