Major flight cuts     Vanilla Air staffer jokingly reveals "Vanilla Bear might merge with TransAsia!"

▲ Vanilla Air has recently significantly reduced its flight schedule, drawing close attention from all sides. (Photo / Provided by Vanilla Air)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Taipei

Since August 2, Vanilla Air has been running a movie ticket giveaway on its Facebook fan page where users leave comments. Among over 800 comments, a sharp-eyed netizen spotted one from a Vanilla Air staffer that read, "Heard recently that Vanilla Bear might merge with TransAsia!!! Gotta take the last Vanilla Air flight to Busan ASAP!" This sparked widespread discussion.

▲ A Vanilla Air staffer jokingly claimed on Facebook that "Vanilla Bear will soon be merged into TransAsia," which was later clarified as a mistake.

A Vanilla Air social media staffer accidentally left"Ben Ho I’ve flown the Fukuoka route, but 'if Vanilla Bear disappeared from this world' it’d be such a pity!!! Heard recently that Vanilla Bear might merge with TransAsia!!! Gotta take the last Vanilla Air flight to Busan!"in a reply to a netizen’s comment, leaving many surprised, with one commenting, "Did a Vanilla Air staffer just say they’re shutting down?!"

▲ The Vanilla Air staffer's post was actually a quote from a netizen.

Vanilla Air is a local low-cost carrier officially established by TransAsia Airways in November 2013. It has grown rapidly in recent years, but due to lower-than-expected passenger loads, it has recently cut flights from Taipei to Nagoya, Tokyo, and Ibaraki. Vanilla Air responded,The comment was actually posted by a user named Ben Ho during the event and was mistakenly attributed by the admin—it was a mix-up. Vanilla Air also denied the claim in the comment that "Vanilla Bear might merge with TransAsia," stating that flight operations are currently normal and that route networks are adjusted as needed.The Vanilla Air admin also removed the post in the evening of August 3.