China Airlines (CAL) will adjust its Taipei-London service from March 25 onwards. The twice-weekly direct flights will cease; instead, the carrier is establishing a daily codeshare flight with Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) from Amsterdam to London, to connect its existing Taipei-Bangkok-Amsterdam service. That means passengers taking CAL to travel to London from Taipei will have to make two stops.
Flight CI065 departs the Taiwanese capital daily at 2220 to arrive in Bangkok at 0110 the following day. It will continue on to Amsterdam at 0230, arriving at 0900. The schedule of the new codeshare service, flight CI9365/9366, has not been released.
The return flight from Amsterdam, CI066, departs at 1400 to arrive in Bangkok at 0645 the following day, and takes off for Taipei at 0830, arriving at 1300.
According to the latest press release by CAL, high oil prices and the European debt crisis have affected the profitability of its direct service to London, which was launched in March, 2010. As reported earlier (see story here), the airline stopped accepting bookings for its London service beyond March earlier this month, causing speculations that the route would be cancelled. But a spokesperson of the airline confirmed with Business Traveller that the route was under review, and codesharing with a Skyteam partner was one of the options being considered.
The change still needs to be approved by regulators, but CAL expects to begin accepting reservations for London again after February 15. Passengers who have already booked the Taipei-London direct flight for after March 25 will be contacted by the airline about alternative arrangements. Other European cities CAL flies to include Frankfurt and Vienna, and passengers may also use them as points of transit, although that might mean having to find their own connecting flights with other airlines not in the same alliance.
A CAL source told Business Traveller that there is a possibility for the direct flight to London to resume when the airline receives its fuel-efficient A350s, which are due for 2015. The Taipei-London route is currently serviced by the A340.
For more information, visit www.china-airlines.com/en.
Reggie Ho
