China Airlines plans to operate its new A321 neo aircraft on direct flights to Cebu and Chiang Mai this winter.
The four-times-weekly service from Taipei to Cebu in the Philippines will begin on December 1, 2022, operating every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The schedule will be as follows:
CI705 departs Taoyuan International airport 0740, arrives 1035
CI706 departs 1135, arrives 1430
This will be followed by a four-times-weekly service from Taipei to Chiang Mai in Thailand from January 20, 2023, taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
CI851 departs 0750, arrives 1100
CI852 departs 1200, arrives 1700
The A321 neo aircraft is configured with 180 seats (12 business class, 168 economy class), and recently debuted on the Taipei-Tokyo Haneda route.
The airline commented:
“The Cebu and Chiang Mai routes will help China Airlines take advantage of the transit market connecting flights to major cities in North America and Europe. The resumption of services and more frequent flights to Southeast Asian destinations form part of the strategy to target the transmit market. China Airlines will also continue to monitor the market and evaluate the launching of new routes.”
In the release, the carrier also mentioned that it had increased its overall number of passenger-carrying flights by 30 per cent in the last quarter, with Southeast Asia routes seeing an increase of 50 per cent.
The airline also recently announced plans to purchase 16 B787-9 aircraft from Boeing.
