Emirates announces non-stop passenger services to Taipei

 
The service will commence from 10th February 2014, initially with six non-stop flights per week to Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport.

The route will be operated by a three class Boeing 777-300ER equipped with eight luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class, and generous space for 304 passengers in Economy Class, along with gourmet cuisine in all classes - served by Emirates’ multinational cabin crew.

Taipei, home to nearly seven million people, is an economic and cultural centre with renowned sights, attractions and a myriad of shopping options. The destination is famous for producing and exporting electronics, textiles, plastics and rubber, optical and photographic instruments and chemicals.

“Emirates SkyCargo has operated a dedicated freighter service to Taipei since 2003. Given its status as a global trading hub and the demand, it is a natural progression for Emirates to launch passenger services to Taipei,” said Barry Brown, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president commercial operations east.

“Emirates’ home, Dubai is another world-class trading centre and this launch is a strong example of not only linking two great commercial destinations, but also promoting international travel and trade. Through Dubai, Emirates offers its international passengers a one-stop connection from Taipei to 70 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

“We are confident that this new route will open up new trade opportunities across the Emirates network as well as support business and tourism travel to Taipei,” said Brown.

Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: “Emirates continues to blaze a trail in Asia where it is targeting high yield passengers out of Taiwan with its new services to Taipei and by extension, giving it additional access to another area of the wider Sino-Asian-Pacific market. For ten years now, Emirates SkyCargo has been serving Taipei, so it was somewhat inevitable that passenger flights would commence as well, even though it's taken a while to get things in motion.”
 
He added: “As well as tapping into Taiwan's renowned industrial sector, Emirates will also offer customers another defacto gateway into China and beyond via Taipei - this is a creative move that could well see the 777-300ER flights to the city quickly upped to the bigger A380-800 should demand prove to be strong enough, especially since Emirates is supports its services there with a dedicated freighter service and wouldn't need to worry about the lack of freight space on its A380s.”