Taiwan, Japan sign aviation pact to allow Songshan-Haneda flights
21-Dec-2009 Taiwan has recently signed an aviation pact with Japan to allow direct flights between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Haneda Airport in Tokyo, starting October of 2010.
According to the new aviation agreement between the two sides, China Airlines and EVA Airways are the two designated airlines to operate the new routes, with each of them providing two chartered fights daily from Songshan to Haneda. Likewise, their Japanese counterparts-Japan Airlines Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co.-- will also offer the same number of fights for the route.
It is believed that the flight service will save passengers about two hours on each trip compared to the present route between Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport and Narita Airport in Tokyo, since Songshan and Haneda are located closer to the centers of the two capital cities. However, fight ticket prices for the new route may be 20% higher than those for the existing one.
Lee Lung-wen, director general of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, indicated that President Ma Ying-jeou promised during his presidential campaign in early 2008 to make Songshan Airport become an important airport that can serve golden flight routes between the metropolitan cities in Northeast Asia.
Lee disclosed that after the expansion of the runways in Songshan Airport is completed at the end of September of 2010, the airport will be ready for the landing of A330 passenger planes, with loading capacity of around 270 passengers each. In addition, the mini cargo terminal at the airport is also slated to be officially operational in the same month with daily loading capacity of about 50 tons of goods.
Currently China Airlines offers a total of 22 flights from Taoyuan Airport to Narita Airport per week, and started in August of 2009 to expand its cargo flight route between Taipei and Osaka to include Los Angeles of the United States.
Besides, the aviation pact inked between Taiwan and Japan will grant fifth-freedom rights to carriers on both sides, allowing airlines to take passengers or cargos to one destination to before flying to another destination.
Taiwan carriers will be able to pick up passengers from Osaka and Nagoya and take them to seven destinations in Europe and the U.S.; while Japanese carriers will be able to carry passengers and cargo from Taiwan to seven destinations in Southeast Asia, according to the statement.
The agreement also allows one more carrier from each side to fly the Taipei-Okinawa route, which is now operated by Japan Airlines and China Airlines. The additional carriers to join the route will be Taiwan's EVA Airways and Japan's All Nippon Airways.