V Air to end services to Japan's Tokyo Haneda, Ibaraki

Taipei, Aug. 8 (CNA) V Air, a subsidiary of Taiwanese carrier TransAsia Airways (復興航空), said Monday that it will end its flight services between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Japanese destinations Tokyo Haneda and Ibaraki.

The last services on the two routes will be flights ZV253 from Haneda to Taoyuan Sept. 17 and ZV241 from Ibaraki to Taoyuan Sept. 18, the airline said.

The move follows market rumors that the carrier is likely to fold after incurring heavy losses amid escalating competition in the international no-frills airline business.

V Air, however, quashed the speculation and said the cut is part of its marketing strategy.

The airline said it has already released its flight schedule for the period Oct. 30, 2016 to March 25, 2017 and still maintains an average load factor of 75 percent, with popular destinations like Bangkok and Chiang Mai hitting 85 percent.

Both the airline, which started operation in December 2014, and Tigerair Taiwan, another budget carrier that launched maiden flights in September that year, are struggling with heavy losses, industry sources have said.

(By Chen Wei-ting and Lee Hsin-Yin)ENDITEM/J