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China Air, EVA seek permission to fly over China

China Airlines (華航) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), Taiwan's two biggest carriers, said they have applied for rights to fly through Chinese airspace to reach Europe and India, using shorter routes to cut annual fuel costs and other expenses.

China Airlines, the nation's largest carrier, may be able to cut NT$260 million (US$8.1 million) of cost on its direct flights to Frankfurt and Vienna from Taipei, spokesman Johnson Sun (孫鴻文) said.

EVA Airways could shave an hour off a 13-hour route to Paris from Taipei and reduce annual costs by between NT$150 million and NT$200 million, publicity officer Katherine Ko (柯文玲) said.

Taiwan on Tuesday began accepting applications for flights to Europe, India and the Middle East via Chinese airspace, lifting a ban on carriers left in place since 1949. The shorter routes could draw tourists and help China Airlines and EVA compete with Air France-KLM and other carriers that use less circuitous routes.

"There may be more people traveling to Europe for business and leisure" if the flight times are shortened, said Yao Ta-kuang (姚大光), vice chairman of the Taipei Association of Travel Agents (台北市旅行公會).

Taiwan's self-imposed ban on using Chinese airspace applies only to local carriers like China Airlines and EVA, disadvantaging them against competitors like Air France-KLM and Alitalia SpA.

China Airlines and EVA now fly to Frankfurt, Vienna and Paris via Siberia, a circuitous route that adds up to an hour to flight time. Air travelers to Shanghai from Taipei also can't fly direct and must stop over in Hong Kong, Macau or Seoul before catching connecting flights, in journeys that take up to 6 hours.

The government yesterday said that China has responded positively to hold discussions for having direct charter passenger and cargo flights.

UNI Airways Corp (立榮航空) and Mandarin Airlines (華信航空), two smaller local carriers, also applied to use China's airspace, the United Daily News reported yesterday.
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