China Airlines Becomes 9th A350 Operator

The carrier, which has 13 more on order, is the ninth airline operator of the new type.

China Airlines will deploy the first A350 on regional routes such as Taipei-Hong Kong for crew familiarization towards the end of October 2016, before flying it to Amsterdam, Vienna and Rome from January 2017.

According to the airline, it expects to receive three more A350s by the end of the year, with the other 10 scheduled to be delivered during the next two years.

Airbus had originally planned to deliver the first frame to China Airlines in July 2016, but pushed it back due to production delays.