Virus Outbreak: CAL’s new planes to sport Taiwan images: official

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter





China Airlines Ltd’s (CAL) new aircraft would highlight images and elements of Taiwan that would make them distinct from Chinese airlines’ planes, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday, amid calls to rename the airline to avoid people confusing it with Chinese carriers.

The issue of whether to rename the nation’s largest carrier came to the fore again after Taiwan announced that it would donate 10 million masks to countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with CAL carrying out the deliveries, but several foreign media outlets reported that the masks came from China after seeing the words China Airlines on the planes. That prompted a call to change the airline’s English name to avoid confusion.

Minister of Transportation and Communication Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has asked the China Aviation Development Foundation, a government-backed organization that is the airline’s largest shareholder, to instruct CAL to study the possibility of changing the airline’s name, as well as the color, graphic and typographical identifiers that it applies to its aircraft.

Airport staff prepare a shipment of masks to be loaded onto a China Airlines aircraft at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Thursday last week. Photo taken from the Netherlands Trade & Investment Office Facebook Page

The foundation had met with the airline’s management to talk about the issue, Wang told reporters before a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, adding that CAL would need about one year to change its aircraft livery to feature images and elements of Taiwan.

The foundation said it hoped the process could be expedited, Wang said.

“The most important thing is that people should not confuse Taiwanese aircraft with those from China. The airline will work on reinforcing the images of Taiwan on its aircraft, as well as inform and reach agreements with other international carriers on issues related to aviation routes and air sovereignty,” he said.

Asked about the Taoyuan Union of Pilots (TUP) opposing the airline’s plan to cut pay for both management and employees, Wang said the scheme was one of the conditions under which the government appropriated a bailout fund of NT$50 billion (US$1.66 billion) for all carriers, which requires them to reduce expenses.

The China Airlines Employees’ Union and the Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union have agreed to the scheme, Wang said, adding that the TUP should negotiate with management if it disagrees.

Starting next month, the salaries of top-tier managers would be reduced by 25 percent, CAL announced on Monday.

The salaries of level-two and level-three managers would also be cut by 20 percent, while those of employees would be reduced by 15 percent, it said, adding that flight attendants, pilots and ground crew would be subject to a different scheme.

The TUP said it should not be subject to this comprehensive pay-cut scheme, as its members remain busy operating cargo flights, despite a decline in passenger flights.

Meanwhile, Lin thanked the airlines for operating government-commissioned charter flights to bring back Taiwanese stranded in Wuhan and Shanghai, China, as well as passengers of the disease-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship.

The ministry has raised a direct relief fund for carriers from NT$4.86 billion to NT$12.75 billion ,and subsidized the aircraft parking charge up to 50 percent, Lin wrote on Facebook.

Airlines are also receiving government-backed loans and interest subsidies totaling NT$50 billion, he added.

“Nobody wants a pay cut, but we thank the China Airlines Employees’ Union for its understanding at this time of trial. We hope that labor and management can work together to protect the company and welcome a better future after the COVID-19 pandemic eases,” he said.