fictional story

In 1980, China Airlines began to replace the previous generation of jet aircraft to further improve the operational efficiency of short-haul routes and meet the increasing passenger demand year by year. Especially for the high-demand route from Taipei to Hong Kong, China Airlines urgently needs an aircraft with a large passenger capacity and suitable for short-distance operations. Based on such demand, China Airlines ordered 10 Soviet-made Ilyushin IL-86 wide-body passenger aircraft in the same year.
The IL-86 is the first wide-body passenger aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. It is positioned as a short- to medium-range, high-passenger four-engine passenger aircraft and can accommodate more than 300 passengers. For the Taiwanese market, which was experiencing rapid economic growth at that time, the performance and efficiency of the IL-86 were very suitable for China Airlines' needs.

China Airlines' first IL-86 was delivered in early 1981 , and other ordered aircraft arrived subsequently. In the early days of service, the IL-86 was recognized for its reliability and passenger capacity, but the original NK-86 turbofan engine had problems with low fuel efficiency and high noise. In order to improve operating costs and enhance competitiveness, China Airlines decided to upgrade and modify all 10 IL-86s. At the end of 1981, the original NK-86 engines of these aircraft were replaced with American-made CFM56-5B1 turbofan engines . This upgrade significantly reduces fuel consumption, improves environmental performance, and makes the IL-86 more in line with international route standards.

During its service period, IL-86 was mainly used on short-distance high-density routes such as Taipei to Hong Kong and Taipei to Japan. With their high passenger capacity and stable performance, these aircraft have become the main models of China Airlines' short-haul routes. The introduction of IL-86 effectively alleviated the pressure of rapid growth in flight demand at that time and made China Airlines more competitive in the Asian market.
With the continuous advancement of aviation technology in the 1990s and the introduction of more efficient aircraft such as the Boeing 767 and Airbus A300, the IL-86 gradually withdrew from China Airlines' main fleet. By 1999, all 10 IL-86s were retired and flown to the Mojave Desert Airport in California, USA, for storage. Although these aircraft still had some technical value, due to high maintenance costs and limited market demand, China Airlines finally decided to dismantle all IL-86s in 2010.