Taiwan airline to begin Taichung-Vietnam regular flights

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dpa German Press Agency
Published: Tuesday December 5, 2006

Taipei- Taiwan's Mandarin Airlines plans to begin regular flights from the central Taiwan city of Taichung to Vietnam starting December 23, a newspaper said on Wednesday. Mandarin Airlines will offer three flights per week between Taichung, Taiwan's third-largest city, to Ho Chi Minh City, and plans to increase service to daily flights next March.

Le said the Taichung-Vietnam route has great potential because many Taiwanese go to Vietnam for sightseeing and many Vietnamese women are married to Taiwan men or work as maid in Taiwan.

"The purpose is to serve the 8 million people in central Taiwan and the 30,000 Vietnamese brides and maids," the Commercial Times quoted Mandarin Airlines Chairman Le Ta-hsin as saying.

Despite lack of diplomatic ties, Taiwan is Vietnam's largest foreign investor and thousands of Taiwanese fly to Vietnam every day for tourism or on business.

Currently there are five to eight flights each day from Taipei and Kaohsiung to Hanoi and Ho Chi Min City, served by Taiwan's China Airlines and EVA Airways and Vietnam's Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency