Air New Zealand will be suspending direct flights from Auckland to Taipei…
Air New Zealand will be suspending direct flights from Auckland to Taipei following its last scheduled codeshare flight on 24 March 2006.
Air New Zealand Group General Manager Marketing Network and Sales, Norm Thompson, said that the Auckland to Taipei route was one of the least profitable in the network.
“The cost of operating this service has significantly increased in recent years and these costs plus a decline in visitor numbers from Taiwan, has made this service unsustainable in the future,” said Mr Thompson.
In the past six years, the number of visitors travelling to and from Taiwan has declined by 30 percent and 35 percent respectively.
Air New Zealand has jointly operated direct flights to and from Taipei since 1991, firstly in partnership with Mandarin Airlines from 1991 to 1995 and for the past eight years with EVA Air.
“Demand for the Taipei service was much higher in the 1990s due in part to the influx of Taiwanese immigrants to New Zealand and the business opportunities available here. Unfortunately, this growth has not continued despite our efforts to revive the service through our codeshare agreement with EVA Air,” said Mr Thompson.
“We regularly review market demand for our services to ensure what we provide meets the needs of today’s travellers. Our decision to introduce services to Adelaide next year demonstrates this.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
