Taiwan's government is again calling for mergers among the country's loss-making domestic airlines, five years after an initial wave of consolidation.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration in February oversaw a meeting with representatives of the four domestic carriers, at which it again brought up the issue of mergers. The meeting did not result in any progress, however.
Taiwanese airlines have been losing money on domestic routes for years and competition is expected to increase after a high-speed railway opens in 2005 operating on the main domestic route between Taipei and Kaohsiung. The government has called several times over the years for airlines to consider mergers, although its calls have fallen on deaf ears.
The four domestic operators are Far Eastern Air Transport, Mandarin Airlines, TransAsia Airways and UNI Airways. Some believe not all will be able to survive after the rail line opens.
Mandarin is controlled by international carrier China Airlines (CAL) and it operates short-haul international services and domestic services. In 1999 Mandarin acquired Formosa Airlines, a domestic operator minority owned by CAL.
In 1998 Taiwan's second-largest international operator, EVA Air, oversaw the first domestic mergers when it brought together three associate carriers, namely UNI, Great China Airlines and Taiwan Airlines. UNI was the surviving airline.
Source: Airline Business
