Several Taiwanese and foreign airlines will increase their flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong ahead of the March 22 presidential election to help carry China-based Taiwanese home to vote in the election, industry sources said.
Taipei-headquartered China Airlines said it has added 10 additional flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong from March 19 to March 21. The additional flights are already almost fully booked, the company said.
According to Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways, seats on its regular and five added flights between March 19 and March 21 between Taiwan and Hong Kong have all been reserved.
Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, meanwhile, said its Taiwan-Hong Kong flights between March 19 and March 21 will all be full.
EVA Airways Corp will increase its flights on the Taiwan-Hong Kong route during the same period, the company said in a statement issued on Friday.
EVA Air said that the measure is aimed at enabling China-based Taiwanese businesspeople to easily return home ahead of the presidential election, and predicted that the remaining seats on board all its Taiwan-Hong Kong flights will be fully booked next week.
Meanwhile, EVA Air said that it would raise its fares between 10 percent to 15 percent on all its routes by the end of this month to reflect its rising fuel costs as crude oil prices continue to surge in the world market.
The company said that its oil cost had risen from US$84 per barrel on average for the whole of last year to an average US$117 per barrel since the beginning of this year.
An affiliate of shipping conglomerate Evergreen Group, EVA is the largest privately owned Taiwanese airline.
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