Hey -- at least those birds look great from the outside:

http://www.air-and-space.com/2000010...ke-off%20l.jpg

But, I agree, their service leaves much to be desired. Surely they'll be retrofitting their third-world Jumbos?

Safety records aside; DL skymiles members might finally be able to redeem for an international First Class cabin once more!

Having flown in both Y and C, I can say their soft product is fairly decent. I wouldn't rank it up there with SQ or CX but it's not bad.

The Y seats are average for what it is (sardine can as with every airline). Their C seats were not as comfortable; given that they were not lie-flat and others have mentioned the angle is not comfortable. I haven't flown in their outdated C product, just their current version.

I've seen the rest of their service, i.e. check-in, to be a mixed bag. Sometimes very efficient, and other times just one step short of chaos.

For third world jumbos... check out China Southern or Air China... flying in those 747 Combi's.

Anyone know how to redeem their award tickets using skymile points?

It's official from China Airlines will joining into Skyteam in mid-2011
 

Hi All,

And now, it is real official news releases from Skyteam and CI will expected to joining into Skyteam Alliance sometimes in mid-2011 and it will signed the contract deals. It will became full membership for China Airlines. I can't wait to see it. I am looking forward to it. SO here the news releases from CI:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Delta-....html?x=0&.v=1

Regards

Here's why that won't happen: It would please DL SkyMiles members, and DL has made it clear that they aren't in the business of doing that. Systemwide upgrade, anyone? :(

Any Delta Gold benefits so far?

Here's one ST member that won't fly CI, not even at gunpoint!

China Airlines joins SkyTeam on Sept 28
 

For those who care, according to the China Airlines e-newsletter I received this morning, it will be officially joining SkyTeam on Sept 28.

Does anyone know then if we would start earning MQMs if we flew China Airlines?

Currently, the charts at delta.com says No.

Should be the day of joining, based on your fare. The tables might or might not be published right away though, so that makes it difficult to predict the resulting mqm...

Is China air the same as Air China?

Different airlines and different websites. A quick Google will get you both websites.

No.
China Airlines is based in Taiwan (ROC).
Air China is based in mainland China (PRC) and it is in the Star Alliance.

China Airlines - CI
Air China - CA

Curious if we will be able to redeem for F or not; I imagine DL will all in its power to make sure we cannot use our miles for something desirable.

And it sucks

I fly China airlines (CI) about every month TPE-KUL and they are very exicted about joining ST. I fly on a DL ticket and they see the STE+ when I check in. They have moved me to the forward part of the Y cabin (without asking) and they have tagged my checked luggage with their business priority tags (again without asking). Last month when my flight to TPE was cancelled DL flew me to HKG and CI was able to get me back to TPE for my scheduled flight to KUL as the HKG-KUL was flight oversold. CI did not lose my luggage and they were very accomodating during the process. I see them as a very good addition to the ST group.

LOL :D

Is it China Air or Air China that flies the A330 between Munich and Athens?

Actually, this is China Airlines and not Air China. this is different name of the airline.

Right. It is different airline code.

So this should mean another routing to KUL -- an alternative to KE through ICN? (or KL through AMS?)

That's Air China (CA) - 2x weekly A330 MUC-ATH

China Airlines (CI)'s European network is relatively limited - AMS, LHR, FRA, FCO.

Glad to have another option to Asia, including another route to DPS (and BKK). Anyone know the answers to these pressing questions:

1. After CI joints ST, will awards using DL miles no longer break in TPE? Right now, getting to DPS or BKK requires two awards: one USA-TPE, another TPE-DPS/BKK. Curious if the mileage required will allign with ST awards by not breaking in TPE.

2. Which CI routes USA-TPE have real Business Class, with lie-flat seats or similar, not the pseudo business class with non-sleeper seats that CI used to run to USA?

3. Does CI have blackout dates for awards using SkyMiles, like KE does?

1. To use one example, LAX-DPS, Delta has an MPM fare filed; it's not routing-restricted. TPE should become a valid connecting point and eliminate the problem you cite.

3. Yes - with specifics posted by RealHJ a few months ago.

http://www.travelvivi.com/top-10-mos...rous-airlines/

No. 2!

Thanks Clipper. I was hoping to earn some worthless skypesos on that flight but I got the wrong airline.

The methodology on that piece is dodgy at best, and the information provided is insufficient for the reader to actually interpret things.

Agreed the site is somewhat dodgy, but what more information do you need beyond # of accidents with fatalities and # of departures?

Does this site demonstrate the relative lack of safety at China Airlines more clearly?

http://www.airsafe.com/events/regions/asia.htm

Just as you have been able to redeem for CI in F all along, you will continue to be able to do so. Availability, though, is abysmal. CI seems to be about as bad as DL. Back earlier this year tried to book a CI flight for some 9 months out. Had to have DL agent check 20+ days until found one day with just one F seat available. The other pax had to go on KE instead on a different (slower) routing.

So, yes, you will be able to book in CI in F, but you need to be extremely flexible (as +/- a month), be mindful of its blackout dates (not quite as bad as KE, but still pretty bad; only KE, MU and CI have 'em), and expect to only fly one passenger at a time, the other on another airline/routing or on CI a few weeks (not a day or a few) later. CI award F availability seems to be some 5-25 times worse than KE, based on my limited experience at least.

When this occurs, I'm expecting some crappy MQM earning opps, just like MU and CZ.

Ummm, DL doesn't let you redeem SkyMiles for international F on any carrier, so I'm really confused by this post.

the causes and nature of the accidents for two.

We already get MQM's on CI. I have flown them LAX-TPE 4 times in the last year (DL codeshare) and have always gotten MQM's (1 x multiplier.) I flew them two weeks ago and got MQM's on a q fare.

Tim
13 Aug 2011 Delta 7734 from Los Angeles, CA(LAX) to Taipei, Taiwan(TPE) Activity Date : 12 Aug 2011 6785 8481 15266 6785 1
Miles 6785 6785
125% Diamond Medallion Bonus 8481
Operating Carrier : China Airlines
Class Paid/Flown : Q/Q

You didn't get MQM's on CI. You got MQM's on a DL flight op'd by CI. If you had taken the same trip on a CI-coded flight, you would have gotten no MQM's. When CI joins SkyTeam, that should change, so you would get MQM's on CI-coded flights.

Oh, sorry. I had automatically made F(irst) = Business in my mind...
and of course on CI we can redeem for economy or business.

I just equivalted F to business without thinking much more about it.. as anything more (i.e. int'l First redemptions on 3-class airlines) is never going to happen with DL SM, so it was totally out of my mind as even a remote possibility (ever).

China Airlines Flight 611: Inflight breakup resulting from metal fatigue following inadequate maintenance
China Airlines Flight 676: Stall after missed approach
China Airlines Flight 140: Stall due to pilot error
China Airlines Flight 358: Engine separated from aircraft due to pylon failure
China Airlines Flight 204: Crashed into mountain due to pilot error

China Airlines SkyTeam accession
 

According to the SkyTeam website, CI will become a full member on 28-Sep-11. I'm considering booking some travel with them (LAX-TPE-ETC) that would commence on 30-Sep-11. What are the chances that I'll get DL DM elite treatment? Can anyone confirm that I would be able to route the miles & MQMs to my SkyMiles account (so far there is no fare class table posted to the SM site)?

There are DL codeshares for some of the flights I need, but not all of them, so it's not feasible to book the entire ticket with DL flight numbers.

I'm also considering buying a couple of tix on China Airlines given that I haven't had any luck with BE opening up on Korean Air for an upcoming trip.

I've been calling every few days for the past two weeks or so and all of the agents on the Diamond line seem to either 1) know nothing about the upcoming change even happening or 2) have to go off and search around before confirming they have no official information on the updated excluded fares for miles/MQMs

none so far have seemed surprised that it is (now) 1 week before the China-Airlines-as-full-Skyteam-member agreement takes effect and they have no details.

pretty lame if you ask me.

Any update on this? I called the other day and found an agent who could find a CI flight on the dates I was looking for but I didn't book it at that time. I found that ExpertFlyer shows their award availability; looks like an Economy award is S. Would it be safe to assume that SkyMiles members would also book into that same S class?