Japan-based budget airline Peach Aviation yesterday outlined plans to add another three routes between Taiwan and Japan following what its chief executive officer said was a successful marketing campaign over the past five years in Taiwan.
The no-frills airline said it would begin operating three round-trip flights per week between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and New Chitose Airport from Sept. 24 and between Taoyuan and Sendai Airport from Sept. 25.
Starting next summer, the carrier will offer daily flights between Kaohsiung International Airport and Naha Airport, chief executive officer Shinichi Inoue said.
“Taiwan is central to Peach’s goal of becoming a ‘bridge in the sky’ in Asia,” Inoue said, adding that the company plans to double the size of its fleet of 19 aircraft by 2020.
The airline operates 13 international routes, including four to Taiwan.
Peach’s passenger numbers in Taiwan have grown 10-fold since it started operations in 2012, Inoue said.
He said the airline reported an average ridership of 80 percent on its Taiwan flights this year, with Taiwanese passengers accounting for about 65 percent.
Inoue said that 60 percent of Taiwanese passengers this year were between 20 and 30 years old, indicating higher demand among young people.
Peach, a joint venture of All Nippon Airways, Innovation Network Corp of Japan and First Eastern Investment Group in Hong Kong, is working in tandem with the Japanese government to increase foreign visitor arrivals, he said.
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