The FINANCIAL — Melbourne Airport has welcomed today’s arrival of the inaugural China Airlines direct flight between Melbourne and Taipei.
The new A330-300 direct service from Taipei will operate three times a week, arriving in Melbourne at 11.50am before continuing to Christchurch. The return flight from Christchurch will arrive at 9.40pm before departing for Taipei at 11.10pm.
The introduction of direct services will support further growth in the number of visitors from Taiwan who travel to Victoria for leisure, education or business purposes, according to Melbourne Airport.
Inbound visitors to Victoria from Taiwan have grown on average by 15 per cent per annum over the past five years despite the lack of direct flights between Melbourne and Taipei. Just under half of the Taiwan visitor market comes to Victoria for holidays, demonstrating the great potential for further growth in this market.
The new direct flights will also provide more opportunities for business and education related travel, as well as providing Victorian air freight exporters with direct access into an important Asian market.
The new services will also provide more choice for Victorians to travel between Melbourne and Christchurch.
Quotes attributable to Mr Lyell Strambi, CEO Melbourne Airport:
“We extend a very warm welcome to Melbourne for China Airlines. In particular, it was a pleasure to welcome the President of China Airlines, Dr Chang Yu-Hern, who travelled on the inaugural flight along with fellow Board members. We look forward to working closely with China Airlines and providing them the best levels of service and support to ensure the success of these new direct flights.”
“Attracting new international services such as China Airlines provides exciting new opportunities for Victoria’s tourism industry, as well as strengthening our business, trade and education connections with Taiwan.”
“Melbourne Airport’s continuing strong international growth is evidence that our facility upgrades and expansions are helping us to meet the needs of our customers and passengers. We’ll continue to be focused on doing the right things, and doing them well, to ensure that Melbourne Airport supports our international carriers and the benefits they bring to Victoria”.
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