UNI Airways Corp (
Direct cross-strait travel is banned, except for a ferry service as part of the so-called "mini three links" that connect Kinmen and Matsu with China. These ferry services are available only to Taiwanese businessmen living in China and residents of Kinmen and Matsu.
"Around 7,000 to 8,000 people travel to and from each side of Taiwan Strait via the `mini three links' between Kinmen and Xiamen every month," said Arthur Lin (
"We hope to boost our market share rate of this route to two-thirds from the current 50 percent by providing customers a more advanced service," Lin said.
Eyeing the potential business opportunities brought by the government's plans to expand the scale of direct links for Taiwanese businessmen outside Fujian Province from next month, UNI Airways decided to collaborate with Fujian Xiamen Shipping Corp to launch the coordinated booking and transport service.
Travelers can complete the entire booking process for sea, air and land transport for the journey in just one phone call. Each round-trip ticket costs NT$5,200 per person, including insurance.
UNI Airways, which each week operates 236 flights linking Kinmen and five major cities -- Taipei, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung -- said this system could save travellers up to half the travel time and expense of traveling via Hong Kong or Macao.
"We expect the service will lure more customers and increase business by about 20 percent," Lin said.
In response to UNI Airways' move, TransAsia Airways is planning to launch a similar coordinated service for customers in mid-March in cooperation with a Chinese shipping company and Xiamen Airlines, said Janet So (
"Our customers can choose to go to China via the `mini three links' route and return via Macao and vice versa, which is much more flexible than our competitors," So said.
Other domestic airlines are also offering promotions to boost their businesses during the low season.
Far Eastern Air Transport Co (
The company is also cooperating with hot springs resorts to give customers who buy tickets for some flights between Taipei and Kaohsiung or Taitung in February and March the opportunity to win free spa vouchers and flight tickets.
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