Taiwan-based China Airlines (CAL) is to prioritize adding direct flights to Prague and Vienna in the second half of next year due to increasing demand, CAL president Kao Shing-hwang (高星潢) said.
During an interview in Hamburg, Germany, Kao said that CAL flights to Europe this year have been more than 85 percent full and that 80 percent of seats over the Christmas peak season have been sold.
Photo: Taipei Times
He added that the airline is now looking to increase the number of flights to the continent.
The goal was to increase the number of flights to Prague from two to five per week in the second half of next year and to Vienna from four to six per week, he said.
In total, CAL aims to have 30 flights to Europe weekly.
However, adding more flights depended on when new aircraft were delivered, he added.
CAL is the only airline that operates direct flights from Taipei to Prague.
Since the launch of the flights last year, the occupancy rate has reached 90 percent.
Kao said that as well as tourists, the route has also attracted business travelers from nearby cities, including the German cities of Nuremberg and Dresden.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co recently set up a factory in the latter.
CAL currently flies to six places in Europe from Taiwan: Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Vienna, London, Rome and Prague.
It is the Taiwanese airline with the most destinations and direct flights to Europe.
Overall, CAL has 82 aircraft in its fleet, with 560 flights per week.
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