EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) and Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) yesterday both launched “flight to nowhere” programs for next month’s Mid-Autumn Festival, hoping to offer passengers a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the moon from a plane.
The latest offering follows their programs last month for Father’s Day and Lovers’ Day (also known as the Qixi Festival), in which tickets sold out quickly.
EVA said it would offer one evening flight per day during the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend from Oct. 1 to Oct. 4.
Photo courtesy of EVA Airways Corp
The planes are scheduled to take off after 6pm so that passengers can view the moon, it told the Taipei Times by telephone.
EVA is deploying its Boeing 787-10 planes for the four flights, which have 342 seats compared with 309 for the Hello Kitty-themed Airbus SE A330-300 planes that it used before, it said.
“The fact that a Boeing 787-10 aircraft has the largest windows among all wide-body commercial planes would be a selling point,” it said.
Similar to its previous programs, the Boeing 787-10 jets would not land in a foreign airport, but would make a sightseeing loop over Taiwan’s west coast and Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, EVA said.
The planes would descend to an altitude of about 20,000 feet (6,096m), compared with regular commercial flights’ 9,144m, to give passengers a better view, it said.
With tickets priced at NT$5,888 (US$199.4) for an economy-class seat and NT$7,888 for a business-class seat, EVA is forecast to make at least NT$8.32 million in revenue from the four flights.
EVA is planning to launch another six “fly-to-nowhere” programs over the Double Ten National Day, Halloween, Double 11 Singles’ Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day, it said.
“The revenue we make from the special flights would be nothing compared with those generated from our international flights prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, but at least those programs could help maintain our cash flow,” an EVA official said.
Meanwhile, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) plans to offer six “fly to the moon” flights on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, using its A321neo planes.
However, it has not finalized its ticket prices and flight schedule, Starlux said, adding that it would not all be evening flights.
Tigerair Taiwan Ltd (台灣虎航), the nation’s only low-cost carrier, yesterday said it as still evaluating whether to offer such special flights, after canceling its Lovers’ Day flights due to lower-than-expected sales.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is expected to step down from her role before her eight-year term ends in October next year, the Financial Times reported. Lagarde wants to leave before the French presidential election in April next year, which would allow French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to find her replacement together, the report said, citing an unidentified person familiar with her thoughts on the matter. It is not clear yet when she might exit, the report said. “President Lagarde is totally focused on her mission and has not taken any decision regarding the end of
French President Emmanuel Macron told a global artificial intelligence (AI) summit in India yesterday he was determined to ensure safe oversight of the fast-evolving technology. The EU has led the way for global regulation with its Artificial Intelligence Act, which was adopted in 2024 and is coming into force in phases. “We are determined to continue to shape the rules of the game... with our allies such as India,” Macron said in New Delhi. “Europe is not blindly focused on regulation — Europe is a space for innovation and investment, but it is a safe space.” The AI Impact Summit is the fourth
CONFUSION: Taiwan, Japan and other big exporters are cautiously monitoring the situation, while analysts said more Trump responses ate likely after his loss in court US trading partners in Asia started weighing fresh uncertainties yesterday after President Donald Trump vowed to impose a new tariff on imports, hours after the Supreme Court struck down many of the sweeping levies he used to launch a global trade war. The court’s ruling invalidated a number of tariffs that the Trump administration had imposed on Asian export powerhouses from China and South Korea to Japan and Taiwan, the world’s largest chip maker and a key player in tech supply chains. Within hours, Trump said he would impose a new 10 percent duty on US imports from all countries starting on
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE: The initiative is aimed at protecting semiconductor supply chain resilience to reduce dependence on China-dominated manufacturing hubs India yesterday joined a US-led initiative to strengthen technology cooperation among strategic allies in a move that underscores the nations’ warming ties after a brief strain over New Delhi’s unabated purchase of discounted Russian oil. The decision aligns India closely with Washington’s efforts to build secure supply chains for semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and critical technologies at a time when geopolitical competition with China is intensifying. It also signals a reset in relations following friction over energy trade and tariffs. Nations that have joined the Pax Silica framework include Japan, South Korea, the UK and Israel. “Pax Silica will be a group of nations
RSS