Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) China Airlines took delivery of the first of 25 A321neo passenger planes ordered from Airbus in Hamburg, Germany Monday, the airline has announced.
The Airbus A321neo has the longest fuselage out of all the two-class interior layout planes in Airbus' single-aisle A320 family and is known for its versatile cargo-loading system.
The craft's designation, "neo," stands for new engine option, which gives the plane improved fuel efficiency and climb rate compared to its predecessors from the A321 line, according to Airbus.
In a press release issued Monday, China Airlines, a SkyTeam member, announced that the company had opted to retrofit flatbed chairs as the 12 seats in the planes' business class cabins.
The business class cabins have two seats in each of their two rows and also feature various luxurious upgrades that the company describes as fitting in a time where limited contact is preferred due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Aside from paired seats that fully fold out into beds, the seats also have partitions that can be adjusted to reduce contact with fellow passengers.
While the 168-seater economy class, designed with two rows of three chairs each, does not have partitions, the airline said that prevention measures can still be upheld through the use of upgraded technology.
Both classes are fitted with a total of 180 HD entertainment units that are controlled through personal smartphones, so as to limit the number of times a unit is touched by different passengers.
Headsets that are passed around in-flight have been done away with, with the entertainment centers instead compatible with all personal Bluetooth audio devices.
The airline went on to reveal that other efforts to limit contact include sensor-activated taps and high-efficiency particulate air filters in all lavatories, with the filters set to purify the air within the stalls every two to three minutes.
The A321neo planes will become the workhorse of China Airlines' main fleet for regional flights in the near future, the airline said.
