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Mandarin Airlines

Mandarin Airlines
華信航空
MandarinAirlinesLogo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
AE MDA MANDARIN
Founded June 1, 1991
Hubs Taipei Songshan Airport
Taichung Airport
Focus cities Kaohsiung International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Dynasty Flyer
Airport lounge Dynasty Lounge
Alliance SkyTeam (Affiliate)
Fleet size 7
Destinations 34 (including charter flights)
Parent company China Airlines
Headquarters Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan
Key people Samuel P. Lin
(Chairman)
Website mandarin-airlines.com/english/index.html

Mandarin Airlines (traditional Chinese: 華信航空; simplified Chinese: 华信航空; pinyin: Huáxìn Hángkōng) is an airline based in Taipei, Taiwan, whose parent company is China Airlines. The Taiwanese carrier operates domestic and regional international flights, while its parent company focuses on international operations. Charter services are also operated by the company. Its other main hub is the Taichung Airport.

Mandarin Airlines was established on 1 June 1991, and was initially a joint venture by China Airlines (67%) and Koos Group (33%); the Chinese name of the company is formed by the combination of the two. The establishment of Mandarin Airlines is closely related to the political status of Taiwan. At the time, Mandarin Airlines' parent company, China Airlines, still served as the flag carrier of the Governing Authorities on Taiwan, with the flag of the Republic of China a part of its livery. Denying the existence of the Taipei government, the People's Republic of China hence attempted to boycott the international presence of China Airlines, using trade barriers to achieve its political goal. However, PRC's objection did not extend to other Taiwanese carriers not carrying the ROC flag. As a way to work around these limits, Mandarin Airlines was founded while China Airlines maintained its role as the flag carrier.

On 16 October 1991, Mandarin Airlines started operations with direct flights from Taipei to Sydney in Australia. The next step was the opening of a direct air route to Vancouver in Canada on 7 December 1991. Thus, Mandarin Airlines became Taiwan's first airline to fly direct to Australia and Canada. The China Trust Group pulled its investment in Mandarin Airlines on 31 October 1992, turning the airline into a company virtually wholly owned by China Airlines (90.05%) by December 1992. Also, Mandarin Airlines' role was changed to that of a primary domestic and short-range intra-regional airline, after parent China Airlines was able to re-establish its emphasis on international routes, due to a new livery that did not include the national flag, and thus faced less objection from the PRC.


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