China Eastern Airlines Benifits from China - Taiwan Accord

China Eastern Airlines A340-642 B-6055 (586) arrives in Los Angeles (KLAX) sporting "Better City, Better Life" titles.
(Photo by Michael Carter)

China Eastern Airlines will benefit the most from the agreement reached in April to expand significantly the number of flights permitted across the Taiwan Strait, according to a cross-strait distribution plan released this week by CAAC.

The Taipei-based Strait Exchange Foundation and the Beijing-based Assn. for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait signed the accord that increases from 108 to 270 the number of direct flights allowed beginning this month.

Under CAAC's plan, CEA is designated to operate 58 weekly flights to Taipei from Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Qingdao, Kunming, Xi'an, Hefei, Ningbo and Nanchang. CEA Board Secretary Luo Zhuping noted that the carrier's cross-strait routes are among its most profitable and have operated at 80%-90% capacity on average.

Air China was assigned 54 weekly flights to Taipei from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Tianjin and Guiyang. China Southern Airlines also was allocated 54 weekly flights to Taipei to be operated from Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Dalian, Guilin, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Changsha, Haikou, Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Harbin and Guiyang.

Hainan Airlines and Shanghai Airlines each were allocated 20 weekly flights while Xiamen Airlines was given 22. Sichuan Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines were granted 14 weekly flights each.

On the cargo front, Air China Cargo was assigned 10 weekly flights to Taipei from Shanghai and Guangzhou while CEA subsidiary China Cargo Airlines was assigned eight weekly flights from Shanghai to Taipei and China Southern was assigned 10 weekly flights from Guangzhou to Taipei.

(Air Transport World - ATWOnline)