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TransAsia Airways

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For the defunct Kazakhstan airline, see Trans-Asia.
Not to be confused with Transavia or AirAsia.
TransAsia Airways
復興航空
IATA ICAO Call sign
GE TNA TRANSASIA
Founded21 May 1951 (1951-05-21)
(as Foshing Airlines)
Commenced operations1 January 1992 (1992-01-01)
(as TransAsia Airways)
Ceased operations22 November 2016 (2016-11-22)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programLegend Flight Club
Subsidiaries
  • V Air
  • TransAsia Catering Services
  • Legend Travel Service
Parent companyGoldsun Construction & Development
HeadquartersNeihu, Taipei, Taiwan
Key people

TransAsia Airways (TNA, until January 1992 known by its Chinese-translated name Foshing Airlines;[1][2] traditional Chinese: 復興航空; simplified Chinese: 复兴航空; pinyin: Fùxīng Hángkōng) was a Taiwanese airline based in Neihu District in Taipei. Though the company started its operations focusing mainly on the Taiwanese domestic market, it operated on many scheduled international routes and focused mainly on Southeast and Northeast Asia and cross-strait flights at the time of closure.

TransAsia suspended operations and shut down indefinitely on 22 November 2016 after a pair of hull loss incidents that occurred within months.[3] Its low-cost subsidiary V Air had already ceased operations in October 2016.[4]

History

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Foshing Airlines

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On 21 May 1951, FOSHIN TRANSPORT CORP. (Foshing Airlines) was formed as the first private civil airline in Taiwan,[5] flying the Taipei - Hualien - Taitung - Kaohsiung route. It also served as local agent for foreign airlines and provided airport ground handling services for foreign airlines.

On 16 October 1958, the management of the airline decided to concentrate its attention on the agency businesses, ceasing domestic services, and strengthening the agency business. It established its airline meal catering services at Songshan Airport (TSA) in 1966. The airline completed a restructure in 1983 and in 1988, domestic flights resumed after a 30-year absence from the market. In 1991, the first ATR 72 aircraft joined the airline.[citation needed]

TransAsia Airways

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Upon launching international routes in January 1992, the English translation changed to "TransAsia Airways" while the Chinese name remained the same.[1][2] In 1992, unscheduled charter services to international destinations, including Laoag, Manila, Cebu, Phnom Penh, Surabaya, Yangon, Phuket, Danang, and Manado, started. The Airbus A320 joined the fleet, becoming the airline's first jet aircraft.[citation needed]

In 1995, the first scheduled international services started to Macau and Surabaya. In early 2012, the airline was reported to be considering an order for Airbus A380 aircraft to facilitate expansion to the United States.[6]

On 1 November 2011, TransAsia Airways was listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.[7] In May 2013, the headquarters moved from Datong District, Taipei to Neihu District, Taipei.[8][9][10][11][12]

In January 2014, the airline announced plans to launch a budget airline named V Air.[13] It commenced operations in December of that year. The budget airline closed on 1 October 2016 and merged with TransAsia.[14]

On 21 November 2016, due to a financial crisis caused by the crashes of Flight 222 and Flight 235, the airline suspended all operations and refunded ticketed passengers.[15] The trading of its stock was suspended simultaneously.[16] The next day, the airline announced an indefinite suspension of operations and refunded all passengers with outstanding tickets.[17][18] As of 2017, some routes operated by TransAsia Airways had been reopened by EVA air, specifically Taipei Songshan to Chongqing, Hangzhou (operated by UNI air), and Tianjin.[19]

On 11 January 2017, the company's shareholders voted to liquidate it.[20]

On 29 June 2018, the company entered bankruptcy and its license was permanently revoked on July 1.[21]

Corporate affairs

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TransAsia headquarters

Ground services

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Besides flight operations, the airline undertook ground handling and ticketing for a number of foreign airlines, such as Thai Airways International, Jetstar, XiamenAir, Sichuan Airlines, and Cebu Pacific.[22] In addition, private jet service was also part of agency services. Since 2006, the airline had cooperated with International SOS to serve medical flights between Mainland China and Taiwan. The airline began its catering service near the Taipei SongShan Airport in 1966 and was officially named TransAsia Catering Services in 2002. Legend Travel Service Ltd, founded in 2011, provided travel- and tourism-related services under the airline group resources.

Brand and livery

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TransAsia Airways introduced a new livery for both staff and aircraft in 2012. Former Shiatzy Chen designer Yin Pei Gun was responsible for the new cabin attendant and ground staff uniforms that appeared that August. The new plane livery, designed by local Taipei company Pace Design, was to be painted on the new Airbus A330, A321ceo, A321neo, and ATR 72-600.

Destinations

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As of November 2016, when it ceased its operations, TransAsia Airways served the following destinations:[23]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
China Changsha Changsha Huanghua International Airport
Chongqing Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport
Fuzhou Fuzhou Changle International Airport
Guiyang Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport
Hangzhou Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
Hefei Hefei Xinqiao International Airport
Nanning Nanning Wuxu International Airport
Shanghai Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Tianjin Tianjin Binhai International Airport
Wuhan Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
Wuxi Sunan Shuofang International Airport
Xiamen Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport
Xuzhou Xuzhou Guanyin Airport
Zhangjiajie Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport
Japan Asahikawa Asahikawa Airport
Fukuoka Fukuoka Airport Planned [24]
Hakodate Hakodate Airport
Naha Naha Airport
Osaka Kansai International Airport
Sapporo New Chitose Airport
Sendai Sendai Airport
Tokyo Narita International Airport
Singapore Singapore Changi Airport [25]
South Korea Busan Gimhae International Airport Planned [26]
Jeju Jeju International Airport
Taiwan Hualien Hualien Airport
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung International Airport Hub
Kinmen Kinmen Airport
Makung Makung Airport
Taichung Taichung International Airport
Taipei Songshan Airport Hub
Taoyuan International Airport Hub
Thailand Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Planned [27][26]
Chiang Mai Chiang Mai International Airport

Codeshare agreements

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TransAsia Airways had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[28]

Fleet

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Foshing Airlines ATR 42-300
TransAsia Airways ATR 72-600. This one crashed as Flight 235.
TransAsia Airways Airbus A330-300

Throughout its existence, TransAsia Airways (and its predecessor Foshing Airlines) had operated the following aircraft types:[29]

TransAsia Airways fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
ATR 42-300 3 1988 1999
ATR 42-320 2 1992 1993
ATR 72-201 8 1990 2007
ATR 72-202 5 1992 2006
ATR-72-500 9 1997 2016
ATR 72-600 8 2014 2018
Airbus A320-200 15 1992 2016
Airbus A321-100 6 1995 2016
Airbus A321-200 6 2015 2018
Airbus A330-300 4 2012 2016

Most of the TransAsia fleet was leased and quickly reclaimed by lessors after TransAsia shut down, leaving just the ATR fleet, two Airbus A321 aircraft, and two Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which had been owned by TransAsia. The Airbus aircraft were auctioned off to Avianca for US$364 million, financed by a sale-leaseback on Avianca's end.[30][31] After the disposal of the Airbus aircraft to Avianca, only the 7 ATR 72-600 remained, initially stored at Taoyuan International Airport, but reregistered to the Guernsey civil register and since moved to Mönchengladbach Airport.

Services

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Business Class

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The business class seating offered on the Airbus A330-300 was in a 2-2-2 configuration, using seats with a 172-degree recline. Each seat had an AVOD system with a 15.4-inch monitor, AC and USB sockets, adjustable reading lights, and multiple storage bins. The seats on the Airbus A320-200 and Airbus A321-100 used a 2-2 seating configuration, with a 160-degree recline.

Economy Class

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Economy Class was in a 2-4-2 configuration on the Airbus A330, a 3-3 configuration on the Airbus A320 and Airbus A321, and a 2-2 configuration on the ATR series. The seats had a pitch of 30 to 32 inches and a 6-degree recline. The AVOD system was only on the Airbus A330, with a 9-inch monitor.

In-flight amenities

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The In-flight entertainment system of TransAsia Airways, named Sky Legend, used Panasonic's eX2 IFE system. It contained real-time flight information, music, movies, and video games. Available languages were English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. Renaissance was the in-flight magazine published by TransAsia Airways; it had content in Traditional Chinese, English, and Japanese. The magazine introduced culture, arts, food, people, design, and style from its destinations.[32]

Accidents and incidents

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  • 30 January 1995: Flight 510A, an ATR 72-200 (registered B-22717), crashed into a hillside during flight from Penghu to Taipei. All four crew members died.[33]
  • 6 January 1996: Flight 529, an Airbus A321-100 en route to Tainan, was hijacked by a man, who was disappointed with domestic political and social developments in Taiwan. He gave a note to one of the flight attendants, claiming to have a bomb. He demanded that the aircraft be flown to Fujian Province, China. The hijacker agreed to allow the crew to land the aircraft in Tainan for refueling; he was arrested after the aircraft landed.[34]
  • 21 December 2002: Flight 791, an ATR 72-200 (registered B-22708), crashed due to icing during a flight from Taipei to Macau. Both crew members died. The aircraft encountered severe icing conditions beyond the certification envelope of the aircraft for such conditions and crashed into the sea 17 km (11 mi) southwest of Makung city. The investigation by the Aviation Safety Council of Taiwan found that the crash was caused by ice accumulation around the aircraft's major components, resulting in the crew losing control. The investigation identified that the flight crew did not respond to the severe icing conditions with the appropriate alert situation awareness and did not take the necessary actions.[35]
  • 21 March 2003: Flight 543, an Airbus A321-100 (registered B-22603), collided with a truck while landing at Tainan Airport at the end of a flight from Taipei Songshan Airport. The truck trespassed onto the runway without its occupants noticing the incoming aircraft. None of the 175 passengers and crew were injured but the two people inside the truck were injured in the collision. The aircraft was severely damaged in the accident and was written off.[36]
  • 18 October 2004:, Flight 536, an Airbus A320-200 (registered B-22310) overran runway 10 while landing at Taipei Songshan Airport and sustained damage to its landing gear and engines. All 106 people survived without any injuries. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[37]
  • 19 July 2005: Flight 028, an ATR 72-212A (registered B-22805), landed at Taipei Songshan Airport. As the aircraft taxied on Taxiway CC after landing, it made an early right turn onto a service road. The aircraft's right wing hit a light pole and stopped. Two pilots, two flight attendants, and 24 passengers were on board. One flight attendant suffered a minor injury. The front spar of the right wing was damaged.[38]
  • 23 July 2014: Flight 222, an ATR 72-500 (registered B-22810) carrying 54 passengers and four crew members from Kaohsiung to Magong, crashed near Magong Airport on Penghu Island. 48 people were confirmed dead while at least seven of the eleven survivors were seriously injured. Some reports suggest there were also five casualties on the ground when the aircraft impacted residential buildings. This crash was the deadliest for the airline.[39][40] The cause was the pilot's intentional descent below the minimum descent altitude during an approach in a typhoon by Typhoon Matmo.[41]
  • 4 February 2015: Flight 235, an ATR 72-600 (registered B-22816), had an engine failure after takeoff from Songshan Airport and crashed at 10:56 a.m. local time into the Keelung River near Taipei, killing 43 of the 53 passengers and five crew on board. This was the second deadly crash in eight months for the airline, prompting an order to ground all of the airline's ATR pilots until they had successfully taken part in an oral exam about emergency procedures.[42]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b 洪哲維 (2015). 全球航空公司名稱之地理空間意涵研究學 (PDF) (Thesis). Graduate School of Geography, National Taiwan Normal University. p. 4,27,82,90. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-12-19.
  2. ^ a b For historical pictures with "Foshing Airlines" on it, see: 洪致文 (2014-06-08). "民航史傳奇人物，復興航空創辦人陳文寬". Archived from the original on 2014-08-13.
  3. ^ "Transasia: Taiwan airline shuts after crashes". BBC News. 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  4. ^ "TransAsia to absorb subsidiary V Air - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  5. ^ Culpan, Tim (23 July 2014). "Taiwan's TransAsia Air Crash on Penghu Island Leaves 47 Dead". Bloomberg. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  6. ^ Cantle, Katie (6 January 2012). "Taiwan's TransAsia Airways mulls A380 order". Air Transport World. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  7. ^ Wang, Shu-fen; Wei, Shu; Wang, Chao-yu; Wu, Lilian (21 November 2016). "TransAsia Airways to suspend operations Tuesday amid financial woes". Central News Agency. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  8. ^ "foot_01.gif." (English) TransAsia Airways. Retrieved on March 2, 2014. "Address: No. 9, Sec. 1, Tiding Blvd., Neihu Dist., Taipei City 11494, Taiwan (R.O.C.)"
  9. ^ "foot_01.gif." (Chinese) TransAsia Airways. Retrieved on March 2, 2014. "公司地址: 北市內湖區堤頂大道一段9號"
  10. ^ "foot_01.gif." TransAsia Airways. Retrieved on January 7, 2011. "Address: 9F, No. 139, Cheng-Chou Rd., Taipei 103, R.O.C"
  11. ^ "09-guestbook.aspx." TransAsia Airways. Retrieved on January 7, 2011. "地址：台北市大同區103鄭州路139號9樓"
  12. ^ "foot_01.gif." TransAsia Airways. Retrieved on January 7, 2011. "台北市鄭州路139號9樓"
  13. ^ Shu-fen, Wang; Huang, Maia (23 January 2014). "Taiwan's first low-cost airline to be named 'V air'". Central News Agency. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  14. ^ Lee, Hsin-Yin (9 August 2016). "V Air to end operations on Oct. 1 (update)". Central News Agency. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  15. ^ Lee, Hsin-yin (21 November 2016). "TransAsia Airways to suspend operations: CAA (update)". Focus Taiwan. Central News Agency. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  16. ^ Hung, Faith (21 November 2016). "UPDATE 2-TransAsia Airways seeks flight suspension, shares halted". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  17. ^ Hung, Faith (22 November 2016). Gibbs, Edwina (ed.). "After plane crashes, Taiwan's TransAsia seeks to wind down operations". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  18. ^ Chen, Ted; Chen, Wei-han (23 November 2016). "TransAsia shuts down". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  19. ^ Liu, Jim (2017-09-24). "EVA Air schedules new routes from Taipei Song Shan in W17". Routesonline. UBM (UK) Ltd. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  20. ^ "Notice of Dissolution of TransAsia Airways Corporation". tna.com.tw. TransAsia Airways. 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2018-04-10. Please be advised that a motion to dissolve TransAsia Airways Corporation (hereinafter referred as "TransAsia") was passed by shareholders of TransAsia at a special shareholders meeting on JAN. 11, 2017.
  21. ^ 106破字第21號宣告破產公告 (司法最新動態) [106 Pozi No. 21 Announcement of Bankruptcy (Judicial Update)]. jirs.judicial.gov.tw (in Chinese). Judicial Yuan. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  22. ^ "復興航空 TransAsia Airways-兩岸直航,國內外套裝行程最佳選擇". www.tna.com.tw. Archived from the original on 2009-08-02.
  23. ^ "Route Map". TransAsia Airways. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  24. ^ "TransAsia Airways adds Fukuoka flights from Dec 2016". routesonline. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  25. ^ "Changi Airport to welcome TransAsia Airways". Changi Airport. 29 June 2011.
  26. ^ a b "TransAsia Airways operation changes from Dec 2016". routesonline. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  27. ^ "TransAsia Airways launches flights to Bangkok from its base in Taipei Taoyuan". anna.aero. 20 March 2013.
  28. ^ "Profile on TransAsia Airways". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  29. ^ "TransAsia Airways Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. 2016-10-01. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  30. ^ "GOAL introduces additional A330-300 aircraft to its fleet for KGAL investors". 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  31. ^ "Avianca to Become First Airbus A330-300 Operator in Latin America". 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  32. ^ "Renaissance".
  33. ^ Ranter, Harro (30 January 1995). "Accident description of TransAsia Airways incident". Aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network (ASN). Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  34. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Hijacking description". Aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network (ASN). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  35. ^ "Aviation Safety Council-Occurrence Investigations". Asc.gov.tw. 2002-12-21. Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  36. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A321-131 B-22603 Tainan Airport (TNN)". Aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network (ASN). Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  37. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A320-232 B-22310 Taipei-Songshan Airport (TSA)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  38. ^ "Transasia Airlines flight GE028; aircraft type ATR 72 registration No.B-22805 rammed into apron flood light stand during taxi phase in Tapei Songshan Airport." asc.gov.tw, 19 July 2005. Retrieved: 7 February 2015.
  39. ^ "45 killed in TransAsia airplane mishap". Indiasnaps.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  40. ^ "Report: Plane crashes in Taiwan, killing 51 people". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  41. ^ "Report: Intentional descent below MDA in thunderstorm causes ATR-72 CFIT accident in Taiwan". Aviation Safety Network News. 2016-01-29. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  42. ^ "Aircraft CRASHES into Taxi and Bridge, WHAT happened?! TransAsia Airways 235". Mentour Pilot. 2022-02-12. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
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