Xiamen Airlines will ramp up its direct cross-strait flights from Xiamen and Fuzhou from 11 to 29 weekly and lower fares by one-third, the South China Morning Post reported. The carrier cut ticket prices to as low as US$147 from US$221 for a round trip to Taipei. Hu Bin, general manager of Xiamen Airlines’ passenger marketing department said the flight time could be reduced to 40 minutes if the carrier could fly directly to Taipei. The move comes as the Fujian-based airline looks to establish itself as a connecting hub between the mainland and Taiwan. Ties between China and Taiwan have been strengthening over recent years. The two sides last month signed an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement allowing for lower tariffs on imports from each trading partner. Xiamen Airlines’ Hu said that if the two governments further liberalize air traffic then direct flight traffic could reach 10 million passengers a year.
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