TransAsia Airways was a Taiwanese carrier that grew steadily throughout the course of its 65-year history. Initially serving internal routs under a different name, the airline later experienced an international expansion that saw it fly both narrowbody and widebody jetliners. However, two fatal crashes in the 2010s spelled the end.

Initially a domestic airline

The carrier that later became TransAsia Airways first came into existence in May 1951 as Foshing Airlines. This company had the honor of being the first private civil airline ever to have been established in Taiwan. Flying out of Taipei, the Taiwanese capital, Foshing Airlines' first routes served the likes of Hualien, Kaohsiung, and Taitung.

Interestingly, Foshing Airlines then went on to have a three-decade operational hiatus. This came about in 1958, when its management decided to focus on working as a local agency and ground handling company for foreign airlines. In the following decade, it also set up a catering business at Taipei's Songshan Airport in 1966.

Eventually, when the 1980s rolled around, the company looked to get back into the business of flying once again. Following a restructure in 1983, domestic flights within Taiwan resumed five years later. After another three years had passed, in 1991, Foshing Airlines took another step forward by receiving its first ATR 72.

Airbus_A330-300_(TransAsia_Airways)_-_F-WWYH_-_MSN_1378_(10313136076)
TransAsia Airways' largest aircraft were its Airbus A330-300s. Photo: Laurent Errera via Wikimedia Commons

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International expansion

A year after the ATR 72 came onboard, 1992 saw the airline opt to launch its first international routes. It was at this point that it took on the TransAsia Airways identity. To begin with, TransAsia operated these international services on a charter basis, and they served destinations such as Phuket and Yangon.

Data from ATDB.aero shows that, that same year, TransAsia Airways received its first jetliner, which came in the form of the Airbus A320. By the middle of the decade, the international charters were being supplemented with regularly scheduled cross-border flights. These connected Taiwan with the likes of Macau and Surabaya.

Moving into the 2010s, TransAsia Airways had even begun operating widebody aircraft. Specifically, its twin-aisle fleet consisted of four Airbus A330-300s, which joined the carrier between November 2012 and November 2015. However, despite the airline's international promise, a pair of fatal accidents stopped it in its tracks.

TransAsia Airways ATR 72
Both of TransAsia's fatal accidents in the mid-2010s involved the ATR 72. Photo: Steven Byles via Flickr

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The end of the line

The first occurred in July 2014, when flight 222 from Kaohsiung to Magong hit buildings while attempting to land in adverse weather. 48 of the aircraft's 58 occupants perished, with a further 43 losing their lives less than a year later when flight 235 crashed shortly after departing Taipei. This was caused by a pilot error, which saw the only operating engine mistakenly shut down after the other failed.

These two tragedies prompted a financial crisis at the airline, although it did remain operational for almost another two years. It eventually suspended all of its flights in November 2016, with its shareholders voting to liquidate the company the following January. It entered bankruptcy and lost its license in 2018.

What do you make of Foshing Airlines/TransAsia Airways' history? Did you ever fly with the carrier in either of its forms? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.