The increased number of flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong has led to large discounts for group travelers, a travel expert said yesterday.
"With an increase of more than 50 passenger flights per week on the Hong Kong route after July 1, several airlines slashed prices in an effort to increase occupancy rates," said Ricky Chen (
A three-day round trip ticket on China Airlines Co (
A four-day round trip ticket from EVA Airways Corp (
But watch out for the fine print. Tickets are non-refundable, non-reroutable and require full payment seven days in advance.
In addition, consumers have to purchase these bargains with designated hotel stays, which adds about NT$850 per person per night, Chen said.
These special offers will conclude at the end of August.
Currently, there are 242 flights per week on the Taiwan-Hong Kong route. But thanks to the new Taiwan-Hong Kong aviation pact, which went into effect July 1, the number of passenger flights on the route has increased to 306 flights per week and is expected to increase to 340 per week by 2004, according to the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
China Airlines and Cathy Pacific Airways Ltd each control more than 100 flights per week on the route, while EVA and Dragon Airlines (
Dragon Airlines inaugurated its first flight between Taipei and Hong Kong yesterday.
According to another industry veteran, a slump in Hong Kong's tourism business has not only triggered a price war in air fares, but has also led to a joint promotional efforts among companies in the tourism sector.
"July and August are the slowest months for most hotels in Hong Kong, since there are not many trade shows taking place during this period," said Vivian Chan (
Consequently, many hotels, airlines, travel agencies and tourist associations are working together to promote tours to Hong Kong, Chan said.
Individual travelers or business travelers benefit less from the price war, another insider said.
"We saw very little impact on Taiwan-Hong Kong-Shanghai route air fare after the new aviation pact took effect," said Lai Hsiu-yuan (
A round trip ticket between Taiwan and Hong Kong for an individual is around NT$7,000. A Taiwan-Hong Kong-Shanghai route is about NT$15,000.
"These prices are almost the same as those in previous months," she said.
Business travelers require flexible and convenient flight services and generally can't be bound to group air tickets that come with a host of limitations.
"That's why most of the airfare profits come from business passengers rather than tourists," Lai said.
Last year, nearly 70 percent of people coming to Hong Kong were one-day transit visitors, which means their final destination was probably somewhere in China, Chan said.
"Business travelers are major cash cows on the Taiwan-Hong Kong route," she said.
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