Chinese Historic -Taiwan Flights Take Off
Friday, July 11th, 2008It has been estimated that 50 million Chinese wish to obtain cheap airline tickets to fly to Taiwan. They are now able to do so thanks to China Southern Airlines. This new airline is now offering plane tickets from Mainland China to Taiwan.

Flights to Taiwan from China, aside from all inclusive vacation packages done via special charter, have not occurred since 1949.
For the first flight, dragon dancers and a crowd of local media welcomed passengers at Songshan airport in Taipei. While the welcome ceremony here was full of pageantry and pomp, the Pudong airport in Shanghai merely boasted a banner with the airline name.
One of the tourists, Wang Qi, was quoted as saying “It’s so convenient to get here. Since I was very young I always wanted to go to Alishan,” Alishan is most well-known mountain in Taiwan. “So today I feel very happy and warm.” He said.
Although political tensions still remain between the two sides, for the moment, both are eager to capitalize on the benevolence generated by the flights.
Representatives from China and Taiwan agreed last month to four day “weekend” flights. The negotiators decided to let as many as 3,000 Chinese tourists a day visit the island. In the past, this was viewed as a potential safety issue but it is now being overlooked in an effort to pump up the local economy.
One can only hope that cheap airline tickets will further entice the average Chinese to arrange family vacation packages in Taiwan and further stimulate the economy between the two regions.
The flights are expected to damage Hong Kong’s airlines. Cathay Pacific may be the most effected by this. China Airlines and China Eastern will be helped the most, though the ultimate airfare charge will determine who the final airline victor is.
Many airlines, airports and travel agents have worked feverishly over the past month to prepare for these historic flights. It is expected that the travel agents, as well as the airlines will all compete with cheap airline tickets to entice this new group of travelers. Currently, flights are between Taiwan and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai and Xiamen.




