Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA / Images : Shaanxi Communications Investment Group
Shaanxi's first local cargo airline completes its maiden international flight
On 29 August 2022, at 4:30 pm, a Boeing 757-200 aircraft of North-western Cargo Airlines, a subsidiary of Shaanxi Traffic Control Group, made its first international operation from Xi'an to Bangkok, which also marked the first local cargo airline in Shaanxi. The international operation of the company was officially launched.
Image: Shaanxi Communications Investment Group
Northwest Cargo Airlines is the first all-cargo airline in Shaanxi and even in the western region. There are currently five all-cargo aircraft (four B757 and one B737), which have successively opened domestic routes such as Xi'an-Shanghai, Xi'an-Huai'an, Xi'an-Yulin, Shijiazhuang-Hangzhou, and Xi'an-Guangzhou. On 8 January 2021, Xi'an made its maiden voyage to Shanghai, and has achieved continuous safe operation for 20 months. A total of 1,248 flights have been carried out with 2,848 hours of safe flight and a cargo capacity of 17,200 tons. At the end of 2021, Northwest Cargo started the preparations for the application for international operation qualification, and successfully obtained the first-class international route operation license.
It is understood that from the beginning of September 2022, North-western Cargo will operate the route from Shenzhen to Ho Chi Minh City with a frequency of three flights per week.
News (2) to (5) / Editor : Liu Huan / https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2022/08-31/9840860.shtml
News (2)
China Airlines still bought 16 Boeing 787 passenger planes. Taiwan media: hard to stop political sales
According to comprehensive Taiwan media reports, Taiwan's China Airlines announced on 30 August 2022 that it would order 16 Boeing 787-9 passenger planes, but it was previously reported that when U.S. Senator Graham visited Taiwan, he hoped that Taiwan would buy the Boeing 787 airliner has aroused many outsiders' associations about "political sales".
On 30 August 2022, China Airlines held an interim board of directors, during which it approved the order for 16 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft. China Airlines said in a press release that 16 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft will be equipped with singular GEnx engines and are expected to be delivered in 2025, becoming the main force of China Airlines' new generation of wide-body passenger aircraft.
Boeing confirmed on the 31st that it has received an order for the 787 Dreamliner from China Airlines.
"We are delighted that China Airlines has selected the 787 Dreamliner to modernize its world-class fleet and look forward to working with the airline to finalize this order," Boeing said in a statement, according to Reuters.
Regarding market rumors, China Airlines responded on the evening of the 30th that the purchase of the aircraft was based on the company's interests, and the relevant technical and commercial conditions were carefully studied. The Taiwan authorities fully respected the professional evaluation decision of China Airlines.
But is it really so?
News (3)
Taiwan media: China Airlines can't stop political sales
As early as 2018, China Airlines was "politically motivated" to buy Boeing passenger planes. On 15 April 2022, when U.S. Senator Graham visited Taiwan, a press release containing Graham's statement that he wanted Taiwan to buy Boeing 787 for cognitive operations was "silenced". Now that the China Airlines purchase case has been settled, the number of aircrafts is the same as the one announced by Graham, which confirms the Taiwan authorities' desire to cover up at that time.
In August 2018, Shi Lurui, the then acting deputy assistant secretary for Asia-Pacific affairs of the US State Department, held a closed-door meeting at the Washington-based think tank "Center for Strategic and International Studies" to discuss unofficial relations between the US and Taiwan with Taiwan officials, think tank scholars and others.
According to reports, when talking about China Airlines' plan to purchase new aircraft, Shi Lurui said in front of Taiwan officials that he hoped Taiwan would do "the right thing." The U.S. hoped that China Airlines would buy from Boeing instead of Airbus. At the time, it was estimated that the purchase would maintain more than 10,000 jobs for the United States and reduce the trade deficit.
The U.S. side believes that Taiwan-U.S. relations are good, and learned that China Airlines complained to Taiwan officials when it was considering buying Airbus, and wondered why Taiwan chose European companies.
It is understood that although China Airlines initiated an evaluation of the purchase of Boeing passenger aircraft that year, the Boeing 787 was exposed to have production defects in September 2020, and the Federal Aviation Administration also requested to suspend delivery, and an outbreak of the epidemic occurred later. China Airlines had a gap in its evaluation of aircraft purchases before and after the epidemic, but at this time Boeing's losses began to climb.
The accumulation of large inventories of Boeing 787 has also increased pressure on local parliamentarians. On 15 April 2022, when Tsai Ing-wen met with a delegation of US senators and congressmen, Graham said in person that he hoped to further strengthen economic relations with Taiwan, "We want you to buy (Boeing) 787."
After Graham left Taiwan, China Airlines received "concerns" from the Taiwan authorities about the progress of the plane purchase. A Taiwanese media investigation found that Graham's statement that he wanted Taiwan to buy the Boeing 787 can be found in the English verbatim transcript provided by the website of Tsai Ing-wen's office, but the press release read after the "Chinese" conversion did not see this text. It's like "silenced".
The case has been silent for several months. In recent months, US delegations have been visiting Taiwan one after another, and some lawmakers have expressed their "concern" about the purchase of the aircraft. Inside China Airlines, senior pilots began to be "low-key" asked about their willingness to go to the United States for training, and news of China Airlines' decision to buy Boeing 787 spread like wildfire. Until 30 August 2022, China Airlines announced that it would buy 16 Boeing 787s and retain the option of 8. The total number of aircraft is exactly the same as the 24 that Graham called out, which is like asking the US to "pay the bill in full".
News (4)
People in the aviation industry: It is indeed out of desperation
An unnamed person in the aviation industry said that although China Airlines has been privatized, its state-owned shares still account for a large part of it. Of course, China Airlines’ policies will also cooperate with the government’s policies to some extent. It is “understandable” that Evergreen will not have such China Airlines has been cooperating with the authorities’ policy since the past, and this purchase of Boeing 787-9 aircraft is not too special. Even the chairman of China Airlines was appointed by the authorities.
When it was previously reported that the authorities wanted to support the purchase of Boeing 787, China Airlines initially held a reservation and was unwilling to pay the bill, but this time, it still bought the Boeing 787-9. may be disadvantageous.
People in the aviation industry said that it will definitely have an impact on operations. In recent years, regardless of EVA or China Airlines, they are more inclined to buy Airbus in private. On the one hand, the overall evaluation of the A350 is slightly better than that of the Boeing 787. In addition, the Boeing 737 had an accident before. Even Starlux Airlines mainly purchases Airbus, and for airlines, the more complex the aircraft, the higher the operating cost, and the future cost "China Airlines will absorb".
"It was really helpless," said a person in the aviation industry. In addition to profit considerations, China Airlines itself has to cooperate with policies, but this situation is difficult to change. Unless China Airlines is a purely private company, it does not need to bear this kind of pressure.
News (5)
U.S. politicians are all about ism, but behind it is all business
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in April that Graham had publicly asked Taiwan authorities to purchase 24 Boeing 787 airliners, saying that Graham was far more than an American politician who spoke out to the Taiwan authorities. According to reports, former US Secretary of State Pompeo earned $150,000 in just a few days during his recent visit to Taiwan. It's too early to do nothing. American politicians visit Taiwan and talk about "defending democracy." The DPP authorities' boasting of US support is purely self-deception. It is the people of Taiwan who really suffer. While their hard-earned money is being used as a "tribute", they are tied to the "Taiwan independence" chariot and headed for the dangerous abyss.
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