TransAsia Airways

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.

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.

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 have 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]

Besides flight operations, the airline undertook ground handling and ticketing for a number of foreign airlines, such as Thai Airways, Jetstar Airways, XiamenAir, Sichuan Airlines, and Cebu Pacific Air.[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.

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.

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

• Shenzhen Airlines
• Sichuan Airlines
• XiamenAir

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 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.

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.[33]