In August 2022, Taiwan-based China Airlines announced a multi-billion dollar deal with Boeing to renew part of its wide body fleet. The airline initially ordered 16 Boeing 787s, with options for a further eight of the jets. The airline has now exercised those options, so you can expect 24 Boeing 787s to join China Airlines’ fleet. Let’s go over all the details.
In this post:
China Airlines replacing Airbus A330s with Boeing 787s
China Airlines has placed an order with Boeing for the 787. Specifically, the airline has placed a firm order for 24 787s, all of which are expected to be delivered between 2026 and 2028. This order includes 18 787-9s, as well as six 787-10s.
In 2022, the airline placed a firm order for 16 jets with eight options, but those options have now been exercised. Furthermore, while the order was initially exclusively for the 787-9, the airline has exercised options to convert some of those orders to the larger 787-10.
China Airlines intends to primarily use the 24 Boeing 787s to replace its fleet of 18 Airbus A330-300s. These are the wide body jets that China Airlines uses for short and medium haul flights, and they’re an average of around 15 years old (and will be 18+ years old by the time that 787 deliveries start).
While the Boeing 787-9 has the range to operate ultra long haul flights (the 787-10 has shorter range), the airline doesn’t intend to use the planes that way, so I’d expect that at least some of these aircraft will feature a regional configuration.
Given the increased order, it does look like China Airlines also intends to use some of these planes for longer routes (but not ultra long haul flights), like services from Taiwan to Australia and New Zealand.
China Airlines is the second Taiwanese airline to order the Boeing 787, as EVA Air has both Boeing 787-9s and 787-10s in its fleet.
How the Boeing 787 fits into China Airlines’ fleet
China Airlines has undergone an impressive fleet modernization project in recent years:
- The airline has replaced its Airbus A340s and Boeing 747s with Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 777-300ERs
- The airline is currently replacing its Boeing 737-800s with Airbus A321neos
- Now the airline will replace its Airbus A330-300s with Boeing 787-9s and 787-10s
The Boeing 787 is of course a very capable plane and a nice addition to China Airlines’ fleet. Nonetheless I always find it a bit odd when airlines order both the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787s. There are synergies from having more of one aircraft type, from crew training, to maintenance, to aircraft utilization.
At the same time, I can appreciate that these decisions are often made independently (since different parts of the fleet are being replaced), and I assume there were some advantages of going with Boeing here, whether it be price, financing, or delivery timeline.
Bottom line
China Airlines has placed an order for 24 Boeing 787s, to be delivered between 2026 and 2028. This includes 18 787-9s, as well as six 787-10s. These planes will primarily be used to replace existing Airbus A330-300s on high capacity short and medium haul routes. However, since this order has been expanded, you can also expect these planes to be used on some longer routes.
China Airlines is a pleasant airline to fly with, and it’s nice to see the airline completing the last step of its fleet modernization project.
What do you make of China Airlines ordering the Boeing 787?
Republic of China’s China Airline.
中華民國的航空 or in short 中華航空
Let me fix it for you Ben in case you’re not familiar with the constitution of Republic of China.
Another factor of this 350/787 operation is political, as many purchases by CAL often are. This was signed around the time of visits by US law makers.
This was a big blow to the A330NEO's prospects of landing with a major operator, I'd say even more "devastating" than losing the already-placed Emirates order.
CI was one of the last large A330CEO operators who (1) hadn't yet gone for the 787 and (2) already had A350s in its fleet.
Cathay's about the last 1st-tier airline that the -NEO can make a splash with.
given that there were nearly 800 A330-300s delivered and most of those are still in service, it is a little much to proclaim the demise of the A330NEO based on the actions of one of one of the smaller Asia-Pacific airlines.
Since you raised the subject of the A330NEO, Airbus has managed to deliver the A330NEO far more reliably than Boeing has been able to do with the B787.
When ownership costs are...
given that there were nearly 800 A330-300s delivered and most of those are still in service, it is a little much to proclaim the demise of the A330NEO based on the actions of one of one of the smaller Asia-Pacific airlines.
Since you raised the subject of the A330NEO, Airbus has managed to deliver the A330NEO far more reliably than Boeing has been able to do with the B787.
When ownership costs are fully included, there is good reason to believe that Airbus' statement that the A330NEO is the lowest cost medium sized widebody on the market. Airbus has managed to build a derivate of the A330CEO for which they can discount and still make a profit - not like the compensation delays that Boeing is having to include in many 787 sales.
Nonetheless I always find it a bit odd when airlines order both the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787s. There are synergies from having more of one aircraft type, from crew training, to maintenance, to aircraft utilization.
People give the "commonality" stuff wayyyy too much priority. Yes, it's a cost saving, but they constantly overlook the other side of the coin, which is revenue potential
At the end of the day, 787+A350 is very similar to...
Nonetheless I always find it a bit odd when airlines order both the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787s. There are synergies from having more of one aircraft type, from crew training, to maintenance, to aircraft utilization.
People give the "commonality" stuff wayyyy too much priority. Yes, it's a cost saving, but they constantly overlook the other side of the coin, which is revenue potential
At the end of the day, 787+A350 is very similar to what we saw 20yrs ago with so many airlines deciding to go A330+777.
Sure A330+A340 would've made more superficial "sense," due to the common factors, but the A340 was no match for the 777 (got outsold nearly 5-to-1) and the A330 completely dominated the then-aging 767 in just about every performance category in the 200-250 seat market. Thus, the common A330+777 combo in so many major airlines' fleets, even though the two competed with each other in some categories.
Same here with 787+A350.
more to the point, the A350 has longer range and higher size. Given that many customers that operate the 787 are ordering the A350-1000 which is the largest and longest range new generation aircraft, larger and more capable than any 787, then the dual 787/A350 fleets becomes even more understandable.
When you think about it, the A359 is more of a A345 successor than he A343 in terms of seats. The A359 doesn't have direct successor. That would've been the proposed and now canceled A358. The closest you would get to the A343 would be the 789. While the A330neo is more capable than the 330ceo, it still falls short of the A343's range as well as the 789s cargo capacity. During the pandemic, airlines...
When you think about it, the A359 is more of a A345 successor than he A343 in terms of seats. The A359 doesn't have direct successor. That would've been the proposed and now canceled A358. The closest you would get to the A343 would be the 789. While the A330neo is more capable than the 330ceo, it still falls short of the A343's range as well as the 789s cargo capacity. During the pandemic, airlines have learned that cargo is a lucrative business. And while not many, there are airlines that have operated the A343 as well as the 772ER back in it's heyday such as EK, AF, OS, CA.
Part of the reason they order both 787 and A359 is that A359 can’t fit in Taipei Songshan Airport so they need 787 to replace the A333 currently deployed to Shanghai and Tokyo routes
JAL/ANA consistently deployed 787-8 to popular Haneda-Songshan in pre-COVID days so I am looking forward to China Airlines ups the game and bring more competition!