July 12, 2006, Taipei, Taiwan -China Airlines will inaugurate a new Taipei-Hanoi cargo service on July 19. The new service will extend CAL's cargo services further into the Vietnam market. In the initial stage, the B747-400F freighter service to Hanoi will be operated once a week. This new cargo service follows the successful inauguration of CAL's new Taipei-Osaka cargo service on July 4.

For the new service, Hanoi will become an intermediate stop on China Airlines' existing Taipei-Penang cargo route. CI-5865 will depart from Taipei every Wednesday at 08:45 am, and arrive in Hanoi at 10:25 the same morning. Following the launch of the new flights, China Airlines will be the only Taiwan-based carrier offering dedicated cargo services to both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, and it is a prosperous industrial city. Located in the northern part of the country, Hanoi is Vietnam's second-most important city, in terms of air transportation. Hanoi also has an industrial output second only to Ho Chi Minh City, in all of Vietnam. CAL's new cargo service provides another key gateway for Vietnam's fast-expanding exports to Europe and North America.

Following the inauguration of the new cargo route, China Airlines will be able to provide more extensive cargo services between Taiwan and Vietnam. In late June, China Airlines introduced another brand-new B747-400 freighter. With its current fleet of 19 freighters, China Airlines now operates the largest B747-400 freighter fleet in the world.