Tag: Airlines and Airplanes

With Record Military Incursions, China Warns Taiwan and the U.S.

Chin@Strategy

China sent a record number of military aircraft to menace self-ruled Taiwan in a large show of force to the Biden administration, signaling that Beijing wants to maintain pressure on Taiwan even as some tensions between the superpowers are easing. The swarm of Chinese fighter jets, maritime patrol planes and drones that buzzed the airspace near Taiwan in the 24-hour period leading to Monday morning demonstrated Beijing’s appetite for confrontation with the United States over Taiwan, the island democracy China claims as its territory. The military activity — which, according…

How Finnair’s Huge Bet on Faster Flights to Asia Suddenly Came Undone

Chin@Strategy

Nestled near Europe’s rooftop, Finland spent decades leveraging its location to become a popular gateway for Asian travelers. Its flagship airline, Finnair, offered flights from Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai to Helsinki that, by crossing over Russia, were hours shorter than flights to any other European capital. Airport chiefs invested nearly $1 billion in a new terminal with streamlined transfers. There were signs in Japanese, Korean and Chinese, and hot water dispensers for the instant noodle packets favored by Chinese tourists. Then Russia sent troops across Ukraine’s border on Feb. 24,…

China Eastern Crash Report Doesn’t Explain Why the Jet Plummeted

Chin@Strategy

BEIJING — The pilots had met China’s standards for flying a commercial jet. No problems were found with the aircraft before it took off. No dangerous cargo had been loaded aboard. Communications with the plane appeared normal until its deadly plunge. A preliminary report released on Wednesday by China’s aviation safety regulator failed to dispel much of the mystery about why a China Eastern jet suddenly went into a nosedive in clear weather last month and crashed into a muddy hillside, killing all 132 people aboard. The report mainly cataloged…

From the U.S. to China: A 3-Month Quarantine Horror Story

Chin@Strategy

Before boarding his flight from Los Angeles to the Chinese city of Guangzhou, Xue Liangquan, a California-based lawyer, knew he was in for a bit of a headache. To visit his parents in eastern Shandong Province in January, for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, Mr. Xue, 37, had already shelled out $7,600 for airfare. He had submitted negative test results to the Chinese authorities, as required for entry. Upon arrival, he would have to do three weeks of quarantine. Even so, he never could have foreseen just…

A Flight Over China in Clear Skies, Followed by a Nosedive

Chin@Strategy

BEIJING — China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 was at 29,100 feet in clear afternoon skies over the hills of southern China, seemingly ready for a smooth landing in Guangzhou. The plane, a Boeing 737-800 NG, was only seven years old. One of China’s most experienced aviators was among the three pilots in the cockpit. But then, at 2:20 p.m. on March 21, the aircraft plummeted. Air traffic controllers made frantic calls that went unanswered. The pilots sent no Mayday messages. The plane fell more than 20,000 feet in less than…

China Plane Crash: Second ‘Black Box’ Is Found, Officials Say

Chin@Strategy

Search crews have found the second of two flight recorders from a passenger plane that abruptly plunged to earth in southern China, killing 132 people, officials said on Sunday, nearly a week after the disaster. Flight recorders, which collect crucial information, including the pilots’ communications and data on the plane’s engines and performance, could help explain why China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 lost more than 20,000 feet in altitude in just over a minute before crashing into a hillside in the region of Guangxi. Chinese authorities confirmed on Saturday what…

China Eastern Pilots Were Experienced, Adding to Mystery of Crash

Chin@Strategy

The pilot of the China Eastern Airlines flight that crashed in southern China with 132 people aboard was an industry veteran with more than 6,000 hours of flying time. His co-pilot was even more experienced, having flown since the early days of China’s post-Mao era, training on everything from Soviet-model biplanes to newer Boeing models. Together, the men operating Flight 5735 had more than 39,000 hours of flying experience, the equivalent of four and a half years nonstop in the cockpit, adding to the mystery of why the plane plunged…

China Eastern Jet’s Steep Plunge Suggests Little Chance of Survival

Chin@Strategy

A day after a Boeing 737 plane crashed in southern China, hundreds of firefighters, police officers and paramilitary troops were combing the region’s lush hillsides for survivors. Orthopedic surgeons and burn specialists waited at nearby hospitals. Students lined up for blood donation drives, according to Chinese news reports on Tuesday. At the crash site, workers found burned identity cards, purses, cellphones and other belongings, news reports said. But the likelihood that any of the 132 people onboard the plane made it out alive appeared increasingly slim. The China Eastern Airlines…

The Boeing 737-800 NG is widely used around the world.

Chin@Strategy

The Boeing 737-800 NG, the model that crashed in China on Monday, is a workhorse of the skies. There are nearly 25,000 passenger planes in service worldwide, according to Cirium, an aviation data provider. Of those, about 4,200, or 17 percent, are Boeing 737-800 NGs. China is home to nearly 1,200 of those planes, followed by Europe, with nearly 1,000, and the United States, with nearly 800. American Airlines has 265 737-800 NGs in service, while Southwest Airlines has 205, United Airlines has 136 and Delta Air Lines has 77,…

How I Made It to the Beijing Olympics

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How I Made It to the Beijing Olympics Alan BlinderReporting on the Olympic Games ⛷ China is hosting this year’s Winter Olympics in a bubble. For me, the bubble formed not in Beijing — but more than 5,000 miles away, at Charles de Gaulle Airport, outside of Paris. Here’s what my trip looked like → NYT