CNA file photo

Taipei, July 1 (CNA) EVA Airways (EVA Air), one of Taiwan's major airlines, on Sunday launched daily nonstop flights on a new route between Taoyuan and Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand, in celebration of the 27th anniversary of the airline's inaugural flight to the country.

On July 1, 1991, EVA Air introduced its first flight from Taoyuan to Bangkok, the largest city in Thailand, EVA Air President Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said, adding that the new route will give passengers on its 82 weekly flights from North America more convenient access to Chiang Mai, via easy, one-stop connections through Taoyuan and is expected to attract more tourists to Taiwan and Thailand.

Following the launch, EVA Air now operates 35 flights to Thailand, including 28 flights to Bangkok and seven to Chiang Mai, according to Sun.

Chiang Mai Province in northern Thailand has a population of more than 1.7 million and is a popular tourist destination with many cultural and historic attractions, said Suree Trairatananukool, deputy executive director of the Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's budget carrier Tigerair Taiwan launched a scheduled charter route from Kaohsiung to Japan's Nagoya on Sunday at a ceremony hosted by Joyce Huang (黃世惠), the airline's chief business officer, at Kaohsiung International Airport.

Huang said that Tigerair Taiwan attaches great importance to the Kaohsiung market and hopes to help boost tourism in the two cities and increase bilateral exchanges by offering budget flight tickets.

The new route is the sixth international flight Tigerair Taiwan operates from Kaohsiung and the fifth to Japan, Huang said, noting Tigerair Taiwan is the only carrier that offers direct flights to Nagoya.

The new service will operate on Thursdays and Sundays. The flight will depart Kaohsiung at 1:20 p.m., while on the return leg, the flight will take off from Nagoya at 6:25 p.m., according to the airline.



(By Wu Jui-chi, Chen Ja-fo and Evelyn Kao)
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