China Airlines will be announced as SkyTeam
 

If China Airlines joins ST, Skyteam will have a very strong presence in the Southeast Asian market.

Do you know which specific dates does CI join the ST this year? I am not aware about CI will join by entire ST. It doesn't sense happens few years ago but, CI does not join the Alliance years ago. Because it was some few aircraft has been crashes off of China. It will need more improvable do followed safety regulations. CI will be very successfully join the SkyTeam shortly.

Does CI will gets more codeshare agreements with DL, CO, NW in USA flights?

Awesome, this will give us another option to get to Australia.

Interesting to see how CI and CZ treat one another...
 

Given that they're from countries that don't recognize the other's existence. :rolleyes:

Still wish we'd get some South American or Australian members.

It's not problem. CI and CZ have Mileage partnership for two years.
http://www.china-airlines.com/en/club/club_mi_cz.htm
http://skypearl.csair.com/air6_en.html

In fact, CI also has partnership with Air China and China Eastern Airlines.

See... the "one China" policy isn't just a cruel joke.

Dang... too bad this wasn't in effect for that great LAX-TPE-PNH fare. Sure would've been nice to rack up 16K MQM for $300 :p

I guess this is just me - but I feel CI is some cheapo airlines whose service and flight amenities are lacking. It just can't win compared to *A's SQ and TG or One World's CX.
SkyTeam needs to move quicker and get the nice airlines sooner before they join other alliances.

SkyTeam adds another airline (allegedly) and the first thing you do is complain? Isn't it somewhat positive to have another option in a geographic area where SkyTeam has been historically poor?

CI's current hard product is definitely way behind SQ, CX, TG, and KE. So is it's soft product. The hard product, at least, is supposed to start getting upgraded to, for example, lie-flat seats with 60" pitch in transpac Business Class. Definitely a step in the right direction.

What airlines, specifically, are of the caliber and scope of SQ and CX and not presently in one of the big three alliances?

As for service to Australia, I can find less-than-daily service from Taipei to Brisbane and Sydney. But I suppose any added service is welcome for award travel.

Don't forget their safety record! @:-)

Not so different from KE 10-15 years ago. I'm sure their entry into SkyTeam will have some stipulations requiring increased safety measures.

Never assume anything. Deal with hard facts and their past performance.

Well, I'm still not going to complain about another airline in SkyTeam. Just because I will likely never fly them, you never know when you might need them.

When KE joined the alliance DL and other Skyteam airlines assisted with training programs, pilots, and other personnel to review their programs and overhaul their operations. Int heir case it dramatically improved their safety record.

EK is on par with these, IMO.

That's just in response to your question, but I agree that CI's alleged entry into ST is a good thing. Just because they (or any airline) are a ST member doesn't obligate one to fly them if they believe they are still unsafe.

EK is on par with these, IMO.

That's just in response to your question, but I agree that CI's alleged entry into ST is a good thing. Just because they (or any airline) are a ST member doesn't obligate one to fly them if they believe they are still unsafe.

Their safety record for the past decade or so is really NOT bad... the 747-200 accident was really a structural failure of the aircraft and was an aircraft that had only one month remaining in the CI fleet. The only other incident was the B737-800 fire on the ramp in Okinawa last summer, again due to an aircarft design problem and no fault of the airline.

In the 80s and 90s, there were accidents related to poor cockpit resource management, controlled flight into terrain etc.

dupe.

I flew them on a short hop in Y a few weeks ago and I thought their service was fine. Nice clean plane. Seemingly pretty new, too. They gave me exit row on the ground without my even asking. And the ground staff pre-departure were most helpful and friendly in helping me recover from IROPS that were the fault of other airlines.

I'm glad to have CI as a MQM earning opp'y.

China Airlines to Join SkyTeam
 

signing ceremony set for Tuesday 14 September. This is the Taiwanese carrier, not to be confused with airlines based in Red China.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-...11-700061.html

Great!

Now all that SkyTeam is missing is Malaysian Airlines. With MH as a full/official member also, that'd be a pretty complete network in Asia.

...though V Australia would be nice also as a full ST member, to close the big gaping hole in ST coverage that is known as Australia.

Well, except for those daily flights to SYD. ;)

Maybe a better name for PRC these days is Green China. They seem to have most of our Dollars(Green backs)/debt.

I read somewhere that the Chinese airlines don't release safety statistics.

Wow, that took all of two seconds to disprove via Google!

http://aviation-safety.net/database/...untry.php?id=B

Less than that. 1.026ms to disprove via my brain. The FAA would never allow any airline to travel to the US without knowing their safety practices.

China Airlines
 

What great news. I have used them a few times in economy from LAX to TPE and KUL and think the service, food, and AVODs are first-rate.

Yes, but HNL-LAX-SYD 20 hours is not very appealing, for what should be a 10 hour flight.

DL should have run that flight from HNL, from where logical connections to every major US city and it breaks up the flights, plus it provides the international service (that costs it more) for shorter duration.

But anyway, I don't mean to take this off topic..

only on the A340. The 747s don't have AVOD. That was a long slog from TPE to SFO...

I assume that first class award travel would still be taboo?? although I am uncertain as to why? since delta's new bizelite offerings are in line with other carriers first class offerings (seat wise at least)

The CI 747s have had AVOD every time I've flown them. Never done the SFO run, though.

Two daily LAX flights are primarily operated by four 744s (F12/C49/Y314) equipped with AVOD. SFO flight uses other 744s (F14/C64/Y319) and PTV without AVOD only available in F/C.

340s/330s are equiped AVOD in both C and Y.

why don't they just sign up all airlines of asia (red russia included) with marginal safety records. isn't garuda available for an alliance?

SkyScream Alliance?

Ah, thanks for the info. Will they be retrofitting the remaining 744s?

I took their SEA flight back when it was still in operation - it was on the A340. Had a really bad departure time - something like 1:00 AM.

I hope this thread doesn't devolve into safety record issues of CI, etc. and whether the airline should be part of ST or not directly from that issue. That's been discussed plenty here and elsewhere. I'd much rather focus on the ability to earn/redeem DL Skymiles and/or whether the soft/hard product vs. DL and other ST members.

I gotta say that the SFO-TPE route was a disaster in biz.

Horrible check-in, chaotic boarding, no AVOD, three across seating, limited seat pitch, no in-seat power, very very dirty plane. To date only Air India has managed to make me feel worse about a flight.

I've been purposely booking that route through ICN just to avoid CI. I'll take the extra 8 hours of plane time over the CI offering anyday.

Just my $0.02

OPos.