FAT Taiwan Inc. (遠東航空股份有限公司 Yuǎndōng Hángkōng Gǔfènyǒuxiàngōngsī), doing business as Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT, 遠東航空 Yuǎndōng Hángkōng), is an airline with its head office in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China).[1]
Established in 1957, it operated domestic services from Taipei and Kaohsiung to five regional cities and international services to Southeast Asia, South Korea and Palau. Its main base was Taipei Songshan Airport.[2] After a chain of financial crises broke out in early 2008, the airline publicly announced its bankruptcy and stopped all flights on and beyond 13 May 2008. The airline restarted its services on April 18, 2011.[3]
[edit] History
The airline was established in 1957 and started operations in November 1957. It originally focused on charter flights until the introduction of scheduled services in January 1965. For the next 30 years this carrier was the No. 1 brand in Taiwanese domestic routes and was granted the right to fly regular international flights in 1996, from Kaohsiung International Airport to Palau and Subic Bay. It started cargo operations in the Asian region in 2004. The airline had 1,220 employees (at March 2007).[2] Beginning in 2004, FAT invested in the Cambodian airline, Angkor Airways. Angkor Airways subsequently shut down flight operations on May 9, 2009. The chairman, Alex Lou(樓文豪) was put into custody by Cambodian police on May 9, 2009 for his alleged breach of trust.[4]
Due to the ever-rising fuel prices and Taiwan High Speed Rail's inauguration, the airline suffered financial losses since early 2007 and the situation was seriously worsened by poor financial management and risky investments. On 13 February 2008 FAT failed to pay the USD 848,000 it owed to the International Clearing House, a financial subsidiary of IATA, and IATA cancelled the airline's membership as a result. Although a local court granted FAT's restructuring application on 23 February 2008, in the next three months it still failed to obtain the necessary funds and the company's bankruptcy protection expired on 22 May. FAT had stopped paying employee salaries but the staff were still on duty as of May 2008 because they wanted to try to save the company but some were saying they could not hold on much longer.[5]
On November 27, 2010, an MD-83 (aircraft registration number: B-28025) of FAT began flight test at Taipei Songshan Airport at 10am. The plane successfully landed and returned to the airport at 12:20pm. The aviation authority in Taiwan granted a test flight license to FAT but required an additional test flight and $50 million New Taiwan Dollar as deposit before the re-granting an airline operating license.[6] The airline restarted its services on April 18, 2011.
[edit] Destinations
Boeing 757-27A "B-27013" from Far Eastern Air Transport in Kaohsiung in October 2006
Far Eastern Air Transport currently operates the following services
- Cambodia
- China
- Philippines
- Taiwan
- Vietnam
[edit] Former destinations
- Indonesia: Bali
- Malaysia: Kota Kinabalu
- North Korea: Pyongyang
- Palau - Koror
- Philippines: Laoag
- South Korea : Busan, Jeju, Seoul
- Taiwan: Hualien, Kaohsiung, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tainan, Taitung
- Vietnam : Hanoi
Far Eastern Air Transport MD-82 at Taipei Songshan Airport
The Far Eastern Air Transport fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of Aug 2011):
Far Eastern Air Transport Fleet
| Aircraft |
In Fleet |
Fixing |
Order |
Passengers
(Economy) |
| MD-82 |
2 |
3 |
- |
165 |
| MD-83 |
2 |
1 |
- |
143 |
| Boeing 757 |
- |
2 |
- |
178 |
| Airbus A320 |
- |
- |
3~5 |
TBA |
| Total |
4 |
6 |
3~5 |
|
[edit] Incidents and accidents
- On 15 February 1969, Douglas C-47B B-241 was damaged beyond economic repair in an accident at Kaohsiung International Airport, Taiwan.[7]
- On 24 February 1969, Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104, a Handley Page Dart Herald, crashed near Tainan City. All 36 passengers and crew on board were killed.[8]
- On 24 April 1969, Douglas C-47A B-251 was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at Phanitet Airport, Vietnam. All 31 passengers and crew survived.[9]
- On 20 February 1970, Douglas DC-3 B-243 crashed into a mountain shortly after take-off from Sung Shan Airport, Taipei. The aircraft was operating a cargo flight, both crew were killed.[10]
- On 7 October 1974, a Vickers Viscount was the subject of an attempted hijacking. The hijacker was overpowered and the aircraft landed at its intended destination of Taipei Songshan Airport.[11]
- On 31 July 1975, Vickers Viscount B-2029 of Far Eastern Air Transport crashed at Taipei Songshan Airport killing 27 of the 75 people on board.[12]
- On 16 April 1977, Douglas C-47A B-247 was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at Tainan Airport.[13]
- On 26 August 1980, Bouraq Indonesia Airlines Vickers Viscount PK-IVS suffered an in-flight failure of the starboard elevator and crashed 26 kilometres (16 mi) north east of Jakarta, Indonesia killing all 37 people on board. The Viscount was leased from FAT[14]
- On 22 August 1981, Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103, a Boeing 737, broke up in flight. Severe corrosion in the fuselage structure led to an explosive decompression and breakup at high altitude. All 110 on board were killed.[15]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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