TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Pictures of China Airlines' newly redesigned Boeing 777 Freighter with the word “CARGO” written on the front section of the fuselage and an image of Taiwan were released on Monday (Dec. 14).
The Taiwanese airline sent out an internal memo Monday afternoon to its employees notifying them that the design for its new 777 cargo plane had been completed, according to CNA. Photos show that the font size of “China Airlines” has been reduced and moved to the rear of the plane while in the front, the letter “C” in “CARGO” outlines the shape of Taiwan's main island.
China Airlines has ordered six Boeing 777 Freighters, which are scheduled to be delivered by 2023. The first new cargo plane arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 1, while two more are slated to be sent before the end of January.
The first of the new 777s will mainly be responsible for cargo flights in Asia and North America, according to the report. It will join China Airlines' existing fleet of 18 Boeing 747-400 Freighters.
The 777 is a twin-engine cargo plane that can fly trans-Pacific flights in excess of 6,000 nautical miles with a 20 percent heavier payload than other large freighters like the 747-400F, according to Boeing. It can carry 27 standard pallets measuring 2.5 meters x 3 meters on its main deck, which allows for lower cargo-handling costs and shorter delivery times.
China Airlines is Taiwan’s flag carrier, but due to the highly problematic name, it is often confused as a Chinese airline. This happened earlier this year when Taipei began using China Airlines planes to send masks to countries around the world to help them fight the coronavirus, causing many to believe the donations were coming from China rather than Taiwan.
More recently, the BBC on Dec. 11 incorrectly used a picture of a China Airlines plane in a story on how China’s aviation authority sent out new guidelines advising Chinese flight attendants to wear diapers as a way of avoiding the lavatory in order to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 on flights to high-risk destinations.
