The number of flights to offshore islands during the 2015 Lunar New Year holiday increases by 3%; tickets go on sale December 16

▲Offshore island tickets for the Lunar New Year holiday go on sale to the public starting December 16. (Photo / Illustration from Uni Air, photo by reporter Chen Tzu-yin)

By Chen Jui-chung / Staff writer

The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced that, based on past passenger flight demand patterns,the 2015 Lunar New Year holiday aviation transport period will run from February 13 to February 24, totaling 12 days. The Lunar New Year air traffic management plan will continue to focus on offshore island routes including Penghu (including Qimei and Wang’an, but excluding the Makung–Kinmen route), Kinmen, and Matsu, all of which will be subject to unified booking controls.

To help passengers plan their itineraries, flight bookings for the controlled routes to Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu will be open fortelephone and online reservations from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on December 16, 17, and 18. Online ticketing also now includes services for passengers with disabilities. Additionally, travelers purchasing return tickets from offshore islands to Taiwan proper via airline websites are exempt from the 5% business tax.

In terms of capacity, the Penghu route will offer 1,224 flights, totaling 93,468 seats; the Kinmen route will have 1,319 flights, totaling 121,490 seats; and the Matsu route will provide 206 flights, totaling 13,916 seats. In total, the three offshore island routes will offer 2,749 flights and 228,874 seats,an average daily increase of 3% in seat availability compared to the 2014 Lunar New Year holiday.

The CAA also stated that this year, tickets will still be marked with usage restrictions stating “valid only for the flight on the day of issue” and “void if used after expiration.” However, this year a different approach will be taken, applying these restrictions only to tickets for flights from Taiwan proper to Penghu, Kinmen, or Matsu between February 13 and 20, and for return flights from those islands to Taiwan proper between February 20 and 24. Furthermore, the refund deadline has been relaxed from the previous rule of “no later than one day before the flight” to “no later than the time of departure.”