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CAA, airlines to discuss new flights

Airline representatives and Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss rules and principles governing allocation of regular cross-strait flights.

Whether cash-strapped Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) would be able to take part in the flights is also a focus of public attention.

Following the third round of cross-strait negotiations in Nanjing last week, Taiwan and China agreed to a total of 270 regular cross-strait flights per week.

As such, the nation’s five airlines must share 135 flights departing from Taiwan each week. China now has six new cities on its list of destinations: Hefei in Anhui Province; Harbin in Heilongjiang; Nanchang in Jiangxi; Guiyang in Guizhou; Ningbo in Zhejiang; and Jinan in Shandong.

Taiwan has capped the number of flights to Taipei’s Songshan Airport to 21 per week, while China has restricted the number of weekly flights to Shanghai to 28 per week. China also limited the number of weekly flights to Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Kunming and Chengdu.

CAA director general Lee Lung-wen (李龍文) said yesterday that although the CAA had suspended FAT from operating international flights, FAT still has an airline company license and is entitled to participate in the discussions.

“We will still invite the company to voice its opinions on the flight distribution, but do not guarantee that it will be granted the right to share these flights,” Lee said

The company still owes the CAA aircraft landing and departure fees, for which the company has already been given one payment extension.

The deadline for FAT to pay the fees is May 16.

“There is not much leeway in the law to give the company a second extension,” Lee said.

The Taipei District Court yesterday also approved FAT’s application to restructure its finances, provided the company does not use the approval as an excuse to ask for another extension.

Lee outlined the factors that would affect cross-strait flight allocation, including the carrier’s fleet of aircraft and its operational plan.

Lee added that the CAA would also use a strategy of “tying the fat meat with the lean” (肥肉綁瘦肉) as an incentive, in which an airline company would be granted one profitable route if it is willing to take another less profitable route.

Those that fit into the “less profitable” category are all domestic routes, including those to Hualien, Taitung, Hengchun and Pingtung.

Although ticket prices are determined by market supply and demand, Lee said the CAA has “administrative measures” that can regulate cross-strait ticket prices.

Many passengers traveling between Taiwan and China have complained that the prices for cross-strait flights are too expensive and have asked carriers to reduce prices.
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