Hundreds of seats remain empty on the first-ever flights between Taiwan and China, a weak show of interest that organizers yesterday blamed on requirements forcing time-consuming stopovers in Hong Kong or Macau.
The indirect charter flights, which will serve Taiwanese flying home for the Feb. 1 Lunar New Year holiday, are the first such air service between the two sides in 53 yearss. The flights' approval has raised hopes of an eventual lifting of a half-century ban on direct air links.
But 500 of the 2,000 seats on the eight flights between Shanghai and Taipei remain untaken, said Wu Kuo-jong, deputy manager of Shanghai Straits Exchange Co, a Taiwanese travel agency that helped organize the flights.
He said the seats will likely be filled before the first flight on Jan. 26. But most of the 26,000 Taiwanese in the Shanghai area expected to head home for the Chinese-speaking world's biggest holiday will do what they've always done -- change flights in Hong Kong or Macau.
``They're going to stick to their usual routes,'' Wu said.
Taiwan, wary of Beijing's threats to seek take over the nation by force, will require the charter flights to land in Hong Kong or Macau instead of flying directly. The detour will add hundreds of kilometers to the trip.
That makes the charter flights not all that different from existing routes, which now require changing planes at a third point, usually Hong Kong. The charter flights' only improvement, say Taiwanese living in China, is that passengers will be able to fly the same plane the entire trip.
``The flights themselves are not much different from what already exists. But they're a big step forward in government cooperation. They make us hope to see direct flights one day,'' said Yang Ta-cheng, honorary director of the Shanghai Taiwan Business Association, Taiwan's chamber of commerce.
Six Taiwanese airlines have received permission from Beijing to operate the flights, the first time Taiwan's carriers have been allowed to fly passengers to and from China. Chinese airlines are not permitted to make the flights, and only Taiwanese are allowed onboard.
At least 300,000 Taiwanese now live in the Shanghai area, following investments and relocated factories to China. They have pressured their government to lift its ban on direct flights.
Under new Taiwanese regulations, the charter flights can start Jan. 26 and must end by Feb. 10.
Taiwan has long been reluctant to allow direct flights, partly because of concerns that China would use the air route to attack Taiwan.
RSS