China Airlines celebrated recently its 48th anniversary and announced that it would be staging a series of 48th Anniversary events. These include a charity program with charters and tours for country children on Dec. 22, and an air Premier showcase of a national movie “Island Etude” on Dec. 28.

 

This year CAL held a different birthday ceremony, with outdoor activities including softball at Riverside Park, rather than the usual stylish party. The saved budget, around NTD 300,000, was donated to local youth baseball teams for equipment purchases.

Along with the donation and upcoming charity events, CAL extended its gratitude to society, and its passengers, for their continuous support. A large number of VIPs attended the event, to share the moment with China Airlines. Also, CAL provided its office massage service in the park, giving its employees and the softball players a chance to relax.

In March 2007, China Airlines, together with well-known international charity organization World Vision Taiwan, announced a joint donation project that included donating through duty free shopping, visits to children, and a four-day “Flying Camp” for 38 Taiwanese teenagers that included a fun and educational experience about becoming a pilot or flight attendant. In June 2007, CAL and the celebrity threesome S.H.E. paid a visit to country children in Yun-lin County, giving 20 computers and many books for children’s education.

This year has been a pivotal one for China Airlines. Chairman and President Ringo Chao emphasized at the event that flight safety is the very first priority for CAL. He urged everyone to maintain a positive working attitude: not just ‘doing a job’, but ensuring that it is ‘well’ and ‘correctly’ done. Merely ‘finishing a job’ is not enough, as it represents only the completion of a process. A well-done job requires a professional and thorough attitude to maintain high quality. Only if every employee takes a serious working attitude will the entire corporate survive during this period of keen competition.

Looking back at the year 2007, Chairman and President Chao said that despite increased costs due to fluctuating fuel prices, China Airlines is confident that it can achieve its annual revenue target, as the year’s eleven-month operating revenue increased 5% compared with the same period last year. For the coming year, CAL remains positive and is planning a new annual revenue target of 3.5% growth, with ongoing cost control programs. In its cargo business, CAL is continuously working on its high-revenue charter business, with non-stop flights to further save fuel and transit costs, and to enhance service for its freight customers.

In terms of service quality, CAL earned its highest-ever worldwide rankings in the 2007 results released by highly regarded Skytrax research. CAL was ranked 8th worldwide in the “Airline of the Year” rankings, and its home base lounge at Taoyuan International Airport was ranked 7th in the “World’s Best Business-Class Lounge” category. In addition, CAL’s Economy Class service was ranked 2nd best among 66 of the world’s most famous airlines, and it was ranked 6th and 8th best in the world in Business and First Class Service Quality, respectively. Meanwhile, CAL’s First Class achieved the coveted ‘5 star’ category from Skytrax, the world’s top surveyor of airline service quality.