A United Airlines (UA) flight on Saturday made its maiden voyage from Kaohsiung International Airport to Narita International Airport near Tokyo, on a new route launched by the major US carrier.
UA838 took off from Kaohsiung at 10:23am, two minutes ahead of schedule, the airline said, adding that the daily route would be operated with a Boeing 737-800.
On Friday, UA837 carried passengers from Narita to Kaohsiung at 8:48pm for the first time.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung City Government
The daily flight to Narita has 166 seats available, including 16 business class seats.
With the daily route, United Airlines officially became the first US carrier to establish regular service out of Kaohsiung, the Kaohsiung City Government said.
The route connects Kaohsiung, Tokyo and San Francisco, it added.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), United Airlines’ managing director of worldwide sales Marcel Fuchs and American Institute in Taiwan Kaohsiung branch head Neil Gibson attended an event to commemorate the flight at Kaohsiung airport.
Chen praised the new route for making it easier for city residents to fly to the US, as Narita is a hub for connecting flights to major US cities.
Prior to the new route, people living in Kaohsiung who wanted to fly to the US had to travel north to depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, but with the United Airlines flights, they have another option for traveling to Tokyo, he said.
Fuchs said the route is expected to greatly benefit tourism, as it not only makes it easier for Japanese tourists to fly to Kaohsiung, but also for Kaohsiung travelers to easily transfer to the US.
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