The nation’s major airlines predicted that their operations would deteriorate until next quarter after the Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday increased travel advisories for 97 countries to level 3 “warning” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) said that it would not halt its international flights, even though almost all of its destinations were included in the list.
“We will cut flights and adjust our flight schedule, but we will not stop our operations completely, as we believe that there would still be essential travel, such as Taiwanese returning home,” EVA spokesman David Chen (陳耀銘) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
A government ban on entry by foreign nationals that begins today would negatively affect EVA’s business, but it would comply with the center’s instructions, he said.
Revenue is likely to drop next quarter, given that ticket sales from flights to the US and Canada accounted for 38 percent of total revenue last year, while those from services to Europe made up 12 percent, company data showed.
EVA, which has five cargo aircraft, would continue to concentrate on its cargo business to offset the declining passenger ticket sales, but it has not considered using passenger jets to transport cargo, Chen said.
“It would not be smart economically, as a passenger jet can only carry goods in its hold, so its capacity would be much smaller than that of a cargo airplane. The fuel efficiency is low,” he said.
China Airlines Ltd (華航) said that it would check all foreign travelers’ documents from today, while those without an Alien Resident Certificate or special entry permit would not be allowed to board.
The state-owned airline, with 18 Boeing 747 cargo aircraft, would also rely on its cargo business to weather the COVID-19 crisis, saying that it has asked some pilots who used to fly Boeing 747 passenger jets to fly the cargo variants.
China Airlines’ board of directors yesterday approved a plan not to distribute any cash dividend this year, after the carrier reported a net loss of NT$1.2 billion (US$39.6 million) for last year.
In a statement, the carrier attributed the results to a decreasing number of tourists from China and canceled flights amid protests in Hong Kong.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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