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China Airlines launched its inaugural Cebu-Tapei flight on December 1, 2022
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The Taiwan-based carrier will fly from Cebu-Taipei four times a week
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The new service brings to 21 China Airlines’ total number of flights to the Philippines
China Airlines has launched an inaugural flight from Taipei to Cebu on December 1.
The Taiwan-based carrier has operated scheduled services on the Taipei-Manila and Kaohsiung-Manila routes for many years, and the introduction of regular services to Cebu means the carrier will now operate 21 flights a week to the Philippines.
China Airlines has assigned its newest A321neo passenger aircraft to the Taipei-Cebu route. The aircraft is configured for 180 seats, including 12 in Premium Business Class and 168 in Economy.
Flight CI705 will depart at 07:40am every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from Taoyuan, and arrive in Cebu at 10:35am local time. The return flight CI706 departs from Cebu at 11:35 am and arrives at Taoyuan International Airport at 14:30.
At the inaugural flight, a water cannon salute greeted Flight CI706 with around 120 passengers as it touched down at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) at 11:18 am.
The departing passengers on Flight CI705 from Cebu, on the other hand, were sent off through a cake-cutting ceremony, with partners from MCIAA, Department of Tourism, and other airport stakeholders.
China Airlines in a press statement said “Southeast Asia is a key business and travel market for China Airlines, and Cebu is the new destination to be added in the post-COVID era. Now that the passenger market is showing signs of recovery, China Airlines is not only catering to Taiwanese tourists visiting the Philippines for travel and leisure but also targeting the transit passenger market. Cebu is a popular destination among international travelers, and China Airlines is even set to tap into the North American market with up to 30 North American services. North American travelers transiting through Taiwan on their way to Cebu will further strengthen Taiwan’s status as a transit hub.”
The new Cebu service will be joined by Da Nang in Vietnam on January 2, 2023, followed by Chiang Mai in Thailand on January 20. Each destination will be served by four weekly direct flights. Service frequency on South East Asia routes is also being increased, including routes that depart from central and southern Taiwan.
The Taichung-Ho Chi Minh City route will return to four weekly flights, the Kaohsiung-Manila route will be increased to three weekly flights, and the Kaohsiung-Bangkok route will resume services in January next year. South East Asia will therefore have 18 passenger routes in operation during the peak travel season of the Lunar New Year holidays with around 130 return flights, providing Taiwanese holiday makers with a wide variety of choices for their overseas holiday.
China Airlines is one of the market leaders on high-traffic cargo routes around the world, according to the International Air Transport Association. The airline has a fleet of 65 passenger jets and 21 freighters catering to 149 destinations, as of November 30, 2022.
The SARS epidemic in 2003 caused a sharp decline in the airline’s passenger revenue, a situation it again experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline saw opportunity in the cargo business with huge demand for medical supplies and consumption of goods, leading it to place cargo first before passenger as a business strategy during the height of the pandemic.
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