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Taiwan and Vietnam amend air deal

Taiwan and Vietnam have reached an agreement to increase the number airlines allowed to operate flight services between the two countries and boost the number of seats offered for such flights, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.

"The revision to the Taiwan-Vietnamese aviation pact also allows the two countries' carriers to fly on to a third country or area in Asia," according to a statement issued by the ministry yesterday.

The Taiwanese delegation, led by Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Vice Director George Lee (李仲榮), met with officials from the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration (VCAA) in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday.

Members of the Taiwanese delegation included officials from the transport ministry, CAA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives from five airlines.

The five airlines are China Airlines, EVA Airways, Far Eastern Air Transport, UNI Air and Mandarin Airlines.

VCAA officials and representatives from Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines, the two Vietnamese carriers running flights between Taiwan and Vietnam, joined the talks.

"The two sides agreed that, in addition to the two Taiwanese airlines currently flying between the two countries, four other Tai-wanese airlines will be permitted to join the business," the statement said.

The four airlines are Far Eastern Air Transport, UNI Air, Mandarin Airlines and TransAsia Airways.

The airlines will be able to launch flights between Taipei or Kaohsiung and Hanoi or Danang.

Under the old framework, the ceiling for the number of seats offered by Taiwanese airlines to Vietnam was 6,010 per week.

Thanks to the revision, 600 seats have been added for flights between Taipei/Kaohsiung and Hanoi.

Another 800 seats will be added to the routes starting June 1.

"Six hundred seats will be added to the routes between Taipei/Kaohsiung and Danang after the signing of the agreement," the statement said.

The two Vietnamese airlines plan to begin flights between Taipei and Seoul by June. Once these flights begin, 2,000 seats will be added for trips between Taipei/Kaohsiung and Saigon.

The two sides also agreed to increase the quota for cargo flights from 160 tonnes per week to 600 tonnes per week.

The two countries will grant the "fifth freedom" to their carriers, allowing them to extend their flights to a third destination in Asia from each other's territory, according to the statement.

The transport ministry said the revisions to the pact are expected to boost investment and tourism in the two countries.

The occupancy rate for flights between the two countries on China Airlines and EVA Airways exceeds 60 percent, China Airlines spokesman Roger Han (韓梁中) said.
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