End to restrictions on Taiwan flights

2014-2-18

From：Macau Daily Times

The Macau government signed a new aviation agreement with Taiwan yesterday, cancelling all restrictions on flights between Macau and Taiwan to destinations including Taipei and Kaohsiung. It also allows charter flights to be operated between Macau and other Taiwanese cities.
The Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Alexis Tam, said that the new agreement is the result of 19 years’ worth of work between the two parties. Mr Tam deemed the previous agreement to be not very “appropriate” because it was signed between two commercial bodies – Air Macau and Taipei Airlines Associations. The new agreement has an official status because representatives from both governments signed it. “After some discussions, we (Macau and Taiwan) finally reached a consensus several months ago about the content of the new agreement”, said Mr Tam.
Chan Weng Hong, President of Macau’s Civil Aviation Authority, said that the new arrangement is very important for Macau: “The new agreement opened up the market and liberalized it. This creates condition to attract more airlines to operate in Macau.”
Mr Chan said that there are three major differences between the old and the new agreement. In the old one, it had set a maximum amount of passengers and cargo that could be transported between the two parties. “[With the new agreement signed], airlines can provide an appropriate number of flights into the market, based on commercial considerations,” Mr Chan said.
The new agreement also did not specify which airline operators can provide aviation services between Macau and Taiwan. Moreover, the new agreement allows the operation of charter flights between Macau and Taiwanese cities, including Hualien, Taitung, Magong, Kinmen, Tainan and Chiayi. Nevertheless, Mr Chan revealed that they have yet to see any airlines raise their hands to participate in this market. He added that the industry might need some time to digest the news.
The President also dismissed the concern that the increased competition after opening up the market will shrink the number of operators. He argues that when more service providers are willing to invest more resources into the market, it will in fact attract more passengers, thus enhancing the market. “To my knowledge, there are already airline operators that are in the establishment process in Taiwan. I believe that, out of commercial interests, they will submit applications to Macau after they are granted the operation permits by Taiwan.”
Deputy Director General Lee Wan Lee from Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration pointed out that the recent political relationship between the mainland and Taiwan has established the conditions for facilitating the new agreement. “Since the relationship on both sides of the Taiwan Strait started easing a few years ago, and the commencement of direct flights, all operators believe that there is this demand [for a new arrangement]. Moreover, people have also asked why they can go to some places [directly] but not others. Therefore, governments from both sides would like to work for their people [and hence started discussing the new agreement]”, said Mr Lee.
He suggested that under the new agreement, there would be more competition in the market, which will potentially lead to lower ticket prices. He also said that they have consulted the Taiwan aviation industry while making the decision to sign the new agreement. However, Mr Lee insisted that the industry’s opinion is only a point of reference. “We are not totally adopting the opinion of the industry. We are trying to deliver good policy to the people, not to a specific business in the industry.”  JPL

Copyright@Macau Daily Times