Taiwan's two major carriers to cut 35 flights in September

Jul 30, 2008, 7:21 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan's two major carriers, China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Air, have decided to cut a combined 35 flights per week from September 1 to cut costs amid skyrocketing fuel prices, airline officials said Wednesday.

Under the plan, CAL would cut at least 10 flights per week - four flights to Los Angeles, one or two flights to San Francisco and one flight to New York in the United States as well as four flights to Vancouver in Canada - a CAL spokesman said.

He said the airline would also suspend all four flights per week to Seattle.

EVA plans to cut 25 flights per week, including six flights to Los Angeles, two flights to San Francisco and one flight to Seattle, EVA officials said.

It would also axe one flight to Amsterdam, three flights to Ho Chi Minh City, two flights to Jakarta, two flights to Singapore, two flights to Bangkok, one flight to Kuala Lumpur and five flights to Hong Kong, they said.

'September is the low season for the airline business, and in the face of rising fuel costs, there is a need for the company to adjust its operation strategy,' EVA Vice President Nieh Kuo-wei said.

He said EVA would gradually convert some of its passenger jets into cargo jets and would increase its flights to Japan and China, where business is better.

Since July 4, Taiwan, which bans direct flights to and from China, has permitted airlines to operate regular weekend charter flights directly across the Taiwan Strait, helping to save fuel costs and reduce flight times, after a thaw in cross-strait relations.