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China Airlines is the national airline of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The airlines is owned by China Aviation Development Foundation, which is an autonomous government body and doesn’t have to report to the Legislative Yuan. China Airlines is based at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport and has its headquarters at Taipei.
China Airlines was established on December 10, 1959. In October 1962, the airline flew its maiden domestic flight from Taipei to Hualien. On December 1, 1966, China Airlines started its international services with inaugural flight to Saigon, Vietnam. China Airlines started its transpacific flights on February 2, 1970, with a flight to San Francisco. Gradually the airline started expanding its services. It acquired Boeing 747 in its fleet and in 1984 China Airlines launched a new service to Amsterdam—the airline's first European destination. In 1993, the China Airlines was listed on Taiwan Stock Exchange. In 2004, there was a strong move to rename the airline as Taiwan Airline but the issue was dropped.
Presently, China Airlines flies to 62 cities in 23 countries. In India, China Airlines flies to Delhi. As of July 2006, China Airline had a fleet of 67 aircrafts. It includes 15 B747-400, 7 A340-300, 12 A330-300, 12 B737-800, 2 A300-600R, and 19 B747-400F.