Regional Taiwanese airline Far Eastern Air Transport Corp (遠東航空) yesterday confirmed its interest in taking over and restructuring TransAsia Airways Corp (復興航空), which abruptly announced its closure last month due to financial problems.
Far Eastern has been in negotiations with TransAsia’s creditor banks to have its takeover plan approved and the banks are expected to meet next week to discuss the bid.
If Far Eastern is to restructure TransAsia, the consortium of creditors must agree to the airline’s proposal and then ask the court to designate Far Eastern as the company that will restructure TransAsia.
Photo: CNA
Far Eastern chief operating officer Tseng Chin-chih (曾金池) said he was optimistic about the banks’ decision, adding that the company would have to raise NT$2 billion (US$62.56 million) in capital and get the rest from bank loans for the deal.
Future operations would be run as a two-company joint venture, with TransAsia being renamed Far Eastern United Airlines, Tseng said, adding that, despite a downscaling, Far Eastern expects to retain about 1,000 former TransAsia employees.
Far Eastern had not considered a merger with TransAsia because TransAsia holds an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) that would unnecessarily drag out the process of a merger, Tseng said.
“Under this structure, we hope to resume domestic flights in the shortest possible time,” Tseng said, adding that because of the AOC, the new airline could retain services, such as maintenance, standing in as ground crew for other airlines and a catering service.
As air traffic rights held by TransAsia were rescinded by the Civil Aeronautics Administration, Tseng said Far Eastern hopes to negotiate with the agency for all the routes formerly operated by TransAsia.
Domestic routes would be prioritized should the takeover be successful, Tseng said.
In terms of wages, Tseng said airlines have different standards, and capability and experience would be a priority when considering former TransAsia employees.
TransAsia spokesperson Liu Chung-chi (劉忠繼) declined to comment on the issue.
The administration yesterday said it respected Far Eastern’s bid to restructure the airline, but said that it would continue to reassign TransAsia’s flight routes as scheduled, adding that other carriers were now coordinating the flight routes.
Additional reporting by Chen Min-wei
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS