Starlux Airlines yesterday resumed daily flights between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Manila after a hiatus of nearly two years.
Taiwan and the Philippines share close commercial and tourism ties, the airline said.
More than 160,000 Filipinos work in Taiwan, while both countries have signed reciprocal tourism agreements to grant visa-free travel for stays up to 14 days, it said.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
Flight depart daily at 8:20am and arrive in Manila at 11:05am, while the return service takes off at 11:50am and arrives at Taoyuan airport at 2:05pm, the airline said.
The airline’s flight network in the Philippines covers Manila, Cebu and Clark City, with 23 flights between the two countries per week, it said.
Starlux began Taoyuan-Manila flights in 2021, with two round-trip flights per week initially expanding to seven.
However, it suspended the service in 2023 due to unfavorable time slots and other factors.
It reactivated the service due to the introduction of the reciprocal visa conditions and a significant increase in transit passengers from flights between the US and the Philippines, industry observers said.
Meanwhile, the nation’s two largest airlines are offering special discounts for flights booked during the winter holiday season.
EVA Airways said that it has airfare discounts through Jan. 5 due to peak-season demand and an increase in the number of flights.
The airline has three round-trip flights between Taoyuan airport and Kobe, Japan, per week, up from two, as well as daily flights between Taiwan and Milan, Italy, EVA Airways said.
Round-trip pretax promotional fares between Taoyuan airport and Japan start as low as NT$7,857 for Kobe, while fares for Osaka start at NT$8,924 and Tokyo at NT$9,317, it said, adding that round-trip services to Hong Kong start from just NT$3,123.
The airline is also offering round-trip pretax fares between Taoyuan airport and Europe, with Milan starting at NT$26,099 and Vienna starting at NT$23,571, it said.
For Southeast Asia, round-trip pretax fares from Taoyuan airport are available from NT$4,278 to Cebu and NT$10,476 to Bali, Indonesia, it said.
For long-haul travel, round-trip fares including taxes between Taoyuan airport and Seattle start from NT$24,289, EVA Airways said.
People traveling on the BR06 Taoyuan-Los Angeles or BR08 Taoyuan-San Francisco services can connect to flights to multiple cities across the US at discounted fares, the airline said.
China Airlines is offering discounted airfares to celebrate the airline’s 66th anniversary, with a one-week promotional period ending on Friday.
Round-trip fares before tax from Taoyuan airport start at NT$4,166 to Cebu, NT$4,366 to Bangkok and NT$5,566 to Singapore, China Airlines said.
Fares to Japanese destinations such as Takamatsu, Hiroshima, Kumamoto and Kagoshima start at NT$6,666, while Osaka is available from NT$8,866, it said.
For long-haul travel, one-way pretax fares from Taoyuan airport start at NT$16,766 to Ontario, California, NT$17,466 to Seattle and NT$21,666 to London, it said.
People who purchase tickets during the promotion and register would go into a raffle to win business-class round-trip tickets to any destination worldwide, the airline said.
Separately, Japan Transocean Air has announced that it would launch Taipei-Okinawa flights in February, while Ho Chi-Minh City-based budget carrier VietJet Air on Dec. 3 resumed flights to Con Dao.
People headed to the holiday resort at the south of Vietnam can board VietJet Air flights at Taoyuan airport, Taichung International Airport or Kaohsiung International Airport, and transit via Hanoi or Ho Chi-Minh City, VietJet Air said.
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