Regular direct flights between China
and Taiwan were
resumed July 4th, 2008,
after a politically effected lull of almost 60 years (since 1949) during which
only the occasional charter flights were allowed to make the cross-strait trip.
The inaugural flight, a China Southern Airbus A330 piloted
by chairman of the Chinese airline, made the journey from Guangzhou
to Taipei Taoyuan
International Airport
on July the 4th carrying about 250 passengers, many of them Chinese tourists,
who were greeted festively by lion dancers.
36 round-trip flights weekly are scheduled between the
Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Beijing,
Xiamen, Nanjing,
and Shanghai and Taiwan’s
Taipei. The current schedule of Friday to Monday commercial
flights is expected to be extended to weekdays in the near future. Along with the flights, up to 3000 Chinese
tourists daily will be allowed to visit Taiwan
beginning July 18th as part of the new deal to relax travel restrictions
between the two sides.
This historic show of warming relations between the two
Chinas is sparked in large part thanks to Taiwan’s
new President Ma Ying-jeou, who has pledged to reinvigorate Taiwan’s
economy and tourism sector since taking office in May. Negotiations between the two sides began in
June, with a focus on improving economic relations and easing up on travel
restrictions. The new regularly scheduled flights between China
and Taiwan are
expected to provide a large influx of Mainland tourists to the small island
nation, and with them a boost to its tourism industry’s bottom line.
Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera, BBC
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QatarAirways expands its presence in China to include flights to Guangzhou, with four flights a weeknow scheduled between Doha and Guangzhou, and going up to fivestarting May 1. This will bring theweekly number of scheduled flights between Doha and China up to 21, with Beijing served 4 times weekly, Shanghai 5, Hong Kong daily, and Guangzhou 5 times weekly. Apress conference and gala dinner were held in Guangzhou by Qatar Airways recentlyto celebrate the launch of the new Guangzhou flight route and the officialopening of the airline’s new sales and reservations office in the heart of Guangzhou's business district.
QatarAirways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker spoke at the press conference,highlighting the airline’s expansion plans completed and planned:
“Wehave steadily built up our business in China, first with Shanghai, then Beijing and Hong Kong – and am now pleased tosee our award-winning Five Star service expand to yet another key city. Guangzhou offers both business andleisure travelers an alternative gateway to this fascinating country.”
“QatarAirways looks forward to welcoming passengers from Europe, Middle East and Africa on the new flights to Guangzhou via our Doha hub.”
Withthe new Guangzhou route added, Qatar Airwaysnow operates flights to 82 destinations worldwide across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, theFarEast,and NorthAmerica.
TheDoha – Guangzhou route is served by an AirbusA330 aircraft with up to 24 seats in Business Class and up to 248 seats inEconomy Class.
TheDoha – Guangzhou Flightschedule is as follows:
Doha International Airport to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Monday,Tuesday, Friday: QR876 depart Doha 0230, arrive Guangzhou 1535
Thursday : QR874depart Doha 0230, arrive Guangzhou 1535
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to Doha International Airport
Monday,Tuesday, Friday: QR877 depart Guangzhou 2030, arrive Doha 2359
Friday: QR875depart Guangzhou 0055, arrive Doha 0425
Tobook a flight on Qatar Airways go to www.qatarairways.com
Forbooking within China, book domestic Guangzhou flights or other China domestic flights at www.bamboobookings.com
Terminal 2 opens at Shanghai Pudong International Airport – twice as large as the first terminal – to accommodate surges in passenger flight demand. Three 500 meter walkways will link the terminals together, providing easy flight transfers. 15 airlines have moved into Terminal 2, including Northwest Airlines, Air India, British Airways, Alitalia Airline, Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Philippines Airlines, Qantas Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Nepal Airlines, Transaero Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Air Ukraine, Cebu Pacific Air, and the only domestic one so far Shanghai Airlines. The new terminal, along with a new runway and cargo facility, should alleviate lines and delays at the busy airport, which is great news for passengers.
To book domestic Shanghai Flights, go to www.bamboobookings.com
After 4 years of construction, Beijing
Capital International
Airport’s new Terminal 3 is planned
to begin operation by the end of this month, in plenty time for the summer
Olympics. On February 29th, 6
airlines are scheduled to begin using the terminal - Shandong Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Qantas Airways, Qatar
Airways, British Airways, and El Al Israel Airlines - with an additional 21 to
follow March 26th. The new
terminal will be bigger than the first two combined, and transfer buses will
connect the 3 terminals.
If you need to book China domestic flights, start your search at our home page: www.bamboobookings.com