Tigerair Taiwan plans to launch direct flights to Kochi, Japan, on Nov. 1, the first destination the airline would be serving on the island of Shikoku, it announced in a statement yesterday.
Initially, Tigerair Taiwan would offer two round-trip flights every Wednesday and Saturday.
Flight IT250 bound for Kochi Ryoma Airport would take off at 8:40am from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, and the return flight, IT251, would leave Kochi at 2pm, the statement said.
Photo courtesy of Tigerair Taiwan Ltd
To celebrate the launch of the new route, special fares would be offered today, the airline said.
Kochi Prefecture, in the south of Shikoku, was home to Ryoma Sakamoto, who was central in efforts to overthrow the shogunate 150 years ago, the airline said.
The historical figure attracts many visitors to Kochi every year, while the Shimantogawa, a 196km river in the west of the prefecture, is also a popular tourist attraction.
Tigerair Taiwan, a joint venture between Taipei-based China Airlines and Singapore-based Budget Aviation Holdings, is the sole low-cost carrier headquartered in Taiwan. It mainly offers flights to Japan, South Korea, Macau, the Philippines and Thailand.
Meanwhile, China Airlines announced that it has started to offer new inflight menus.
The menus were planned in cooperation with Le Palais, the only three-star Michelin restaurant in Taiwan, Japanese kaiseki-style restaurant Tou Tou An, Michelin Green Star restaurant Yangming Spring and Taiwanese dessert shop Le Ruban Patisserie.
Cantonese cuisine created by Le Palais has been introduced on all long-haul flights from Taiwan to Europe and North America, while dishes created by Tou Tou An are served in Premium Business and Business Class flights to Japan, China Airlines said.
Passengers who like vegetables can try dishes created by Yangming Spring on all routes, while those who like sweets can enjoy desserts made by Le Ruban Patisserie when traveling Premium Business or Business Class to Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka or Fukuoka in Japan, it said.
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