China Airlines, one of the nation’s leading international carriers, yesterday said it would launch a route from Tainan to Osaka, Japan, in October to tap the growing enthusiasm in southern Taiwan for travel to Japan amid the depreciation of the yen.
The flights are to begin on Oct. 28, with two round-trip flights between Tainan and Osaka each week. The carrier said it would use narrow-body Boeing 737-800s on the route.
Since 2013, China Airlines has provided charter-flight services between Tainan and Hong Kong. The carrier said the launch of regular flights between Tainan and Osaka is expected to boost business opportunities for the tourism industry in southern Taiwan.
The Japanese market has been one of the most important sources of sales for China Airlines, as cities such as Osaka and Tokyo are popular destinations for Taiwanese tourists, market analysts said.
The yen’s depreciation has led many local tourists to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate between the yen and the New Taiwan dollar, they added.
The carrier currently provides 21 regular, round-trip flights between Taipei and Osaka, and 12 regular, round-trip flights between Kaohsiung and Osaka per week. Once the Tainan-Osaka services begin, the number of weekly regular flights offered by China Airlines to Osaka from Taiwan will rise to 35.
In addition to Osaka, China Airlines has started serving southern Taiwan with seven round-trip flights between Kaohsiung and Tokyo per week, seven round-trip weekly flights between Kaohsiung and Okinawa, and five between Kaohsiung and Hokkaido.
In light of the new Tainan-Osaka services, some local travel agencies have unveiled related tour packages, including a five-day tour of Osaka with a four-night hotel stay, with a starting price of NT$15,200 per person, before taxes, they said.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
RSS