EVA Airways Corp (
The so-called "free endorsement" alliance would effectively raise the two carriers' Taipei-Hong Kong weekly flights to as many as 62, EVA said in a statement. The agreement starts on Aug. 1.
Dragonair started operating daily return flights between Hong Kong and Taipei yesterday, after Hong Kong and Taiwan carriers agreed last month to a five-year accord that expands air services between the two destinations and increases competition on one of Asia's busiest air routes.
Under the accord, Dragonair can fly 22 passenger flights a week and can raise the number to 27 in 2004. EVA had 16 flights a week to Hong Kong before the new air-link accord.
Officials at EVA, Taiwan's number two carrier, which now offers 40 passenger flights a week to Hong Kong, said the alliance with Dragonair would help boost revenue, but they wouldn't give an estimate.
"If you are holding Dragonair ticket, you can ride on EVA, and vice versa," said Dragonair spokeswoman Floran Lee. "It is an endorsement waiver."
In other words, under free endorsement, if a passenger is booked on a Hong Kong-bound EVA flight and misses it, the passenger can board a Dragonair flight if it's the next scheduled flight.
The arrangement differs from so-called code sharing, under which airlines can book seats on each other's flight. China Airlines Co (
EVA and Dragonair are competing against two larger players, China Airlines and Cathay Pacific, on the Taipei-Hong Kong route. They also have to contend with new entrant Mandarin Airlines (
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