Chunghwa Post yesterday announced that it would launch an international ePacket shipping service next month and cease handling international registered small packets.
The state-run postal service said in a statement it would launch the international ePacket service on April 1, expanding availability from 24 countries and territories to any destination that accepts international airmail.
At the same time, the postal service would no longer accept international registered small packets, it said.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
The change comes in response to policy adjustments by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the rapid growth of global cross-border e-commerce, the company said.
Following the launch of the new service, registered mail services would be limited to documents, such as letters, postcards, aerograms, newspapers and printed materials, it added.
Demand in the postal market has increasingly shifted toward small-parcel delivery services that offer tracking, higher operational efficiency and more competitive pricing, it said.
“International registered small packets require recipients’ signatures upon delivery, written inquiries for tracking issues and more manual processing, resulting in higher operational costs,” the company said.
By contrast, the international ePacket service provides full online tracking throughout the shipping process and does not require a signature upon delivery.
Moreover, international ePacket rates are generally lower than those of international registered small packets sent via airmail, the company said.
Customers can track the shipment status through Chunghwa Post’s global information Web site, making the service particularly suitable for cross-border e-commerce sellers and people sending lightweight items abroad, it added.
A 300g packet to Japan sent as a registered small packet currently costs NT$173, including a postage fee of NT$108 and a registration fee of NT$65.
Through the ePacket service, the same shipment would cost NT$140, saving about NT$33, the company said.
The company announced on Tuesday last week that it has temporarily suspended international mail services to 15 countries due to the impact of the US-Iran war.
The 15 are: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Israel, Pakistan, Maldives, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Greece, Egypt and Morocco, a notice posted on Chunghwa Post’s official Web site says.
Additional reporting by CNA
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The show, performed on the earthquake’s 15th anniversary, drew more than 100 spectators, some of whom arrived two hours before the show to secure a good viewing spot. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love
RSS