Eyeing China's lucrative air transport market, Taiwan's largest international carrier, China Airlines (??華航空?膝q, CAL) has said it will set up two representative offices in China during the first half of next year.
The company has gained approval from Chinese authorities to set up offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou, CAL's chairman Chiang Hung-yi (
The company will keep an eye on the lucrative air cargo market from its office in Shanghai, which is scheduled to open in the first quarter of the year, airline spokesman Scott Shih (
"Since a lot of Taiwanese companies have set up factories in China, cargo delivery from China to Taiwan and the rest of the world is growing very fast," Shih said.
Shih said that China is lacking in air cargo capacity, with only two cargo carriers in China currently operating, thus leaving the door open for other operators to seize the opportunity.
Meanwhile, "the office in Guangzhou will keep an eye on China's growing passenger market. CAL will be able to fly more passengers from China via Hong Kong and then on to other major cities in southeast Asia," Shih added.
The Guangzhou office is likely to open sometime in the first half of next year, Shih said.
CAL currently flies to Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore via Hong Kong.
Taiwanese authorities do not allow local carriers to fly directly to China. Instead, Taiwanese airlines fly passengers and cargo via Hong Kong or Macau, and then to and from China with the cooperation of Chinese carriers.
Shih said that CAL has been cooperating for several years with China's Air China International (
Competition is heating up in the lucrative Chinese air market. Last week, EVA Air (
Air Macau currently provides more than 60 round trips between Taiwan and Macau each week. The airline flies from Taipei to Macau seven times a day, in addition to two daily flights from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.
EVA Air, meanwhile, has more than 20 round trips a week between Taiwan and Macau, including a twice-daily service from Taipei to Macau, and one flight a day from Kaohsiung.
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