China Airlines resumes flights

Taiwanese flag carrier China Airlines (CAL) resumed yesterday direct flights to Manila, ending a bitter aviation dispute that severed bilateral air links for a year.

Two CAL flights left early yesterday morning from Taipei and Kaohsiung for Manila following a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Taiwanese capital.

The event was attended by Rodolfo Reyes, director general of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taipei.

Both the MD-11 from Taipei and Boeing 737-800 from Kaohsiung were fully booked, mostly with Filipino workers stationed in Taiwan.

Flight CI 637 from Kaohsiung landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 9:20 a.m., followed by Flight CI 631 from Taipei with 294 passengers.

CAL has scheduled 10 round-trip flights on a chartered basis between the two capitals from Oct. 8 to 29. By December, the airline will fly 18 round-trip passenger and cargo flights per week, with 3,866 seats available in each direction.

Taiwan and the Philippines signed a new air agreement on Sept. 25.

Manila unilaterally scrapped an air service agreement and several air links with Taipei in October last year, accusing Taiwanese carriers of poaching passengers from Manila and flying them to third countries via Taipei.

The new agreement effectively gives Taiwanese airlines what they wanted — 9,600 passenger seats a week and the right to transport people and cargo to third countries, commonly referred to as "sixth freedom right."

Debt-ridden Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it would lose about $800 million with the new deal.

PAL also said it may resume direct flights to Taiwan by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, PAL employees are still hoping that the Senate would stop Malacañang from implementing the aviation contract between Taipei and Manila.

The employees marched to the Senate on Wednesday and submitted to senators a manifesto embodying their objection to the sixth freedom rights.

They charged that the pact with Taiwan is a threat to their jobs since it would force PAL to retrench employees and later close down due to heavy losses. – AP, Rudy Santos