YET another full-service airline has declared its intention to set up an LCC arm, with the latest challenger being Taiwan-based privately owned TransAsia Airways.
Singapore’s The Straits Times reported that TransAsia is the first operator to have bagged formal approval from Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration since the Taiwanese government reduced the prerequisite to establishing an airline from NT$10 billion (US$338.2 million) to NT$6 billion in annual revenue.
The new LCC’s name is currently the subject of a contest. Tentatively called People’s Airways, the carrier will be wholly owned by TransAsia and is expected to launch operations within a year.
Flights will be operated with Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft to destinations within a five-hour radius of Taiwan, said the newspaper report .
TransAsia’s announcement brings it head-to-head with government-linked China Airlines, which has said it will launch a low-cost subsidiary by the end of 2013 (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 19, 2013).
