Lunar New Year cross-strait charter

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On January 29, 2005 China Airlines flight CI581 landed at Beijing International Airport
On January 29, 2005 China Airlines flight CI581 landed at Beijing International Airport

The Lunar New Year cross-strait charter (traditional Chinese: 兩岸春節包機),(simplified Chinese: 两岸春节包机) also called the charter for Taiwan residents (traditional Chinese: 臺灣居民包機),(simplified Chinese: 台湾居民包机) represents the special charter flights between Taiwan and Mainland China that allowed Taiwanese businesspeople and their family members (excluding students and travelers) who are in the People's Republic of China (PRC) to travel to and from Taiwan, during the Chinese New Year of the year 2003 and 2005.

In 2006, the service opened to all citizens of the Republic of China (ROC) at the first time. Since it is the special flights only provided during the Chinese New Year under the permissions of the government on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, it is named the cross-strait charter on the Lunar New Year in Chinese.

From the Mid-Autumn Festival on 2006, the valid period of the agreement was expanded to four main Chinese festivals - Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and the original Chinese New Year.

Contents

[edit] Background

Since the Communist Party of China established the People's Republic of China after the Chinese Civil War, there has been no contact for over 50 years between Taiwan Republic of China — where the Chinese Nationalist Party and the government of Republic of China had retreated — and the Chinese Mainland.

However, when the Chinese Economic Reform began welcoming foreign funds in the 1980s, and Taiwan was removed from the Three Noes embargo, the two sides started communications. Merchants started investing in PRC and people visited their relatives. Air traffic between ROC and PRC grew dramatically, but still no direct flights were allowed. Passengers traveling to Mainland had to travel via an intermediate destination such as Hong Kong or Macau, or via South Korea and Japan. The travel time took more than a half day, especially during the holidays.

To solve this problem, Taiwanese legislator John Chiang proposed on October 27, 2002 that there should be special charters across the strait.

[edit] 2003 charters

  • Time Period: January 26 to February 10, 2003
  • Number of flights: 16
  • Passengers: ROC businesspersons only
  • Destinations: Shanghai <-> Taipei, and Kaohsiung
  • Airlines: Six Taiwanese carriers
  • Number of Travelers: approximate 2600
  • Feature: One way only, with a mandatory stop-over

[edit] Events

  • October 27, 2002: Taiwanese legislator John Chiang proposed The Project of Mainland Taiwanese Businesspeople Returning Home, the project of "the direct charter". He said that Taiwanese airliners should be allowed to carry merchants back to Taipei at certain times, between selected airports, during the Lunar New Year.
  • October 30, 2002: The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council stated their willingness to help Taiwan merchants return home. China claimed the idea of equality and mutual benefit, hoping that Chinese carriers could also provide services; however, the Taiwanese government disagreed.
  • December 4, 2002: The Taiwanese government established regulations for allowing Taiwanese businesspeople to return to the mainland:
  1. Only Taiwanese operators could fly the routes during the Chinese New Year as a charter.
  2. Flights may only originate in Taipei's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport) and Kaohsiung International Airport, and may only arrive in Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport or Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
  3. Charters must have at least one stopover in either Hong Kong or Macau, with no traffic between the stopover and both Taiwan and Mainland cities.
  4. Passengers may only be merchants and their families.
  • Between late 2002 to early 2003, six Taiwanese airlines applied to run the charters.
  • On January 26, 2003, at 3:55 am, China Airlines flight 585 operated with a Boeing 747 departed from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport of Taipei. The crew consisted of pilots Zhang Yisong and Chen Beibei on board. After a stop in Hong Kong, the aircraft landed successfully at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 8:52 am, and became the first legal Taiwanese aircraft to land in China for more than 54 years.
  • On 11:15 am, a China Airlines flight carrying 222 passengers took off from Pudong International Airport and arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 3:40am with a short stop in Hong Kong.
  • On the same day, TransAsia Airways flight 386, an Airbus A320, left Taipei with no passengers at 8:20, and reached Shanghai at 12:40 pm via Macau. The return flight with 137 passengers departed Shanghai at 2 pm, and arrived Kaohsiung at 6:15 with a stopover in Macau.
  • On February 9, China Airlines flight 585 was the last flight of the 2003 Lunar New Year charter services. The flight arrived with 237 travelers onboard in Pudong International Airport at 11:14 pm the same day.

The period of 16 charter flights occurred between January 26 and February 9, 2003.

[edit] Flight record

Airlines From Shanghai to Taiwan Stop-over From Taiwan to Shanghai
China Airlines January 26 Hong Kong February 9
TransAsia Airways January 26 Macau February 7
Far Eastern Air Transport January 27,28,29
(3 flights in total)		 Macau February 5,6,7
(3 flights in total)
EVA Air January 29 Macau February 8
Uni Air January 29 Macau February 8
Mandarin Airlines January 30 Hong Kong February 7

[edit] Trivia

  • China Airlines (CAL) operated the first flight. Due to the one-way-only service restriction, only the crew, securities of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (ROC side), two officers of the Mainland Affairs Council, and 14 CAL staff were on board the Taipei-Shanghai section for the first flights ceremony.
  • After coming to a complete standstill, staff at Pudong International Airport showed a huge red banner with the words "热烈欢迎中华航空公司包机首航上海" (Ardently welcome CAL's First charter flight flew to Shanghai). There was also a "Lion Dance" show.
  • CAL Chief executive officer Wei, Philip Hsing-Hsiung (present Chairman) and crew waved their hands in greeting when stepping out the aircraft.
  • Due to the sensitive estate and the problem on use of Taibaozheng (Pass to China for Taiwan residents), the vice secretary of the Mainland Affairs Council, Zhi-Hong Jam(詹志宏) did not attend the celebration but stayed in the aircraft after a short salutation.
  • At C.K.S. International Airport, Taipei, CAL arranged a small welcoming place to salute the first passengers. Then CAL Chairman Lee, Yun-Ning said "It's better to have direct flight as soon as possible. It's better to have it from tomorrow.
  • The welcoming was very different in Kaohsiung. Numerous police were inside the terminal waiting for TransAsia's flight back to Kaohsiung.

[edit] 2005 charters

  • Time Period: January 26 to February 20, 2005
  • Number of flights: 48
  • Passengers: Mainly businesspeople, some are tourists and overseas students
  • Destinations: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou <-> Taipei, Kaohsiung
  • Airlines: Six Taiwanese carriers and six Chinese airlines
  • Number of travelers: more than 10,000
  • Features: Both way available without any stopover

[edit] Events

  • There was no charter service in 2004 for several reasons, including the ROC presidential election.
  • December 2004, John Chiang expressed his high expectation on the 2005 charter.
  • January 2, 2005, the spokesperson of The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council proclaimed that they do care for the accomplishment of 2005 charters. They also demanded that the services this time should be operated as round-trip, non-stop service by airlines of both side with an increased number of destinations. They suggested the civil airlines negotiate with each other on technical and operational problems.
  • January 9, 2005, Mission Animating the Tai-merchants Charters led by John Chiang arrived Beijing.
  • January 10, 2005, Chen Yunlin, minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office (PRC), delegate of the General Administration of Civil Aviation (PRC) met the mission. Chen said he would urge to carry the air links into reality.
  • January 11, 2005, During the conference, Mainland aspect hoped the available airports could include Taichung. But the proposal was rejected by Taiwan because Taichung Airport is an air force base. Taiwan aspect hoped the destinations could be more than Beijing and original Shanghai, like Guangzhou, Xiamen, Chongqing, and Shenzhen. Taiwan also wished that flights could fly through Okinawa Flight Information Region in order to reduce the unnecessarily lengthy flight time. China refused the rearward in avoiding the charters being considered as international flights. They only permitted the flights go via the air space of Hong Kong and Macau.
  • January 15, the civil operators came to terms. The agreement is as follows,
  1. Time Period: January 29~February 20, 2005.
  2. Restricted destinations: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou <-> Taipei, Kaohsiung
  3. Airlines on both side could apply the charters to the related governmental departments on the opposite side. Charters would operated in the type of "Both-joining, directly non-stop, carrying passengers both ways (round-trip), and more dots (means destinations in Chinese) included".
  4. Only Tai-merchants could take the flights.
  5. Planes had to go through the Hong Kong Flight Information Region without landing.
  • Between January 29 and February 20, 2005, twelve mainland and Taiwanese airlines flew 48 charters.
  • At 7:46 am on January 29, Air China Flight 1087 was the first flight to depart China with 88 passengers. China Airlines flight 581 was the first to depart Taiwan aircraft from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei.
  • At 9:20 am, China Southern Airlines Flight 3097, originating in Guangzhou, arrived Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport in Taipei. China Southern became the first airline landing Taiwan legally after the end of Chinese Civil War. The reason why the earliest-departed was not the earliest-arrived is that Guangzhou, which the city is located in the southern province of Guangdong, is far closer to Taiwan than the northern Beijing.
  • On February 20, the last charter of the year, Hainan Airlines flight 7952 arrived Beijing Capital International Airport at 9:30pm.

[edit] Flight records

The six Chinese airlines originated in three cities in China: Beijing (Air China, Hainan Airlines), Shanghai (China Eastern Airlines), and Guangzhou (China Southern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines). All Air China's flight are operated by Shandong Airlines' aircraft.

The Taiwanese airlines were the same as in 2003. Most Taiwanese flights departed for Guangzhou (TransAsia Airways), and Kaohsiung was mainly serviced by Uni Air.

The First day of Lunar New Year of Chicken is on February 9, 2005.

[edit] Trivia

  • This was the first time for Chinese airlines fly the charters. And that was also why those carriers are more zealous for the flights. Instead, airlines in Taiwan thought that the preparing time was shorter than that of year 2003. Besides, many merchants have already bought the tickets of flight needing stopover. Therefore, Taiwanese airlines postponed their first-launched date to that closer to the New Year.
  • Chinese carrier were more "first-flight-bashing" than Taiwanese. They labored over it hoping to be the first Mainland airlines arriving Taiwan. Original, Air China (CA) arranged the outbound plane leaving at 4:30 a.m., January 29, 2005. But they adjust the time to eight o'clock in the morning. It made CA the first-left airlines. However, they departed 14 minutes earlier than the scheduled 8:00, and that caused a "delayed" passenger to miss his flight. He was angry about CA's arrangement.
  • Due to the position of the cities, that Guangzhou is closer to Taiwan Island than any other, China Southern Airlines' (CZ) flight CZ3097 departed at 8:00 became the first Chinese plane touching down Taiwan territory. Because Guangzhou is the base of CZ, on January 29, CZ3097 had greater celebration ceremony than the Xiamen Airlines' flight MF881, which parked beside, leaving 15 minutes later.
  • Air China used the rented aircraft from Shandong Airlines that time. The reason might be that all CA aircraft have the Five-Starred Red Flag and word "國際" meaning "International" on them. they wanted to avoid the charters being confounded with the international flights. Though Taipei aspect claimed that it was acceptable, CA or the China aspect was still not willing to do so. They used Shandong Airlines' aircraft with repainted "國航" words (abbreviation of Air China without the original "International" meaning in Chinese) with no flag at the end.
  • All Mainland carriers flew A LOT faster than expected. Take CA for example, the charter to Taipei and Kaohsiung landed at 11:33 and 11:35 am, both an hour earlier. Hainan Airlines' flight from Beijing to Taipei arrived 33 minutes beforehand. China Eastern forwarded 30 mins from Shanghai to Taipei. Shanghai Airlines was 17 mins ahead of time. Hainan Airlines was 33 mins ahead of schedule. CZ and Xiamen Airlines both antedated 4 mins. The CA captain Zhou, Ning said it was because that passengers have had boarded fast as the result of early took-off. And by the time passing Hong Kong FIR, the control centre asked them to go faster. So they arrived earlier. Meanwhile, as confided, the Mainland Affairs Council regulated charters should go pass above the Hong Kong International Airport. Nevertheless, CAD (Civil Aviation Department) of Hong Kong did not response. So the flights follow the notice from CAD for "continuation of international flights". This means that the flights no longer needed to pass through the surrounding area of Hong Kong International Airport. Direct flights from Shantou can now pass through Xiamen and Fuzhou to final destination, Shanghai. Another reason for shorter flight time is due to seasonal winds.
  • The above promoter, Taiwanese legislator John Chiang, was not allowed to travel the cross-strait charter due to his non-merchants dignity. He had to transfer to another flight for Beijing at Hong Kong for the launch ceremony. He said in jest, "Maybe I should have a soy milk store in Beijing so that I could be a Taiwan merchant!"
  • China Southern Captain How, Jien-hwa(郝建華) confided that when the historical first-arrived-in-Taiwan charter flight CZ3097 reached the Taipei Flight Information Region, he and the controller communicated in Chinese most of the time with very little English. In particular, at the time approaching the airport, the Mandarin euphony "歡迎來到台北" (Welcome to Taipei!) from the ground sounded especially accommodative. At 8:47 am when the aircraft entered the airspace of Taiwan and Captain How proclaimed the information, the passengers celebrated. How then said a few words representing the exhilaration that all on board had, "The same sky, the same agog spirit" (一樣的天空，激動的心情)
  • Each airline company have chosen the best pilots and crews for these flights. The cuisine were specially designed to suit the passengers taste. Planes with special livery were also chosen as the charted flights.
  • Not every chartered flight was full. On February 5, the Far Eastern Air Transport flight EF666 from Taipei to Guangzhou had only 4 passengers on board. Taiwanese Merchant Ms. Lai was from Hubei, Wuhan and her family travelled on a Xiamen Airlines flight back to Taipei on January 29, and then on a Far Eastern Air Transport flight to Guangzhou on February 5. Ms. Lai and her family (4 passengers total) received services from a total of 20 crew members on board which made her feel delighted.

[edit] One-Way/round-trip argument

As the charter were only for Taiwanese merchants returning home for the Chinese New Year, there should be no traffic demand on Taiwan to Mainland flights departed on the dates before the New Year Day. Also, there should be no people travelling on the flights from Mainland to Taiwan that operated on the dates after the New Year period.

In order to make sure the original purpose was not violated, in the 2003 case, ROC government regulated that passengers could travel one way only, that means no one is allowed to fly from Taiwan to China before the festival, and no one could travel on the return flight after the festival.

However, the ROC government approved that passengers could travel round-trip since the 2005 charters, though there were still other limits.

[edit] 2006 charters

[edit] Events

  • November 18, 2005：海峡两岸航空运输交流委员会 vice director-general Pu Zhaozhou claimed at the news conference of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council that the plan for 2006 charters has been confirmed.
  • January 20, 2006: 07:06am, China Airlines flight CI 585, the earliest-departed charter, took off at the Taipei Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport, and arrived Shanghai at around noon. The returning flight (same aircraft with new flight number - CI586) included a Taiwanese motor neurone disease patient, the 1960s singer Ye Ling (葉彩育). Taiwanese Mainland Affairs Council also permitted two Chinese paramedic to take the charter to assist the patient. This was also the first time for heavily-injured people to be able to travel home directly across the strait for their treatment. China Airlines, especially for her, ripped six seats in a row with two left. The spare space was for her stretcher's settlement; this made Ye's way home comfortable. "My Wife couldn't make her way back to Taiwan if there had not been the charters!" her husband said appreciatively.

[1]

  • 2006 was the first time for adding Xiamen to be a destination.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Different from the great reactions in 2005, media and airlines took the 2006 one much less seriously. Take the airline operating the first-departed charter as an example. China Airlines did not hold any ceremony; it only saw the charter as a normal commercial flight. Quantity of news reports from both sides of the strait was less than the previous one. Only the Taiwanese Eastern Television and the Chinese CCTV have had some reports on news programs.
  • Specially-designed aircraft was the focus of this year. Most airlines sent out their aircraft with special livery to fly the routes:

[edit] Responses

[edit] Politicians

[edit] See also

Languages