China Airlines (IATA CI) is a carrier from Taiwan, a member of the SkyTeam alliance. In the SiamFlights route catalogue, China Airlines serves 3 routes reaching 1 destination, with home hubs at Taipei (TPE). Its checked-baggage baseline is 30 kg. Local brand strength rates 6/10.
Routes China Airlines flies from Thailand & the region — 3 corridors
China Airlines (CI) appears on 3 corridors in our catalogue, reaching 1 destination in 1 country and roughly 81 weekly departures combined. The densest is BKK–TPE at 63 a week. On 1 of them it is the only carrier we record.
| Route | Freq/wk | Hours | Cluster | Market low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangkok (BKK) → Taipei (TPE) | 63× | 3.7 | A | ฿4,500 |
| Phuket (HKT) → Taipei (TPE) | 14× | 4.0 | D | — |
| Chiang Mai (CNX) → Taipei (TPE) | 4× | 3.7 | D | — |
The market-low column is the cheapest fare in our Travelpayouts cache on that corridor across all carriers, not a China Airlines-only price — use it as a floor when comparing.
A network across many countries means many rulebooks. China Airlines’s corridors in our catalogue touch 1 country: Taiwan. Each has its own regulator, so passenger rights attach not only to the airline but to the country the flight departs from. Two flights on the same airline can carry completely different entitlements.
Corridors with no competitor in our catalogue. On 1 route (CNX–TPE) China Airlines is the only carrier we record. There is no rival fare holding the ceiling down and no alternative inventory to move to when something breaks. That changes how you plan far more than how you hunt discounts: build in slack and read the change conditions before buying.
Airline at a glance
China Airlines is registered in Taiwan and sits in SkyTeam. We record a 30 kg baseline checked allowance. Our own brand-strength score for the Thai market is 6/10. On 1 of them it is the only carrier we record.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| IATA code | CI |
| Home country | Taiwan |
| Alliance | SkyTeam |
| Home hubs | Taipei (TPE) |
| Baggage baseline | 30 kg |
| Migrant-worker uplift | none |
| Hajj/Umrah charter | no |
| Infant fare | ~10% of adult |
| Brand strength (Thailand) | 6/10 |
China Airlines’s checked-baggage baseline is 30 kg.
The 10% infant fare does not include a seat. It applies to a lap infant travelling without its own seat. Want a separate seat or a car seat and the ticket becomes a child fare, priced as a share of the full fare, with an adult-style allowance. On long sectors the number of positions where a bassinet can be fitted is limited and they go early — request one as far ahead as possible if you need it.
What SkyTeam membership buys, and what it does not. It buys through-checked baggage on a single ticket, cross-carrier mileage earning and redemption, status-based lounge access, and a realistic chance of being moved onto a partner’s flight when yours is cancelled. It does not buy compensation rights. Those come only from the law of the jurisdiction involved, and no alliance extends them.
China Airlines network & booking
China Airlines’s network in our catalogue covers 3 corridors, based at Taipei (TPE). Cached fares across them run from ฿4,000 (BKK–TPE) to ฿9,414 (CNX–TPE). On 1 of them it is the only carrier we record. The bases we record for it are Taipei (TPE).
In this catalogue China Airlines’s network reaches 1 destination across 1 country — Taiwan. Most corridors serve GCC labour & Muslim pilgrims and ASEAN & regional leisure travellers. All fares are shown in Thai baht (THB); compare live prices and schedules for each city pair on the route pages, and infant fares run about 10% of the adult fare. The lowest fare in our cache across this network is about ฿4,500 on BKK-TPE — prices move with season, so check live fares before booking.
The low-fare column is not this airline’s fare. Each value is the cheapest fare our cache recorded on that corridor across every carrier serving it, not attributed to China Airlines. On a multi-carrier route the low may well belong to a competitor. Read it as a corridor reference line, not as this airline’s price.
Passenger rights & compensation
China Airlines appears on 3 corridors in our catalogue. China Airlines is registered in Taiwan and answers primarily to Taiwan Civil Aeronautics Administration. The common misreading is that rights travel with the airline. In practice they change first with the country the flight departs from.
China Airlines passenger protection is governed by Taiwan Civil Aeronautics Administration — covering care, rerouting and refunds for cancellations/long delays. There is no fixed EU261-style cash schedule; check the regulator’s official terms before filing.
Baggage runs on a separate legal frame. Liability for baggage lost, damaged or delayed on an international journey sits under the Montreal Convention 1999 where both states are parties. Caps are denominated in SDR and revised periodically, so only the current figure is usable. Crucially this is independent of delay compensation: you can have no compensation claim and still have a baggage claim.
Collect evidence from day one. Whichever frame applies, the burden of proof sits with the passenger. Keep every boarding pass, the airline’s own delay notice or message, receipts for food and accommodation while you waited, and the actual arrival time against the scheduled one. Most rejected claims fail not because there was no right but because nothing documented what actually happened when.
How China Airlines fits travellers
China Airlines appears on 3 corridors in our catalogue. China Airlines’s corridors in our catalogue distribute across passenger clusters as: ASEAN & regional leisure (2), GCC labour & Muslim pilgrims (1), with 1 flagged as labour/migrant corridors. The split is computed from our own route data, not from the airline’s marketing.
China Airlines’s catalogued routes matter most to the GCC labour & Muslim pilgrims and ASEAN & regional leisure segment(s). Its Taipei (TPE) hub(s) are the main transit points. Compare schedules, baggage and fares against other carriers on the route pages before booking.
Sector length changes what is worth paying for. Of the 3 China Airlines corridors where we record a block time, 2 run under four hours and 0 run seven hours or more. Short sectors turn on departure time and baggage; long ones turn on the seat, the catering and what happens if the flight is cancelled. A seat fee that is poor value across two hours is usually sound value across ten.
1 labour corridors in this network. The flag in our data marks routes where a significant share of passengers travel to work abroad. In practice baggage matters more than seat price there, and the extra-weight policies some carriers apply on such routes are route-and-fare conditions rather than universal entitlements. Always get it confirmed in writing at ticketing.
Sources
China Airlines in our fare record
Across 12 weekly fare captures on corridors China Airlines serves, the code CI appears as the carrier holding the low 1 times — 8%. The cheapest such reading was ฿10,901 on CNX–TPE in week 2026-W20. Our own Thai-market brand-strength score for it is 6/10.
Why a weekly cadence misses promotions. We capture once a week per corridor, so a promotion that opens and closes inside a few days can go unrecorded entirely. That means this series systematically under-counts how often exceptional lows occur. Read it as a picture of price level, not as a deal-catching instrument.
Where this carrier holds the low most often. CNX–TPE (1×). On those corridors China Airlines is the reference price to beat. Elsewhere in the network the low falls to other carriers more often, which is why checking two or three airlines before booking still pays even when you already intend to fly this one.
What this measures, and what it does not. We capture each corridor’s lowest fare once a week and record which carrier code that value was attached to. The 8% figure therefore says how often this airline surfaced as the cheapest option in the window we observed. It does not say whether the airline is expensive or cheap on average, and it says nothing about what the others charged that week. A low share is not evidence of a high price.
FAQ
How many routes does China Airlines fly in the SiamFlights catalogue?
China Airlines (CI) serves 3 routes relevant to travellers from Thailand in our catalogue.
What is China Airlines’s checked-baggage allowance?
A 30 kg baseline. Always confirm on the official site before travel.
What alliance is China Airlines in?
China Airlines is a member of SkyTeam.
Which regulator oversees China Airlines?
Taiwan Civil Aeronautics Administration, by country of registration. But passenger rights are set first by the country the flight departs from — anything leaving Thailand sits with Thailand CAAT.
Does the China Airlines infant fare include a seat?
No. The roughly 10% rate applies to a lap infant with no seat of its own. A separate seat makes it a child fare, priced as a share of the full fare.
Is the low-fare column China Airlines’s own price?
No. It is the cheapest fare our cache recorded on that corridor across every carrier serving it. On a multi-carrier route the low may belong to a competitor.