China Airlines flies the first Transpacific flight to Ontario
On the 25 of March, China Airlines flew their inaugural flight to the American city of Ontario, California. The new route between Taiwan and Ontario is operated using a Boeing 777-300ER which is configured with 358 seats. Although the inaugural flight to Ontario was slightly empty, China Airlines has seen experienced immense demand for the route and has had to increase its frequencies to the American city.
Flight CI24, the inaugural flight to Ontario, arrived on time at 1:20pm, with 298 passengers and crew which meant that the flight was not entirely full. The flight marked an achievement for Ontario International Airport, as it marked the first transoceanic flight from the airport. CI25 departed Ontario at 3:45pm with an almost full flight of 338 passengers. The flight was, and still is becoming increasingly popular and so China Airlines had to increase its schedules to and from Ontario from 4 weekly flights to daily. The new route will continue to be operated by a 777-300ER that is configured in a 3 class layout. The aircraft has 40 business class seats, 62 premium economy seats and 256 in economy class.
China Airlines has been focusing on strengthening its network since 2011. The airline focused on its domestic network over the period between 2011 and 2015. Between 2015 and 2020, the airlines' long haul destinations to Europe, North America and Oceania have been upgraded to be served by newer more efficient jets such as the A350 and 777-300ER. As London Heathrow can be expensive to have as a destination, with its high landing fees and slots, China Airlines opened a new route to a cheaper alternative airport, London Gatwick. China Airlines currently has big plans to expand to many European destinations including flights to Barcelona, Prague, Paris, Madrid and Milan. In North America, the Chinese airline is planning to lauch flights to Cleveland, Detroit, Memphis and many more, however all of the above are not scheduled or confirmed yet.
Ontario International Airport is currently served by 11 airlines including their subsidiarys. Low-cost giant, Southwest Airlines offers by far the most destinations and operates 50% of all the destinations served from Ontario. One of Southwests' major competitors, Frontier Airlines, also operates to Ontario, however they only compete together on the Ontario to Denver service which is also served by United Airlines.
Cargo is also a big business for Ontario, and the airport serves 62 different destinations operated by just 6 airlines including subsidiarys. UPS Airlines operates by far the largest number of destinstions. The cargo giant operates 40% of all cargo destinations from Ontario.
Looking into the future, Ontario looks like it could become a convenient replacement for nearby Los Angeles airport if a replacement is needed for the already crowded airport. Although Ontario is not very close to the huge city of Los Angeles, added infrastructure and transport modes to and from Ontario and Los Angeles, could attract many passengers to fly on some of the destinations Ontario offers.