China Airlines

Formation and early years (1959–1970)

Taiwan's airlines can trace its origins to Japan Air Transport and later, Imperial Japanese Airways, which served Taiwan during colonial rule by Japan. These airlines served the cities of Taihoku, Taichu, Tainan, and Takao.

With a fleet of two PBY Amphibians, China Airlines was established on December 16, 1959, with its shares completely held by the Republic of China government. It was founded by I Fuen, a retired ROC Air Force officer, and initially concentrated on charter flights. The roots of this airline can be traced to 1929 when the Nationalist government formed China National Aviation Corporation that served as a major airline of the country until the Chinese Communist Party took over Mainland China and nationalized its operations in 1949 which then absorbed the CNAC into the People's Aviation Company of China in 1952.

During the 1960s, China Airlines was able to establish its first scheduled routes. In October 1962, a flight from Taipei to Hualien became the airline's first domestic service. With the airline's Boeing 707 aircraft, trans-Pacific flights to San Francisco via Tokyo were initiated on February 2, 1970.

International expansion (1970–1995)

Following the standard utilization of the wide-body 747 on the highly profitable Trans-Pacific – United States routes, China Airlines introduced its first two 747-100s (ex-Delta Air Lines aircraft) in 1976 and immediately placed them on its Hong Kong-Taipei-Tokyo-Honolulu-Los Angeles route. Shortly thereafter, four brand new Boeing 747SPs (Special Performance) were introduced in 1977. In 1975, three years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, all flights between Taiwan and Japan were suspended, and not resumed until the following year. The 747SP aircraft made it possible for China Airlines to fly daily nonstop services from Taipei to its North American destinations without stopping over in Japan. It also allowed the airline to introduce flights to Saudi Arabia and South Africa. In 1979, the airline switched all operations from the smaller Taipei Songshan Airport to the newly built Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport (now Taoyuan International Airport). Following the introduction of 747-200s, the airline introduced its first European destination, Amsterdam.

In 1978, with all airlines relocating to Narita International Airport (then New Tokyo International Airport), China Airlines was the sole foreign carrier to use Haneda, which at the time was an exclusive domestic facility; the premise being that air carriers from the PRC and Taiwan were prevented from crossing paths at any Japanese airports. EVA Air joined China Airlines later on, although both eventually moved to Narita, with CAL moving on April 18, 2002.

The next 20 years saw sporadic but far-reaching growth for the company. Later, the airline inaugurated its own round-the-world flight: (Taipei-Anchorage-New York-Amsterdam-Dubai-Taipei).

On February 8, 1990, China Airlines received the first of its initial five Boeing 747-400s (B-161). 1993 saw the airline listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The new 747-400s and an earlier order with Airbus for over a dozen A300B4 and A300-600Rs wide body regional jets allowed for addition destination growth. During the 1990s, China Airlines also bought the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and had to compete with a new competitor, EVA Air. They also founded another airline to deal with the PRC-ROC dispute which borrowed aircraft from China Airlines itself. One of China Airlines's 747-400s (B-164) was also used by President Lee Tung-hui during his trip to the United States in June 1995.

Change of logo and livery (1995–2010)

As the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s flag carrier, China Airlines has been affected by disputes over the political status of Republic of China (Taiwan), is under pressure from the Chinese Communist Party, and was barred from flying into a number of countries maintaining diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China ("Mainland China"). As a result, in the mid 1990s, China Airlines subsidiary Mandarin Airlines took over some of its Sydney and Vancouver international routes. Starting from October 7, 1995, partly as a way to avoid the international controversy, China Airlines unveiled its "plum blossom" logo, replacing the national flag which had previously appeared on the tail fins (empennage), and the aircraft livery from the red-white-blue national colours on the fuselage of its aircraft. The plum blossom (Prunus mume) is the Republic of China's National Flower.

Throughout the 1990s, the airline employed many ex-ROC Air Force pilots. Due to the company's poor safety record in the 1990s, China Airlines began to change its pilot recruitment practices and the company began to actively recruit civilian-trained pilots with proven track records. In addition, the company began recruiting university graduates as trainees in its own pilot training program. The company also modified its maintenance and operational procedures.