Thrice-weekly non-stop flights between Phoenix and Taipei are set to take off, with China Airlines beginning the service from December 3. A recent delegation from the carrier visited Arizona on September 18, celebrating the news with the local mayor. This news, for the city of Phoenix, comes as Starlux also plans its own services to the city.
Taiwanese carrier, China Airlines, won’t be new to Phoenix, having already operated several successful charter services to the city, which not only enabled strong inbound tourism, but also let the airline gain experience in both passenger and cargo operations to the state.
China Airlines Non-Stop To Phoenix
China Airlines had already announced back in July its intentions to commence direct services between Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) and 
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). These services, which were to be direct on the outbound, were to incur one stop on the return, touching down at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for two hours and 30 minutes, adding extra time to the overall flight duration.
The latest news, where China Airlines will eliminate the Los Angeles layover, is undoubtedly going to appeal better for the international traveler, and will complement the other direct services the airline already operates to North America, including New York, Los Angeles, Ontario, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver.
Once the Phoenix service takes off, it will equate to a total of 40 non-stop trips to North America for the airline, solidifying the carrier as a major operator between Taiwan and the continent. The only other operators that serve Taiwan (Taipei) from North America are EVA Air (Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York JFK, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver), Starlux (Los Angeles, Ontario, San Francisco, Seattle, and Phoenix (the latter from January 15), and United Airlines (San Francisco, an additional service does operate to the Micronesian unincorporated territory of the United States, Guam International Airport).
The Flight Details
The updated non-stop service will depart from Taipei three times a week on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday for the outbound trip. Operating as CI036, the flight will push back at 16:30 for the non-stop journey to Phoenix, Arizona, with a block time as noted on the airline’s website as 12 hours, five minutes, eastbound, touching down the same day at 13:35.
For the return trip, operating as CI035, this flight will depart from Phoenix on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, for the 15-hour, 20-minute trip west. With a scheduled push-back time of 16:00, this flight will travel overnight, crossing the international date line, to arrive at 22:20 the next day. Operated by the airline Airbus A350-900, the airline has two configurations, with a maximum capacity of 306 passengers onboard. Further fleet details below as per ch-aviation:
|
Airbus A350-900 |
Business Class Seats |
Premium Economy Class Seats |
Economy Class Seats |
Total Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Configuration One |
32 |
31 |
243 |
306 |
|
Configuration Two |
40 |
32 |
228 |
300 |
China Airlines has 15 of the A350-900 currently in service, with another five awaiting delivery. The airline currently has one of these planes on lease from SAS, which carries the 
SAS cabin configuration. There are also plans to retrofit the cabins with new upgraded onboard amenities, which are expected from 2027.
A Meeting With The Mayor
President of China Airlines, Kevin Chen, along with a delegation from the carrier, visited Phoenix this week and met with the city’s mayor, Kate Gellago. This visit was to celebrate the announcement of the airline’s decision to eliminate the Los Angeles stopover, instead planning to operate nonstop.
As far as international carriers operating Asia-bound services at PHX, China Airlines will become the first this December, followed closely by Starlux the month following. These two Taiwanese carriers will remain the only international airlines flying to Asia, and both offer a growing range of simple one-stop itineraries to the wider Asian continent.
As part of the celebration for the Phoenix service, China Airlines will also be launching an immersive, desert-themed event at ATT 4 FUN, located in Taipei’s Xinyi District, which will include dancers, balloons, and singing performances. As part of this event, there will also be a lottery draw, which will include the grand prize of Premium Business Class seats to Phoenix.
