China Airlines
has announced an order for ten Airbus A350-1000 and 14 Boeing 777X aircraft, including four freighters of the latter aircraft family, on December 19.
Widebody aircraft and freighters
In a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing on December 19, China Airlines announced that it ordered ten Airbus A350-1000
, ten Boeing 777-9
, and four 777-8F
aircraft.
The carrier disclosed that it would pay no more than $448 million for each A350-1000, $530 million for each 777-9, and $519 million for each 777-8F, with the total transaction sum being no more than $11.85 billion.
On the same day, China Airlines said that it would purchase four GE Aerospace GE9X
and three Rolls-Royce
XWB-97 spare engines, the exclusive engines for the 777X and A350-1000 aircraft, respectively.
Photo: Ryken Papy | Shutterstock
The airline would pay no more than $59.2 million for each GE9X and $51.2 million for each XWB-97 spare engine, with the total transaction sum for the seven spare engines being no more than $390.4 million.
For Airbus
, this is the third A350 family aircraft order in December, with Air Calin, the airline based in New Caledonia, buying two A350-900s and Air India
disclosing that it was the undisclosed customer for ten A350s, presumably five A350-900 and five A350-1000 aircraft.
In addition, the Indian carrier added another 90 A320neo family aircraft to its backlog. The A320neo and A321neos were also added to the manufacturer’s order book throughout the year.
Airbus has another five A350-900 assigned to an undisclosed customer, with the order being dated to November 27.
Related
Airbus Discloses Air India Order For 10 A350s & 90 A320 Family Planes
With the latest order, Air India now has 344 Airbus aircraft in its backlog, in addition to 220 pending deliveries (and 70 options) from Boeing.
Growing its Boeing backlog
Meanwhile, China Airlines has added the 777X aircraft family to its order book. 
Boeing’s
orders and deliveries filings showed that the manufacturer was still contractually obliged to deliver one 777F
, 18 787-9
, and six 787-10
aircraft to the Taiwan-based airline.
Throughout 2024, Boeing secured 777X orders from Ethiopian Airlines (eight firm, 12 options, 777-9 only), Korean Air (20 777-9, not finalized), and Qatar Airways (20 777-9). The latter two agreements were announced during the 
Farnborough International Airshow
.
Photo: KeleX Pictures | Shutterstock
Throughout 2024, Taiwan-based airlines, including EVA Air
and Starlux
, have also ordered new aircraft. In January, EVA Air finalized a purchase agreement for 18 A350-1000 and 15 A321neos, while Starlux committed to three A330-900 and five A350F in February.
Related
China Airlines Could Split 20 Widebody Order Between Airbus & Boeing
Both the A350-1000 and 777X have been on the airline’s radar.
Replacing aging widebodies
Ch-aviation data showed that China Airlines has 82 aircraft in its fleet, including 14 A321neo
, 16 A330-300, 15 A350-900
, ten 737-800, eight 747-400F, nine 777F, and ten 777-300ERs.
According to the site’s fleet records, while the majority of its fleet is, on average, less than ten years old, the Taiwanese carrier’s A330-300s
average 17.2 years per aircraft, while the 747-400Fs average 19.3 years per aircraft.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
As such, China Airlines will not only add aircraft for its future growth but also replace the aging widebodies, including freighters, whose maintenance and other costs will only continue growing with time.
Data from Cirium’s Diio Mi airline planning system showed that in 2024, China Airlines has scheduled 13.3% fewer flights and 18.2% fewer seats than in 2019, showing that it has struggled to recover to full operations following the pandemic.
In comparison, while EVA Air has scheduled 4.8% fewer flights in 2024 compared to 2019, it has added 3.9% more seats on its network during the former year. Still, EVA Air, which had fewer flights than China Airlines in 2019, had more scheduled itineraries in 2024.
Related
China Airlines Will Upgrade Its Airbus A350s With New Cabins & Business Suite
All 15 of the airline’s A350s will be ready by 2028.