Chinese tour groups that arrived on last weekend’s first cross-strait charter flights prepared to return home yesterday, but not before they spent a great deal of time and money checking in and paying for overweight baggage.
One group, scheduled to return to Nanjing from Taipei’s Songshan Airport yesterday afternoon, spent about 40 minutes at the counter checking in their overweight baggage before eventually boarding the flight on time.
Besides their luggage, each passenger carried cases of souvenirs and local desserts, such as pineapple cakes.
PHOTO: HSU MIN-JUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The group was scheduled to board the China Eastern Airlines flight and gathered at the counter of Uni Air, China Eastern’s local agent. The excessive load of luggage slowed down the check-in process.
“This is probably the worst airport I have ever seen!” a female passenger said. “Why do we have to weigh our luggage here and pay the overweight charge at the other side of the counter?”
Some passengers spoke with the Taipei Times while they waited to check in their luggage.
A woman surnamed Chao (趙) said that she had bought crystal glass and red coral as souvenirs.
She, however, was reluctant to disclose the amount she had spent buying souvenirs. She simply said “More than you think!”
A family surnamed Tu (杜) said they did not have enough time for sleeping and shopping.
When some of them were alerted that they may have problems with overweight luggage, one responded that “We can always pay!”
Ting Hai-yang (丁海洋), one of the team leaders, said that the entire group had 34 people. He estimated that they spent a total of 180,000 yuan while they were here, and that amount did not include the last-minute shopping spree at Taipei 101 and the Sogo Department Store.
Each Chinese tourist in the Nanjing group on average has pumped in approximately NT$60,000 into Taiwan’s economy when deducted the expenses on flight tickets.
In related news, flights traveling between northern Taiwan and Shanghai and Guangzhou are proving to be the most popular of the 36 nonstop charter flights scheduled for the third and fourth weekends of July, Taiwan’s aviation regulator announced on Friday.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said that on each of July’s final two weekends, 19 cross-strait charter flights will depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and 16 from Taipei Songshan Airport for various destinations in China.
Only one flight each week will head for China from Kaohsiung International Airport.
No flights will depart from other airports in Taiwan that were designated as gateways for the weekend charters because of weak demand.
Shanghai and Guangzhou airports were the most popular among the five Chinese airports authorized to handle the weekend charters, which were launched on July 4.
Additional reporting by CNA
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS