■ Travel
CAL says pilot wasn't drunk
China Airlines spokesman Joseph Wu (武志厚) yesterday clarified reports that one of the company's pilots was stopped from flying last Thursday because his blood-alcohol level exceeded the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) limit for pilots. According to Wu, different methods of reporting the same blood-alcohol content had led to a misunderstanding. He said that the captain's breath test result was 0.087 percent, the equivalent of 0.017 percent in Taiwan. He said the FAA's limit for pilots is 0.2 percent, or 0.040 percent by the standards used in this country. "The pilot's blood-alcohol content was actually far below the limit," Wu said. Wire agency reports said FAA rules prohibit pilots from flying with blood alcohol content above 0.040 percent. The reports also quoted FAA spokeswoman Joette Storm as saying the pilot was carrying an opened alcoholic-beverage bottle in his carry-on luggage. The pilot was to fly an Airbus A340 from Anchorage, Alaska, to New York last Thursday, but Wu indicated that the airlines replaced him to avoid a delay. However, a reliable source contradicted Wu, stating that there had been no changes in the flight crew last Thursday.
■ Health
Officials praise WHO
The government yesterday hailed the World Health Organization (WHO) for revising the nation's death toll from SARS to 37 from the previously listed 180, saying it would help the epidemic be better understood by the world. The WHO made the adjustment on Sept. 26 after ruling that 143 of the fatalities on the initial list had not in fact died from the disease. "After all the handling of the epidemic should be done in a scientific way, and the revision would lead us closer to reality and therefore help reinforce our preparations for the challenges ahead," Center for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said. The result came after the center, in accordance with WHO standards, reclassified data regarding the patients suspected of being infected with SARS. "What we have done was given credit by WHO," Shih said. The government had previously reported that 71 people died from SARS.
■ Transport
Stored-value tickets halted
Taipei City's Bureau of Transportation said that it had stopped accepting stored-value bus tickets as of yesterday. The tickets are replaced by the Easy Card and coins. Stored-value ticket machines, nicknamed "green babies," will be removed. People who still have stored-value bus tickets can ask for a refund at 30 MRT stations and 10 branches of the Taipei Bus Administration before Sept. 30 next year. A bureau official said the machines broke down easily, a major complaint of passengers.
■ Aid groups
Kid's charity changes name
Taiwan District of Kiwanis International, the local branch of the international organization committed to promoting child welfare, yesterday welcomed its new president and celebrated Kiwanis International's decision to change the title of the local chapter. The local group, formerly called the Republic of China district, received a letter from the organization's headquarters on Sept. 8 agreeing to the name change. The branch wanted the change because people often mistook it for a chapter from China. The aid the Taiwanese branch delivered was often mistaken as help from China, the branch said. "We do not want to be mistaken anymore," said a branch spokesman.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it