AIRWAYS SPECIAL
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7 Japan Asia Airways was the first airline brand created to avoid diplomatic conflicts with the People ’ s Republic of China . // CONTRI
8 Wearing the iconic “ Landor ” livery , British Asia Airways replaced the Royal Crown logo on the tail with figures in Mandarin . // TIM REES
9 Australia Asia Airlines is the only airline that almost completely deletes all references to its parent company , Qantas , keeping only the basic colors of the livery . // JOHN M . WHEATLEY
AIRLINES FORCED TO CHOOSE SIDES
The outcome of the Chinese Civil War forced the rest of the world to decide which government to recognize .
Among the many unpleasant consequences , the PRC threatened European airlines with severe sanctions if any tried to open nonstop routes to the profitable city of Taipei in Taiwan . These sanctions ranged from route bans to important destinations like Beijing and Shanghai , to full prohibitions of flying over the mainland .
This seemed like a dead end for Western carriers . And it forced airlines to find interesting work-arounds .
On September 15 , 1975 , a Japan Airlines ( JL ) Boeing 747 landed at Taipei-Songshan Airport ( TSA )— but it was not exactly a Japan Airlines plane . The carrier had founded a separate subsidiary , under the name
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60 AIRWAYS MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2024 www . airwaysmag . com