Taiwan strait direct flights to be realized soon; Chinese carriers ready to fly
Thursday November 6, 2008
The dream of a direct routing across the Taiwan Strait is closer to reality following the signing of an agreement between Beijing's Assn. for Relations Across the Tawian Strait and Taipei's Strait Exchange Foundation.
The deal, which will take effect in 40 days, will allow carriers to bypass Hong Kong airspace and reduce flight time, operating costs, fuel burn and emissions.
Taiwanese carriers will have access to 16 cities in mainland China in addition to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Nanjing. They are Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Dalian, Guilin, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Qingdao, Changsha, Haikou, Kunming, Xi'an, Shenyang, Tianjin and Zhengzhou. The number of permitted weekly roundtrip flights will rise from the current 36 to 108.
Mainland carriers welcomed the move. Air China Party Secretary Tan Zhihong said the carrier will add 10 A330s and 737-800s to its cross-strait operation that currently comprises flights to Taipei from Beijing and Shanghai. He said the newly permitted flight path will save 90 min. on PKE-TPE and 80 min. to/from Shanghai and that CA will save CNY30 million per year operating 737-800s on the new PEK-TPE routing.
Xiamen Airlines MD Yang Guanghua said his airline will place 10 737-800s expected to be delivered in 2009 on cross-strait routes in order to meet growing demand.
The agreement allows 60 return cargo flights per month operated by 2-3 mainland and 2-3 Taiwanese airlines. Mainland carriers will have access to Taipei and Kaohsiung while their counterparts will fly to Shanghai and Guangzhou.
by Katie Cantle
ATWOnline
Thursday November 6, 2008
The dream of a direct routing across the Taiwan Strait is closer to reality following the signing of an agreement between Beijing's Assn. for Relations Across the Tawian Strait and Taipei's Strait Exchange Foundation.
The deal, which will take effect in 40 days, will allow carriers to bypass Hong Kong airspace and reduce flight time, operating costs, fuel burn and emissions.
Taiwanese carriers will have access to 16 cities in mainland China in addition to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Nanjing. They are Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Dalian, Guilin, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Qingdao, Changsha, Haikou, Kunming, Xi'an, Shenyang, Tianjin and Zhengzhou. The number of permitted weekly roundtrip flights will rise from the current 36 to 108.
Mainland carriers welcomed the move. Air China Party Secretary Tan Zhihong said the carrier will add 10 A330s and 737-800s to its cross-strait operation that currently comprises flights to Taipei from Beijing and Shanghai. He said the newly permitted flight path will save 90 min. on PKE-TPE and 80 min. to/from Shanghai and that CA will save CNY30 million per year operating 737-800s on the new PEK-TPE routing.
Xiamen Airlines MD Yang Guanghua said his airline will place 10 737-800s expected to be delivered in 2009 on cross-strait routes in order to meet growing demand.
The agreement allows 60 return cargo flights per month operated by 2-3 mainland and 2-3 Taiwanese airlines. Mainland carriers will have access to Taipei and Kaohsiung while their counterparts will fly to Shanghai and Guangzhou.
by Katie Cantle
ATWOnline