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Aviation History
1991
1991 - 2960.PDF
hen EVA Air opened its two inaugural services on 1 July, from Taipei to Bangkok and Seoul, it became the first Tai wanese airline licensed to compete with China Airlines (CAL) on international routes from the Republic of China (ROC). EVA's debut, achieved after overcoming a series of political, financial and logistical hurdles, finally broke a logjam which had been building steadily with the growth in Taiwan's economic prosperity during the 1980s and the easing of restrictions on overseas travel for its population. The country's relative diplomatic isolation meant that flag-carrier CAL was unable to meet the dramatic growth in demand from its home market, with the result that 22 foreign airlines shared up to 75% of the market in and out of Taiwan. Although privately owned (by the China Aviation Development Foundation), CAL was the country's sole designated interna tional carrier for more than 30 years. After the mainland People's Republic of China (PRC) replaced the ROC at the United Nations in 1974, however, the number of countries with which the ROC enjoys diplo matic relations diminished to less than 30, severely limiting CAL's ability to expand. Although the ROC has special trade and aviation agreements with countries such as the USA, Japan, Singapore and the Nether lands, with which it does not have full diplomatic relations, CAL now serves just 23 cities in 13 foreign countries. The airline is unlikely to add significantly to this total without a dramatic change in the political climate. PRIVATE PRESSURE Faced with mounting pressure to allow one or more of Taiwan's privately owned do mestic airlines to exploit the country's burgeoning demand for overseas travel, the ROC's Government decided, in 1988, to allow other airlines to bid for international licences. Although established carriers such as Far Eastern Air Transport and Foshing coveted these rights, the first licence was awarded to a company which had never operated a passenger airline — Evergreen Marine. The selection of Evergreen, the world's largest shipping group, ignited a political controversy which continued unabated until final operational approval for the new airline, christened EVA Air, was granted just days before its inaugural flights. Ever green chairman Chang Yung-fa, one of Taiwan's best-known and most powerful industrialists, enjoys a close relationship with ROC premier Hau Pei-Tsun, and oppo sition politicians denounced the apparent ease with which Evergreen's plans were allowed to proceed, although the Govern ment denied undue favouritism. In its defence, Evergreen can claim a 23-year record of successful growth in a This week, EVA Air became the first privately owned Taiwanese airline to operate into Europe, breaking the monopoly enjoyed by flag-carrier China Airlines. John Bailey reports from Taipei on the new internal battle for Taiwan's fast-growing international market. 30 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 13 - 19 November, 1991
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