Tigerair Taiwan is hoping to become the first Taiwanese budget airline to enter the cross-strait market. That’s the word from Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration on Wednesday.
The airline is competing with a number of conventional airlines for the rights to operate two newly opened routes between Taiwan and Mainland China.
Civil aviation officials from Taiwan and China reached an agreement in September that will open up direct flights from Taiwan to China’s Changzhou Benniu Airport and Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport. Under the terms of the agreement, the two sides will allow three weekly flights serving each the newly opened routes.
A number of budget airlines offer service to airports in Taiwan. But only China-based Spring Airlines offers low cost flights between Taiwan and destinations in China. If its bid is successful, Tigerair Taiwan, a new airline founded in September, will be the first Taiwanese low cost carrier to enter the cross-strait aviation market.