Taiwanese carrier China Airlines is launching new daily flights between Kaohsiung and Jakarta with a stopover in Hong Kong, with the first flight set to take off on July 1.

China Airlines has described the service as an “exclusive new route”, though this is only partially correct. The airline already flies multiple times per day between Kaohsiung on the south of the island and Hong Kong, as well as between Hong Kong and Jakarta.

So how is this new service different?

For starters, it is the only direct service making the journey, with both flights carrying the same flight number (CI671/CI672).

This, importantly, gives China Airlines a lot more ability to coordinate the schedule of the two routes. At present, flying from Kaohsiung to Jakarta via Hong Kong (either with China Airlines itself or subsidiary Mandarin Airlines) will take travellers close to 13 hours, due to the lengthy stopover, while the return journey takes close to 11 hours

However, this new service cuts that time in half, taking just over seven hours in either direction.

Flight No. From To Departs Arrives Days
CI671 Kaohsiung (KHH) Jakarta (CGK) 1410 2020 Daily
CI672 Jakarta (CGK) Kaohsiung (KHH) 0625 1455 Daily

The new service also will be the only one operated by China Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 aircraft (other flights on this route are generally flown by the carrier’s Airbus A330-300 and Embraer 190).

China Airlines has two configurations for its B737-800, both of which offer eight business class seats in a 2-2 layout, with a pitch of up to 40 inches and a width of 20 inches.

The Taiwanese carrier currently flies 28 times per week to and from destinations in Indonesia.

Last December, China Airlines began flying its newest aircraft, the A350-900, on its direct flights between Taipei and Jakarta.