China Airlines Co (
China Airlines President Chris-tine Tsung (宗才怡) will travel to the US to sign the agreement, she said at the carrier's 42nd anniversary ceremony in Taipei.
The alliance with Delta will help China Airlines raise sales by allowing passengers to use China Airlines tickets to transfer onto Delta feeder services to US destinations on one ticket.
Taiwan's airlines are struggling as Taiwan's economy heads for its first full-year contraction and after demand for air travel and cargo services fell following the Sept. 11 attacks, in which hijacked commercial aircraft were slammed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.
"This has been a tough year following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the slowing economy," said China Airlines Chairman Lee Yun-ning (李雲寧) at the ceremony. "We expect next year to continue to be challenging as Taiwan's entry to the World Trade Organization brings more competition."
Tsung reiterated that the carrier expects to post a profit this year, helped by cost-cutting measures and lower fuel prices.
China Airlines said in October it expects a profit this year of NT$1.37 billion (US$40 million), a reduction from a previous target of NT$3 billion because of a slump in demand after the terrorist attacks in the US.
China Airlines' shares dropped NT$0.20, or 1.5 percent, to NT$13.15. Delta shares fell 3.6 percent to US$29.75 in the US yesterday.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique