EVA Air to expand flight services to more Chinese cities
Staff writer, with CNA
7 December 2010
Taipei Times

EVA Airways Corp (EVA Air), one of the nations leading international carriers, yesterday said it would launch flights to more destinations in China later this month to capitalize on booming cross-strait tourism.

EVA Air, along with its subsidiary Uni Airways Corp will fly between Taipei and Zhengzhou in Henan Province twice a week beginning on Friday and between Taipei and Jinan in Shandong Province once a week starting on Dec. 18, the carrier said.

Starting on Dec. 20, EVA Air will also operate one flight a week between Taichung and Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, adding to its current schedule of two flights a week between the cities and one flight a week between Kaohsiung and Ningbo.

The carrier said it would become the first Taiwanese airline to fly between Taipei and Jinan once the new services are launched.

In the initial phase, the Taipei-Jinan route will be operated on a charter basis, offering all the seats to travel agencies in China, because of strong interest from Jinan residents to visit Taiwan, the carrier said.

EVA Air added that it could increase the number of chartered flights in the future and eventually operate the route on a regular basis.

The airline expected loading rates on the Taipei-Jinan and Taipei-Zhengzhou routes to both be at least 80 percent.

Zhengzhou, which ranks among Chinas top eight ancient cities, has long been a tourism attraction, but EVA Air also anticipates interest from business travelers.

Many major Taiwanese companies, such as Formosa Plastics Corp, Want Want Holdings Ltd, Uni-President Enterprises Corp and Hon Hai Group, have set up bases in Henan, leading the carrier to forecast that business passengers will account for about 20 percent of customers on the route.

The new flights will expand EVA Airs cross-strait services to 77 round-trip flights between Taiwan and 17 destinations in China per week.

CHINA POSTAL AIRLINES TO JOIN CROSS-STRAIT CARGO SERVICES
14 December 2010

TAIPEI, Dec 14 Asia Pulse - China Postal Airlines has obtained official permission to launch direct cargo flights to Taiwan, with the first run set for Dec. 21 from Fuzhou to Taoyuan, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Tuesday.

The Beijing-headquartered carrier is also planning to operate the Nanjing-Taoyuan route, according to Taiwan's Chunghwa Post Co., which will consign some of the company's cross-Taiwan Strait mail to the airline.

China Postal Airlines was established in 1996 and currently owns 17 Boeing 737 all-cargo aircraft. It is the first Chinese carrier dedicated to express mail and cargo transport services.

The company is one of the five Chinese carriers designated by Beijing to operate cross-strait cargo services.

The other four are Air China Cargo, China Cargo Airlines, China Southern Airlines (SSE:600029), and Yangtze River Express. The latter has not filed an application for permission to fly the cross-strait route.

The two Taiwanese carriers operating the services are China Airlines (TAIEX:2610) and EVA Airways (TAIEX:2618).

There are six approved Chinese destinations on the cross-strait line: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, Fuzhou and Xiamen.

EVA Airways Launches Flights between Jinan, Taiwan
20 December 2010

SHANGHAI, December 20, SinoCast -- An A-330-220 jet of Taiwan's EVA Airways landed on the international airport of Jinan, capital city of Shandong Province, Eastern China, on December 18, marking the maiden flight between Jinan and Taipei, in terms of a press release the Jinan municipal government posted on December 19.

EVA Airways becomes the first airline company Jinan introduces from Taiwan.

The first flight flew from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 11 am and arrived at the Jinan airport at 14:10 pm; it returned from Jinan at 15:40 pm and arrived at the Taoyuan airport at 18:45 pm on December 18.

In the future EVA Airways' flights will fly from Taoyuan airport at 16:45 and arrive at Jinan at 19:35, and then return from Jinan at 20:34 and arrive at Taiwan at 23:40 every Saturday.

Jinan has launched flights to Taipei, Hualien and Taichung.

EVA Airways and its unit Uni Air also entered into a strategic partnership framework agreement with the Shandong Tourism Administration on December 18.

China Airlines to launch flights to Wuhan Jan. 26

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) China Airlines, one of Taiwan's leading international airlines, will launch regularly scheduled flights between Taipei and Wuhan, China on Jan. 26, 2011, the company said Wednesday.

The carrier will operate two round-trip flights a week to Wuhan, which will become its 17th destination in China.

China Airlines said the new route reflected its interest in adding flights to second-tier Chinese cities, such as Wuhan, and in taking advantage of growing demand from the tourism sector for flights between Taiwan and China.

It sees Wuhan, one of China's ancient cities, as an attractive destination because it has long been a tourism center and is the largest city in central China.

The city is also conveniently located and offers quick connections northward to Beijing, southward to Guangzhou, eastward to Shanghai and westward to Chongqing, the carrier said.

China Airlines said it will offer a 12 percent discount on economy class fares on the new route, to be served by Airbus A330-300 aircraft, until the end of February.

Rival EVA Airways launched flights to similar second-tier cities -- Zhengzhou in Henan Province and Jinan in Shandong Province -- earlier this month.

As of Nov. 30, China Airlines operated a fleet of 66 aircraft and offered flights to 94 destinations in 28 countries worldwide.

China Southern to add Shenzhen-Taiwan flights
23 December 2010
Copyright 2010. CINIC. All Rights Reserved.

China Southern Airlines Co Ltd is planning to add a new weekly flight from Shenzhen to Taiwan between January 6th and March 26th 2011 to meet rising demand, sources reported.

Taiwan-based China Airlines Co Ltd is also considering increasing its flights on the Shenzhen-Taiwan route.

Aviation talks cap cross-strait New Year flights
30 December 2010
Taipei Times

A two-day, cross-strait aviation meeting ended in Greater Taichung yesterday, with both Taiwan and China agreeing to cap the additional flights to and from six cities in China during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays.

Taiwans Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said in a statement that both sides had agreed not to set any restrictions on the total number of additional flights offered by flight carriers. Rather, both would only cap the flights to and from some of the busiest cities in China.

Taiwanese carriers can dispatch 32 additional flights to Chinas Shanghai Pudong International Airport and 16 flights to Shenzhen from Jan. 20 to Feb. 17. Flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Hangzhou are each capped at 10 during that period, the CAA said, adding that the same rule would apply to Chinese carriers.

Taipei Songshan Airport will not be open for additional cross-strait flight services to protect the interests of domestic passengers, the CAA said. All additional cross-strait flights will be landing at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport instead.

The CAA said that both sides also agreed to launch passenger flight services to Chinas Wuxi, Xuzhou, Quanzhou and Sanya. However, only charter flight services will be available during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Charter flights to and from Wuxi will only be operated by Chinese carriers because the Wuxi Airport is also a Chinese air force base, the CAA said.

According to the CAA, both sides will try to approve applications filed by both Taiwanese and Chinese carriers by Jan. 10 so that passengers can start booking flights.

The first day of the Lunar New Year falls on Feb. 3 next year.

In other news, Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said she welcomed Chinese investors to invest in her city.

Chen said during a visit by E United Group chairman Lin Yi-shou that the city was open to investment from anywhere in the world, including China, although the legislature had yet to pass relevant bills to give the green light to Chinese investment.

Chen said she welcomed all businesses that want to establish branches in Greater Kaohsiung, adding that the city government always upheld the principles of reciprocity and co-existence when interacting with the rest of the world.

Half of the visitors to Kaohsiung nowadays are Chinese. The city government always welcomes them wholeheartedly and guarantees their safety [in the city], Chen said.

Chen has gained momentum in the DPP by winning more than 800,000 votes in last months Greater Kaohsiung mayoral election.

She had said in April 2008 that she was willing to solicit investment from China for the interests of Kaohsiung.

She visited Beijing and Shanghai in May last year in her capacity as Kaohsiung mayor to promote the World Games despite criticism from a number of pro-independence groups.

Her trip to China at the time was widely interpreted as an ice-breaking trip for the DPP because Chen had been the only special municipality government chief from the party.

China routes key for local airlines
The cross-strait routes could become more important as the ceiling on the number of Chinese visitors allowed to visit Taiwan per day is raised to 4,000
Staff Writer, with CNA
3 January 2011
Taipei Times

The Taiwan-China routes that have helped local airlines earn record revenues and profits in the past year will continue to be the major profit engine for the local airline industry this year, according to market analysts.

Bruce Tsao, a Taipei-based analyst for Capital Securities, recently told Central News Agency that Chinese tourists taking direct flights to Taiwan would become the most important source of passengers on routes across the Taiwan Strait.

The routes benefit only Taiwanese and Chinese carriers because they are not open to airlines based in other countries.

CHINESE VISITORS

Mandarin Airlines president Harris Wang also cited the continued growth in Chinese visitors to Taiwan as one of the factors expected to help the industry this year.

The optimism of industry insiders was buoyed after the two countries decided in a round of trade talks held late last year to raise the ceiling on the number of Chinese nationals allowed to visit Taiwan per day from 3,000 to 4,000, a change which came into effect on Saturday.

INDEPENDENT TRAVELERS

Both sides also agreed to allow Chinese citizens to travel to Taiwan independently without being confined to tour groups starting sometime in the first half of this year.

Meanwhile, local airlines also believed business charter flights between Taiwan and China would have considerable potential if allowed and would help attract multinational companies to set up regional offices in Taiwan.

Civil aviation officials from Taiwan and China held talks late last month and local airline -companies are reportedly likely to begin offering business chartered flights between the two countries sometime in the first half of this year.

SAVINGS

The business-oriented service would also increase the profits of local airlines, such as China Airlines Ltd and EVA Airways, by helping them save between 20 percent and 50 percent on fuel costs, according to E. Sun Securities Cos estimates.

Taiwan Aircraft Maintenance Firms OKed to Tap in Mainland

BEIJING, January 4, SinoCast -- China announced at the end of 2010 that it would allow Taiwan-based companies to set foot in the aircraft maintenance market in mainland China.

In detail, service providers from Taiwan are permitted to invest in the mainland aircraft maintenance market by setting up wholly-owned subsidiaries or joint ventures, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in a statement on December 31, 2010.

The service providers refer to legal persons and legal person-led investor group from Taiwan, said the CAAC, noting that the regulation is set to take effect from January, 2011.

The regulation, as part of a 206 directive, is a complementation to the framework agreement for cross-Strait economic cooperation, pointed out market observers in the mainland.

@ nanjing

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Far Eastern airlines to resume services
9 January 2011
The China Post

Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT), suspended for two years due to financial problems, may resume domestic flights as early as next month, aviation authorities said yesterday.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said it has already approved FAT's application to resume services, with two of its MD83 planes having completed test flights.

CAA Director General Yin Chen-pong said there is a good chance that the carrier will rejoin its peers in time to help relieve the peak traffic during the Lunar New Year holidays in early February.

Vice transport minister Yeh Kuan-shih said it is hoped that FAT can fly between Taipei and the outlying island county of Kinmen during Lunar New Year, a route that usually sees high demand in the traditional family reunion season.

But Yeh stressed that FAT can restart their operations only after meeting all safety requirements.

The carrier may only operate domestic flights in the meantime, but it may fly across the Taiwan Strait in the future when another of its planes pass test flights.

FAT, founded in 1957, was suspended in May 2008 amid financial difficulties and wage disputes.

The airline reportedly had run into debts of more than NT$10 billion when it sought bankruptcy protection in February 2008.

Liu Wen-hsiung, chief adviser of FAT, thanked the transport ministry for approving its flight resumption application, saying the restart has not come easy.

He said the court on Dec. 20 last year gave a green light for FAT to resume business, and the bank consortium also showed strong support for its restructuring.

Now FAT is waiting for the CAA's ticketing committee to approve its pricing, Liu said, adding the carrier will run its services at original fares.

The carrier has also submitted a financial plan to the CAA, which said it will be watching closely how the company will carry out the financial plan after restarting operation.

Having approved the application, the CAA said that it will have to further inspect FAT's preparation for the restart before allowing ticket sales.

The inspections, scheduled to start this week, will include a screening of ticket prices, examinations of in-flight equipment and aircraft take-off and landing, and a review of the operations of the carrier's check-in counters.

China Southern to share codes with Mandarin Airlines on cross-strait air routes

BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) – The Chinese airline giant China Southern Airlines (ZNH.NYSE 01055.HK; 600029.SH) started to share codes on cross-strait air routes with the Taiwan carrier China Airlines Ltd. on January 14.

The cross-strait air routes include Shenyang-Taibei, Zhengzhou-Taibei and Changsha-Taibei.

Taiwan's TransAsia Airways to launch flights to Chongqing, China
14 January 2011
Asia in Focus

TAIPEI, Jan 14 Asia in Focus - TRANSASIA AIRWAYS, one of Taiwan's international carriers, said Thursday it will begin flights to Chongqing City in southwestern China in March. The airline will operate two flights per week to the Chinese city, starting from March 3, as business links across the Taiwan Strait continue to grow.

* Currently, TransAsia Airways offers 32 flights a week to a number of destinations in China, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Changsha, Wuhan and Hefei.

* In addition to its China routes, TransAsia Airways also operates 48 flights per week to three other overseas destinations -- Busan and Jeju in South Korea and Macau.

Additional cross-strait flights unveiled
15 January 2011
Taipei Times

Passengers traveling between Taiwan and China can now book tickets for additional Lunar New Year holiday flight services from Jan. 20 to Feb. 17, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday.

CAA Deputy Director-General Chen Tien-tsyh said Chinese airlines are offering a total of 183 additional flights this year, while Taiwanese airlines have 86 additional flights.

A cross-strait aviation agreement reached last month capped the number of flight services to Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Beijing. Each side can dispatch no more than 32 flights for Shanghai Pudong Airport. Flights for Shenzhen were capped at 16 and flights for Nanjing, Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou were capped at 10. Chen said some Taiwanese flights to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenzhen would be red-eye flights, either because the airport would also be busy transporting homebound Chinese passengers, or because Taiwanese airlines applied for early-morning flights because of limited aircraft.

Chen said that Taiwanese airlines have volunteered to give passengers on red-eye flights a 40 percent discount off the ticket price. For non-red-eye flights, passengers can get a 15 percent discount off the ticket price if they book tickets directly from the airlines Web site.

According to CAA, Taiwanese airlines have 14 red-eye flights departing from Shanghai. Meanwhile, 11 flights from Shenzhen and six from Hangzhou will be red-eye flights as well.

The Chinese aviation authority made the decision on the early morning flights from Shenzhen, but the remaining Shanghai and Hangzhou red-eye flights were distributed at the request of Taiwanese airlines.

Airlines code-share
15 January 2011
Shanghai Daily

China Eastern Airlines has reached a code-share agreement with Taiwan-based China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines to boost connection across the Taiwan Strait.

The code-share operation will start on February 17, connecting mainland cities, including Shanghai, Xi'an, Qingdao, Nanjing and Ningbo, with Taiwan's airports.

Separately, China Eastern yesterday said its passenger traffic jumped 59 percent from a year ago to 76.1 million in December.

Tickets for additional cross-strait flights available for sale
16 January 2011
The China Post

Sales of tickets for “additional” flights across the Taiwan Straits for the Chinese New Year festival kicked off yesterday, with domestic airlines operating the flights offering preferential prices to attract patronage from consumers, according to industry sources.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) announced Friday that airline firms of both sides of the Taiwan Straits have together applied to operate 270 extra flights between Taiwan and 24 mainland destinations during the period of Jan.20-Feb. 17.

Of the total, 87 will be operated by Taiwan's airlines companies, including China Airlines (CAL), EVA Airways, and Trans Asia Airways.

Worth mentioning, of the flights to be operated by domestic airlines, as many as 27 will take off or land at wee hours during the said period, including 14 flights to Shanghai, 9 flights to Shenzhen, and four to Hangzhou.

CAA officials requested domestic airlines to give a 40 percent discount on the ticket fares for the flights that take off or land at small hours, or the so-called red-eyes flights, and a 15 percent to 30 percent price discount for regular flights.

Of domestic airline firms, the CAL will operate 42 additional flights during the Lunar New Year festival, and it kicked off sales of tickets for flights between Taiwan and such mainland cities as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Xian and Zhengzhou. The price for the Shenzhen route hit a low of NT$8,600 and will amount to a little more than NT$10,000 if including tax.

EVA Airways will operated 14 extra flights to Shanghai, and the lowest price for the route hit NT$8,480 and slightly over NT$10,000 after including tax.

Trans Asia will launch four extra flights on the Shanghai route, with its lowest price set at NT$9,500 and NT$11,000 if including tax.

Tainan airport receives green light for upgrade
As Tainan airport was not one of the eight airports in Taiwan designated to fly directly to China, new talks will be needed to secure permission
Staff Writer, with CNA
23 January 2011
Taipei Times

Tainan Airport has obtained the green light from the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to open to international flights, starting with routes to and from Asian countries, the CAA said yesterday.

Approval came after lawmakers from Tainan strongly urged the transportation authorities to allow the airport to offer international flights to boost utilization and enhance the airports revenue.

However, no date has been set for the airport to begin handling international flights.

The CAA and other related government agencies will carry out further inspections of the airports facilities for implementation of customs, immigration, quarantine and security checks (CIQS) next week, before deciding when the new services will begin.

Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih will visit the airport today to supervise the inspections and examine the installation of the CIQS facilities.

Yeh said the ministry would lend its full support transforming Tainan Airport into an international airport.

Currently, Tainan Airport provides only two flights to the Kinmen Islands and three flights to Penghu daily.

Flights from Tainan to other cities in Taiwan were previously available, but ended as a result of falling demand after the high speed rail started operations.

As the airport is not included in an agreement on direct air links across the Taiwan Strait, Yeh said, Taiwan and China need further negotiations before it can be permitted to provide services to Chinese cities.

Under the cross-strait airline accord, a total of eight airports in Taiwan are allowed to provide flights to China.

They are: Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Songshan Airport, Kaohsiung International Airport, Taichung Airport, Hualien Airport, Taitung Airport, Kinmen Airport and Magong Airport (Penghu).

Taiwan's main airport reports record high passenger, cargo volumes
25 January 2011

Taipei, Jan. 25 (CNA) Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the country's main gateway saw its passenger and cargo volumes reach a record high last year, with the growth rates in both categories topping those of major airports worldwide.

The airport recorded 25.11 million visits last year, a 16.2 percent increase from 2009, Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chih-Kuo said in a recent interview.

Meanwhile, the cargo volume hit 1.77 million tons, 30.1 percent higher than the previous year, he said.

"Both growth rates were the highest among the 15 biggest airports in the world," Mao said.

The surge in passenger and cargo volumes is believed to have been a result of the government's efforts to launch direct flights between Taiwan and China, increase the number of international destinations and promote tourism, Mao said.

However, the improving economic situation also played a crucial role, he said.

The rise in passenger traffic was not just in Taiwan, but was also noted in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

Airports Council International Director General Angela Gittens said recently that a new record was set in 2010 for global airport industry traffic, with total passenger growth of nearly 7 percent.

"Within that overall increase there are marked regional differences, while the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Latin America-Caribbean regions surged well beyond pre-crisis passenger volumes," Gittens said.

China Airlines launches Taipei-Wuhan route

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) Taiwan's biggest airline China Airlines on Wednesday launched nonstop service between Taiwan and the Chinese city of Wuhan, its 16th destination in China.

The first flight to the central China transportation hub took off from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport early Wednesday.

The airline is using Airbus A330-300s on the route and offer flights between the two destinations every Wednesday and Saturday.

China Airlines currently flies to 16 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, and 17 airports.

CI @ PVG

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Air China Launches Weekly Flight Between Tianjin And Taichung
26 January 2011
China Hospitality News

Air China, the country's flag carrier, has started offering a regular weekly service between Taichung in Taiwan and Tianjin.

Tianjin becomes the 12th domestic city with direct flights to Taichung and the first city in north China with direct flights to Taichung. The direct flights between Tianjin and Taichung are expected to enhance economic and trade exchanges between central Taiwan and north China, and support the development of the entire pan-Baohai region.

Air China operates the new route with one round-trip each week, using Boeing B737-800 aircraft. CA141 will depart from Tianjin every Tuesday at 08:30 and arrive at Taichung at 11:40. The Taichung-Tianjin flight, CA142, will depart from Taichung at 12:40 and arrive at Tianjin at 16:40.

Taichung Airport will add 22 extra flights during the upcoming Spring Festival, in response to strong demand from Taiwan businessmen from the central region. With the expected opening of the Taiwan tourism market to mainland tourists this year, direct flights between Taichung and north China will significantly boost the growth of tourism in central Taiwan.

CI @ PVG

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Taiwan mulls including Tainan Airport in cross-strait flights
25 January 2011
Asia in Focus

TAIPEI, Jan 25 Asia in Focus - Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) will discuss with its Chinese counterpart the possibility of including Tainan Airport among the destinations served by direct cross-Taiwan Strait flights, CAA Director-General Yin Chen-pong said Monday. Yin said during a visit to the Tainan airport that the CAA planned to bring up the proposal in June when it will next hold talks with its Chinese counterpart.

* The aviation official was invited to the southern airport by lawmakers representing the city, who suggested that the facility, which currently serves domestic and military flights, be opened to international and cross-Taiwan Strait flight services.

* Yin said the airport's customs clearance facilities will be ready in May, enabling it to handle international charter services first.

@ PVG

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@ PEK

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BR @ Dalian

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TAIWAN AVIATION AGENCY CALLS FOR MORE FLIGHTS TO CHINA

TAIPEI, Feb 24 Asia Pulse - Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) is hoping that the number of flights between Taiwan and cities in China, especially Shanghai and Beijing, can be increased to cope with anticipated growth in Chinese tourist arrivals.

The CAA said on Wednesday that with Taiwan soon to open its doors to independent Chinese tourists, most likely from Shanghai and Beijing in the plan's initial stages, more flights would be needed to accommodate the increase in demand.

Representatives of the two sides' tourism sectors are meeting this week in Taipei to talk about the direction of cross-strait tourism and could discuss the proposal that would allow Chinese nationals to visit Taiwan for pleasure independently.

At present, Chinese tourists are only permitted to enter Taiwan as members of tour groups.

The CAA said Shanghai has been the most popular destination since the opening of nonstop flights across the Taiwan Strait in 2008, with weekend flights packed and weekday flights averaging load factors of over 80 per cent.

Despite the tight capacity, however, the CAA acknowledged that promoting the opening of more flights between Taiwan and Shanghai would not be easy because of the heavy concentration of domestic and international flights already serving the eastern Chinese city.

Should it prove difficult to open more flights to Shanghai, the CAA said it hoped the total number of nonstop cross-strait flights could be increased, with additional service offered to cities near Shanghai, such as Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wuxi.

At present, there are a total of 370 nonstop flights between Taiwan and China, with 28 serving Shanghai's Pudong airport, 14 serving Shanghai's Hongqiao airport and 14 serving Beijing.

CI @ PVG

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China Airlines and EVA Airways to appeal fines
12 March 2011
Taipei Times

Taiwans two leading air carriers, China Airlines Ltd (CAL, ) and EVA Airways Corp (EVA, ), are seeking administrative appeals in response to a NT$32 million (US$1.08 million) Fair Trade Commission (FTC) fine for overcharging on cross-strait flights.

The commission meted out the punishment on Thursday, saying the two carriers violated the Fair Trade Act by misinforming the public that they would offer cross-strait tickets at lower prices, while increasing the number of expensive seats in their economy classes.

Both CAL, which is subject to a NT$20 million fine, and EVA, which has incurred a NT$12 million fine, said yesterday the committees decision was totally unacceptable to them.

We will not eliminate the possibility of pursuing an administrative appeal, as the FTC has been at odds with CAL in interpreting the flight fares, CAL spokesman Hamilton Liu said by telephone.

Liu said CAL had never broken the Fair Trade Act, reiterating that the company adjusted ticket prices on a market basis by factoring in seasonality and mileages, as well as supply and demand.

EVA also said it never cheated consumers on the ticket prices. The carrier said in a statement that it would appeal the ruling to protect its reputation.

Share prices for the two airlines held relatively steady yesterday in Taipei trading, with CAL closing flat at NT$18.55, and EVA dropping 0.76 percent to NT$26.2, the Taiwan Stock Exchanges data showed.

Last month, CAL saw its revenue fall 16.46 percent to NT$9.22 billion from a month earlier, while EVA posted a revenue of NT$7.14 billion, down 17 percent month-on-month, both hitting their first monthly declines since last October, the companies financial data showed.

The sluggish figures were largely because of decelerating cargo momentum and seasonal weakness in passenger traffic during a relatively short Lunar New Year holiday, Citigroup analyst Timothy Chen said in a research report released on Thursday.

Although CALs revenue decreased last month, we expect the recovery of cargo momentum will lead to a better revenue result this month, compared with this January and February, Liu said.

The NT$20 million fine would not affect CALs profits this year, even if the company has to pay it in the end, he added.

Nonetheless, Credit Suisse analyst Sam Lee forecast in a research report issued on Monday that higher fuel prices could hurt both airliners profits this year.

However, the local airline--operating environment remained robust, so they do not expect an oversupply this year, Lee said.

Trans Asia and EVA Tap China's Greater Western Market

Taipei, March 18, 2011 (CENS)--Taiwan's Trans Asia Airways and EVA Airways are eagerly trying to extend passenger services to China's western market to tap the massive business opportunities.

Trans Asia made its maiden flight between Songshan, Taipei and Chongqing, Sichuan province, China, also expecting to increase passenger services to four flights per week by cooperating with Sichuan Airways in the first half of this year; while EVA said it will fly the Taoyuan, Taiwan to Chengdu, Sichuan route by the end of March.

Trans Asia president Chen Chia said China's inland cities are growing rapidly, driven by Chongqing being developed as a production hub for notebook computers, with the mega-city to attract many business travelers from home and abroad.

Some 3,000 Taiwanese merchants live in Chongqing. With affordable commodity prices, housing prices and labor wages, Chongqing has great potential to be a business-oriented city as Kunshan, Jiangsu province; Suzhou, Jiangsu province; Guangzhou, Guangdong province; and Shenzhen, Fujian province.

Mandarin Airlines looks to Taichung office for boost
Staff Writer, with CNA, TAICHUNG
14 March 2011
Taipei Times

Mandarin Airlines opened a new office in Taichung on Friday to expand services in central Taiwan, a move the Taiwanese airline hopes will help it increase its revenues by nearly 30 percent this year.

The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Taiwans biggest -carrier China Airlines Ltd, will expand its operations in the city to meet growing demand for air travel there, chairman Chang Chia-juch said after unveiling the carriers new slogan, Taichung Is My Home.

Chang promised more flights connecting Taichung Airport to Japan, South Korea and the Philippines in the future and he also anticipated adding more destinations in China when Taiwan opens up to independent Chinese tourists.

The relaxing of restrictions, which would allow Chinese visitors to travel to Taiwan outside of tour groups is reportedly expected in the second or third quarter of this year.

In anticipation of the growth in cross-Taiwan Strait tourism, Mandarin Airlines has targeted revenues of NT$8.7 billion (US$290 million) this year, which would be 27 percent higher than the NT$6.9 billion it posted in sales last year.

If the carrier meets its target, it expects earnings to rise by NT$300 million, the companys general manager Ho Han-yeh said.

@ Chengdu

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@ Chengdu

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Individual travel for Chinese tourists likely to be introduced by early July
8 April 2011
Taipei Times

The government is likely to lift the ban on visits by individual Chinese tourists by the start of July, Premier Wu Den-yih yesterday said, offering a further boost to increasing the cross-strait routes and flights of Taiwanese airlines.

Taiwans Tourism Bureau and Chinas Tourism Administration are expected to finish discussing the details in early June, Wu said.

The ban will be lifted no later than July 1, as both Taiwan and China want the change introduced as soon as possible, Wu told a media briefing after attending a business gathering yesterday afternoon.

The stocks of the nations two major airlines both rose to their daily limits, with China Airlines Ltd (CAL, ) closing at NT$18.15 (US$0.62), and EVA Airways Corp (EVA, ) closing at NT$24.65.

The two airlines have both supported the governments decision to lift the ban on visits by individual Chinese tourists.

EVA spokesman Nieh Kuo-wei said the company expected its cross-strait routes and flights to further increase as a result of the change.

CAL remained optimistic about the relaxation, but also expressed the hope that the Tourism Bureau would ease restrictions on such visitors during discussions with Chinas Tourism Administration, the companys public relations manager Jessica Pan said.

If too many restrictions are imposed on visits by individual Chinese tourists, fewer will want to come to Taiwan and that would limit benefits from the change, Pan said by telephone yesterday.

Currently, the passenger load factor on the two airlines cross-strait flights is about 80 percent.

We have not seen the number of passengers on cross-strait flights climb, as the relaxation has not yet been factored into the number of passengers, Nieh said.

However, Nieh still expected the companys revenues in the second quarter to be up from the first quarter on the back of stronger momentum in its cargo business.

The busy season for the airline sectors cargo business is usually the second quarter, while passenger business demand often recovers in the third quarter, Nieh said.

As for Japans massive earthquake, CAL and EVA both said the quake would have only a limited impact on their revenues.

Although EVA cancelled 55 flights to Japan, the impact on total revenue would be less than 10 percent, as the Japanese routes accounted for about 10 percent of its total revenue, Nieh said.

CAL also reduced its Taipei-Sapporo flights from seven to two per week starting from last Friday, though it had decided not to cancel any flights to Tokyo, Pan said.

But we have used smaller aircraft on the Taipei-Tokyo route to deal with flights with fewer passengers, helping the company save costs, Pan said.

Both CAL and EVA said the passenger load factor on their flights to Tokyo still stood at between 50 percent and 60 percent, thanks to continuing demand from business passengers.

Published on Taipei Times :
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/04/19/2003501151

Far Eastern flies again after a two-year hiatus
Tue, Apr 19, 2011

Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) resumed flight services yesterday after being grounded for two years because of financial problems.

The first flight leaving for Kinmen took off from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at 9:30am.

FAT president Chang Kang-wei (張綱維) said at an inauguration ceremony that the airline would initially offer two daily flights between Taipei and Kaohsiung.

He said the company was planning to expand its flight services to Makong (馬公) and Kaohsiung and resume international flight services to Angkor Wat in Cambodia and to Palau.

Chang said the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) was planning to re-arrange cross-straight flight services either next month or in June, and FAT would be able to reclaim the 15 cross-strait flights previously reserved for the company before its services were suspended.

Those 15 cross-strait flights are currently shared equally by five other carriers — China Airlines, EVA Air, Uni Air, Mandarin Airlines and TransAsia Airways.

“The day we launch cross-strait flight services is the day we become profitable,” Chang said.

The CAA suspended FAT’s operations in 2008 because of financial problems and the airline’s management has changed several times since then.

The company filed a financial restructuring plan with the Taipei District Court, which approved the company’s plan in 2009.

Chang said many had doubted that the company would be able to start operations again.

“The CAA used the highest standards to examine our plan to resume flights and we also demanded the highest standards of ourselves,” Chang said, adding that the company would undertake quality maintenance and provide new services.

Chang, a property developer who took over FAT in July 2009, said the airline was funded entirely by his personal investment.

He added that the number of the staff had also grown from 40 to 500 under his leadership.

The company owns 10 aircraft, three of which have passed the CAA’s air worthiness test.

CI @ CAN

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/511/5119182.html

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Mon, May 16, 2011
Cross-strait flight talks to begin today in Beijing
Taipei Times Staff Writer, with CNA

Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Director-General Yin Chen-pong (尹承篷) is leading a Taiwanese delegation to a fifth round of cross-strait flight talks in Beijing, a CAA source said yesterday.

The talks, scheduled to begin today, will discuss whether and how non-stop cross-strait flights, launched at the end of 2008, should be expanded, the CAA official said.

Currently, there are 370 passenger flights between Taiwan and China each week. However, tour agents still complain that there are not enough flights, particularly for popular cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

It is the first time that a CAA head will lead a delegation to the cross-strait talks, which have taken place twice a year since mid-2009, the official said.

The Taiwanese delegations to the last four meetings were led by the CAA deputy director, while the Chinese delegations were headed by the director of the Transportation Department under the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the official said.

Yin is likely to meet with CAAC Director Li Jiaxiang (李家祥) during his stay in Beijing, the official said.

Two other issues involving transit flights and airworthiness certification are not expected to be tabled during the meeting, he said.

More than 5.5 million Chinese tourists visited Taiwan last year as part of tour groups. The figure is expected to top 6.5 million this year because Taiwan is expected to begin admitting independent Chinese tourists, probably at the end of next month.

@ PVG

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/532/5326730.html

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Tue, May 17, 2011
Taiwan to ask for more direct flights
Taipei Times Staff Writer, with CNA

The main focus of the latest round of aviation talks between Taiwan and China that opened in Beijing yesterday will be to increase the number of direct flights across the Taiwan Strait to bring down fares, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said.

The CAA said it hoped to increase the number of flights from the current 370 per week to 500, which would likely push fares down, especially to popular destinations such as Shanghai.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) echoed the CAA’s hopes and told lawmakers that a short supply of cross-strait flights was the reason why fares had remained high.

He added that the major hurdle to expanding flights was overcrowded airports in popular destinations, such as Shanghai and Beijing.

The ministry said it was encouraging Taiwanese airlines to schedule late-night flights and develop routes to other destinations in China.

Mao said Taiwanese airlines could consider launching flights to destinations located near major Chinese cities, such as Wuxi in Jiangsu Province, near Shanghai.

Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) also urged the central government to increase the number of direct flights between her city and China before Taiwan opens up to independent Chinese tourists.

Of the 370 flights between Taiwan and China, 27 connect Greater Kaohsiung and eight airports in Chinese cities.

HK, Taiwan clear way for more flights
First such deal since the handover will help the city fend off mainland competition for travellers
24 May 2011
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong and Taiwan are ready to sign a new civil aviation agreement that is expected to increase daily flights between the two places. It is the first deal between them since the handover in 1997.

The travel industry hopes the deal will help Hong Kong to see off competition from mainland cities and attract more Taiwanese visitors.

Cathay Pacific Airway's chief executive John Slosar said last week that the airline was interested in one or two more daily flights in addition to the current 108 round-trip flights.

The deal comes after protracted talks which have seen the two sides overcome long-standing political obstacles. The existing agreement, which regulates the routes and number of flights between Hong Kong and Taiwan, was first signed in 1996 when the city was a British colony. It has been extended eight times since.

Cross-strait ties have eased since Ma Ying-jeou became Taiwan's president in 2008, and Taiwanese travellers now enjoy more direct cross-strait flights. Hong Kong faces competition for mainlanders, with Taiwan receiving individual travellers from across the strait next month.

Hong Kong and Taiwan wanted to upgrade the old agreement, but political sensitivities limited official contact after the handover and negotiations started only last year.

A Taiwanese government official familiar with the negotiation said a new agreement would probably be signed "by the end of this month".

In the past, aviation agreements between the two were handled by commercial organisations: Cathay Pacific for Hong Kong and Taipei Airlines Association for Taiwan. This time it was done by the local Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council (ECCPC) and its Taipei-based counterpart Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council (ECCC), two semi-official agencies established last year.

A Hong Kong person with knowledge of the negotiations said the city was following the model set out in cross-strait negotiations between the mainland and Taiwan: both sides were represented by government officials but the negotiation was held through semi-official agencies.

"Their transport ministry has an official holding the capacity as a director of the ECCC [Administrative Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Kuo Tsai-wen] and our transport bureau also has an official [Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing Francis Ho Suen-wai] sitting on the ECCPC. The deal will be signed using the names of the two councils, but in fact the two governmental bodies are the ones in charge," the person said.

DIRECT FLIGHTS BETWEEN TAINAN, CHINA TO BEGIN SOON
20 May 2011
Asia Pulse

TAIPEI, May 20 Asia Pulse - Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou announced Thursday that Tainan Airport in southern Taiwan will become the ninth in the country to accommodate direct flights to and from China, starting this summer.

The service will begin with charter flights, Ma said at a news conference held at the National University of Tainan to mark his third year in office.

The president said the initiative will help boost the number of Chinese tourists to Tainan, the fifth largest city in the country and one of its major cultural areas.

At the press conference, Ma also listed several current and future policies that he said will benefit southern Taiwan.

The government has invested or plans to invest a total of NT$744.7 billion (US$25.8 billion) in construction projects in southern Taiwan, the president said.

That includes an investment of NT$232.6 (US$8.06 billion) in projects such as an underground railway and creative cultural park in Tainan City, and a NT$263.2 billion (US$9.12 billion) project to make Kaohsiung an international multi-purpose port and a major industrial city, Ma said.

He estimated that the Kaohsiung project would generate 170,000 new jobs.

"I hope to revitalize the economy in the south and to push for the prosperous development of the entire region," the president said.

He also said that the government has invested NT$50 billion in reservoir management to stabilize water supply in the south.

He called for partnerships between the central and local governments as part of his administration's aim to achieve balanced regional development.

9th? Which are the other 8? Taipei, Taiwan-Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Hualien and?????

I think Makung

^^ and tainan and kinmen i think

Taipei (Songshan), Taoyuan, Taichung, Hualien, Taitung, Kaohsiung, Kinmen and Penghu
Tainan will be the 9th.

Tue, Jun 21, 2011
Taipei Times
By Shelley Shan / Staff Reporter
CAA doles out cross-strait flights

China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways (EVA) were the biggest winners in the allocation of additional cross-strait flights, with each receiving 19 more flights from the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday.

Taiwan and China reached an agreement earlier this month to raise the total number of cross-strait weekly flights from 370 to 558. Carriers on each side will receive an additional 94 weekly flights through the new agreement.

The administration held meetings with the carriers starting last week to address the distribution of the added cross-strait flights, before a conclusion was reached yesterday.

Civil Aeronautics Administration Deputy Director-General Lee Wan-lee (李萬里) said CAL and EVA were each given 19 additional flights because of the size of their fleets, as well as their past record of complying with government policies.

TransAsia Airways and Mandarin Airlines were each given 11 additional flights, while Uni Air received 10.

Meanwhile, CAL, EVA and TransAsia were each awarded one “red-eye” flight to Shanghai.

CAL also received a new flight service to Beijing from Greater Kaohsiung after a random drawing.

Flights to Shanghai and Beijing are coveted by carriers because they are generally in high demand.

Of the 94 new regular flights, five were previously charter flights that were offered on demand only, including two fights from Greater Taichung to Wuhan and Zhengzhou in Hubei and Henan provinces respectively, two from Hualien to Hanzhou, Zhejiang Province, and Wuhan, and one from Hualien to Nanjing.

Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT), which resumed operations in April, was awarded 24 flights on the condition that it increase its fleet size to meet potential demand.

The administration had suspended FAT’s license in May 2008 because of its financial difficulties. When the nation launched cross-strait flight services in July 2008, the administration reserved 15 flights for FAT, but the quota was temporarily shared by five other carriers.

The new agreement gave FAT nine additional flights.

Those nine flights must be available for customers within three months of the airline obtaining them, or else they must be returned.

The administration said tickets to Beijing and Shanghai would drop by 20 percent because of the increased number of flights.

Lee said the airlines would need time to evaluate the demand for different flights and to file applications both in Taiwan and in China. Aside from flights to Shanghai, Lee said a majority of the new flights could be included in flight schedules by the end of October.

@ PVG
Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/537/5371594.html

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TAIWAN BUSINESSMEN HUNGRY FOR MORE USEFUL MAINLAND FLIGHTS
17 May 2011
Asia Pulse

BEIJING, May 17 Asia Pulse - The Taiwanese business community in China said Monday Taiwan should consider increasing direct cross-strait flights to popular destinations to meet their commercial needs.

As the fifth round of cross-Taiwan Strait flight talks kicked off in Beijing earlier in the day, several business executives voiced their strong support for more flights to cities in which they have most of their business interests, such as Beijing and Shanghai.

With Taiwan aiming to increasing the number of direct flights from the current 370 per week to 500, they said they want the added flights to go where it counts.

Miss Lee, who works in the art industry and travels regularly to and from Beijing, said currently there are only 28 one-way flights per week between Taipei's Taoyuan airport and Beijing, with only four flights per day, on average.

Because of the limited seating, Lee said sometimes she still needs to take transit flights via Hong Kong -- a throwback to the old days when direct flights were banned before 2008.

She also said there were once flights between Taipei SongShan Airport and Beijing, but they were later canceled. Instead, flights to Tianjin, Hefei in Anhui province, and Wuhan in Hubei province were added.

From Miss Lee's standpoint, she could not understand why the Beijing route was canceled despite the obviously higher demand when compared with these other destinations.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hsu, a Taiwanese businessman in Shanghai who owns a tea business, said he does not oppose the idea of taking late night flights. However, if flights were added to second-tier cities in China such as Hefei, Wuhan, and Jinan in Shandong province, it would not be of much help to him.

However, he said flights to second-tier cities may be beneficial to Taiwanese businessmen working there. It would also increase chances for locals in those cities to travel to Taiwan.

According to the Beijing Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises, there are currently 1.5 million Taiwanese living or working in China. Among them, 800,000 live in the Yangtze River delta region, which includes Shanghai. Around 30,000 live in Beijing.

@ PVG
Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/538/5383774.html

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BR @ Chongqing
Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/538/5385163.html

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