Taiwan’s China Airlines (CAL) and subsidiary Mandarin Airlines have outlined plans for services to China, which will initially cover flights to four Chinese cities from four Taiwanese cities.
CAL says in a statement that it and Mandarin will be serving China from 4 July, following the signing of a groundbreaking agreement earlier this month allowing non-stop services between Fridays and Mondays from that day.
Regular non-stop flights between China and Taiwan have been banned since 1949, when the two sides split following a civil war.
The two carriers will together operate 29 round-trip flights between the two sides in July, to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xiamen from Kaohsiung, Makung, Taichung and Taipei.
CAL says there will be 14 Taipei-Shanghai services, seven Taipei-Beijing services, five Taipei-Guangzhou services, one Kaohsiung-Guangzhou service, one Taichung-Xiamen-Makung service and one Makung-Xiamen-Taichung service.
CAL will use Airbus A330-300s and Boeing 737-800s in two-class configurations while Mandarin will use Embraer 190s.
Three other Taiwanese carriers will be serving China, while six Chinese carriers will be serving Taiwan.
CAL will meanwhile be signing an agreement early next week with China Southern Airlines covering co-operation on flights between Taiwan and China.
CAL says it has also “reached a consensus on further co-operation” with Air China and China Eastern Airlines, which “will include representing each other’s local businesses in passenger and cargo ground handling, maintenance service, in-flight meals, and other operations”.
Source: flightglobal.com's sister premium news site Air Transport Intelligence news
Source: Flight International
