March 31, 2003, Taipei, Taiwan !V China Airlines has resumed its cargo service to Manchester from March 30. Manchester is now China Airlines!| fourth cargo destination in Europe. The increasing demand and expanding cargo capacity are the background for resuming this cargo service with great potential.

The Manchester service initially has three weekly flights using Boeing 747-400 freighters. These flights depart Taipei Taoyuan International Airport every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday at 03:30 and arrive at Manchester at 18:00 on the same day. The return flights leave Manchester at 20:00 the same day and arrive the Taipei Taoyuan International Airport at 20:35 the next day. The Wednesday and Friday flights stop in Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam; while the Sunday flights, in Abu Dhabi and Luxembourg.

As an important trading partner for Taiwan, the United Kingdom is a mature air transport market, ranking fourth in the world in terms of air traffic. Manchester is not only an industrial city but also a transportation hub in central England. The city is located around 200 kilometer from the hi-tech center in Scotland in the north and London in the south. It is expected that the new Manchester service will both expand the cargo network in Europe and increase the cargo traffic for China Airlines.

China Airlines, with its headquarters in Taiwan, carries a fleet of 55 aircraft (including 41 passenger jets and 14 freighters) and flies to 40 destinations in 20 nations. The average age of its fleet is 5.9 years. In 2001, China Airlines!| cargo traffic ranked 8th in the airline industry in the world.