TransAsia Airways, based in Taipei, is the first private civil airline in Taiwan. Its operations focus mainly on the domestic market and short-haul international routes, but it is planning to expand to destinations further afield. The company is now the third biggest airline in Taiwan, after Taipei-based China Airlines and Eva Air, and also operates a subsidiary budget airline called “V Air”.
TransAsia Airways was founded in 1951 and at the time it was known as Foshing Airlines in English, which is a transliteration of its Chinese name. In the early days, it provided passenger and cargo services to destinations such as Taipei, Kaohsiung, Hualien, and Taitung, and operated charter flights to the outlying Taiwanese islands of Kinmen and Matsu.
In his autobiography, one of the founders of TransAsia Airways, Chen Wen-kuan, said the airline was set up at the request of Taiwanese intelligence authorities to carry out secret missions on behalf of the military.
In 1958, TransAsia Airways transported arms and supplies to Indonesia’s Celebes Island to help the local forces fight against the Sukarno administration.
Also in 1958, TransAsia ceased all air services to concentrate on serving as a local agent for foreign airlines. Then, after an absence of 30 years, TransAsia’s domestic flight services resumed in 1988. Later, the company also added a number of international destinations.
In recent years, TransAsia Airways has come under fire for its safety record. Statistics show that the airline had 10 incidents in the past 13 years, including three fatal crashes.