China Airlines — based in the Republic of China, not to be confused with Air China based in the People’s Republic of China — offers a fantastic inflight product from their hub at Taipei and is a member of SkyTeam. Arguably redeeming awards on China Airlines delivers the best experience you can get with Delta SkyMiles.

They currently serve the U.S. with Taipei – Los Angeles (twice daily), San Francisco (9x weekly), New York JFK (4x weekly), Honolulu (2x weekly), and Guam (4x weekly).

China Airlines Cargo at Miami, Copyright: icholakov / 123RF Stock Photo

They don’t offer passenger service to Seattle, Chicago, or a variety of Delta hubs which might seem more likely next cities than… Ontario?

However they announced on Friday that they’re evaluating Taoyuan-Ontario service “due to increasing demand for travel between Taiwan and California.” The San Gabriel Valley has a significant Chinese population.

In the future, those traveling to California by China Airlines can choose to continue flying into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) or fly to Ontario International Airport (ONT) instead to save on travel, immigration and luggage pickup time.

China Airlines Chairman Nuan-Hsuan Ho stated that during a recent visit by a delegation of U.S. Congressmen to China Airlines, on August 30, Ed Royce, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee mentioned that Taiwan is currently California’s 4th largest trading partner and that travel between Taiwan and the US had increased by around 30% since Taiwan was added to the Visa Waiver Program.

The mayor of Taoyuan City signed a sister city agreement with San Bernardino County last month. They see the market east of Los Angeles as significant. However before starting service “several recommendations have been proposed to Ontario International Airport” as “[n]ecessary improvements” which are seen as preconditions to a “formal agreement” on the start of service.

If nothing else, Ontario – Taipei makes more sense than Ontario – Nanchang on Dynamic Airways using a Boeing 767 and making a technical stop in Anchorage.

(HT: @JeffLiu9)