Tigerair Taiwan announced on Monday it will start regular flights between Kaohsiung and Okayama, a major transit hub in western Japan, on Oct. 27.
The airline will provide three round-trip flights each week for the new Kaohsiung-Okayama route with tickets scheduled to go on sale starting Tuesday, Tigerair said
In July 2026, Tigerair launched direct flights from Taoyuan International Airport to Okayama as the only carrier in Taiwan to run the route. In the initial stage, there were only three round-trip flights a week between Taoyuan and Okayama, but now the number of flights has increased to seven.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Tigerair said the carrier has stayed upbeat about demand from Taiwanese travelers for trips to Okayama and its neighboring cities so it has decided to launch the new route to allow people in southern Taiwan to more conveniently visit Okayama and the areas close to the Japanese city.
Okayama, which has a mild climate, is famous for its agricultural products, including high quality white peaches and grapes. It has many tourism attractions, including Korakuen, which is one of the most famous gardens. Korakuen largely keeps a style from the Edo period (1603- 1867) with waterfalls, tiny shrines, teahouses and maple forests.
Among its main attractions are the many “Peach Boy” statues seen around the city, reminders that the renowned Japanese tale Momotaro san, or Peach Boy, originated in Okayama.
In addition, Okayama has a geographic proximity to Himeji Castle, which has been named one of the world’s heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Tigerair said Kaohsiung also has a district called Gangshan, which is pronounced in Mandarin as 岡山, the same pronunciation for Okayama in Mandarin. Gangshan is known for its military history as well as delicious food.
The carrier said the new route is expected to allow travelers to explore the differences between Gangshan and Okayama.
In the initial stage, Tigerair said it will fly from Kaohsiung International Airport at 12:50 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays, and at 10:55 a.m. on Fridays, while returning from Okayama Momotaro Airport at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and at 3:25 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays.
To celebrate the new route, Tigerair said one-way tickets will be sold at NT$1,699 (US$53.09) before tax for flights available during the period between Oct. 27 and March 29, 2025.
In addition, Tigerair said it has decided to raise the number of flights between Taoyuan and Okayama to nine a week from the current seven, also starting from Oct. 27, to meet rising demand.
Boosted by a frenzy in travelling in the post COVID-19 era, Tigerair posted a new high of NT$1.53 billion in net profit in the first half of this year, with earnings per share at NT$3.42, also a record high.
Its consolidated sales hit a record high of NT$8.21 billion in the six month period, up 50.1 percent from a year earlier.
Currently, Tigerair runs flights to 27 destinations countries in the region, including Japan, South Korea, Macau, Thailand and Vietnam.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RSS