Air China has planned a total of 680 million yuan (US$85 million) for flight safety investment this year, reaching its highest level in history.

Safety is Air China's most important feature, it claims, so Air China will spare no efforts in ensuring flight safety, said Li Jiaxiang, president of the China National Aviation Holding Company.

In recent years, Air China has kept increasing investment in flight safety. A precise instrument jointly developed with Boeing went through successful operation, which will raise the safety standard to a new level on the route to Tibet.

Li said over the weekend that two of Air China's Boeing 737 aircraft are used in training instead of operation, which helps increase pilots operation ability. The two aircraft would have gained annual revenues of over 200 million yuan (US$25 million) every year if they were in operation.

Air China's flight training center is China's first center to use simulators and also China's most advanced one.

(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2005)