China Eastern, one of the three largest airliners in the mainland, yesterday announced the co-operation where the airlines will open 10 daily flights from Shanghai to Hong Kong, which will then be connected with 11 daily flights on Cathay Pacific to Taiwan.

"Both have adjusted their timetables to make the transfer smooth," said Gao Pei, general manager of the Marketing Department of China Eastern Airlines.

The move is the third one of its kind after Shanghai Airlines and Hong Kong-based Dragonair increased their flights from Shanghai to Taipei via Macao and Hong Kong.

However this latest deal will provide the most number of flights between these cities. Gao said that at present, 40 per cent of the passengers who take the route from Shanghai to Hong Kong come from Taiwan.

Shanghai now has about 350,000 Taiwan people and local airports handled 470,000 tourists from the island province last year.

Wilson Yam, Manager of the Eastern China Region for Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, said the company has witnessed an 80 per cent occupancy rate of its flights bound from Hong Kong to Taipei. Gao said China Eastern will adopt a through check-in allowing every passenger who leaves for Taipei to have two boarding cards and their luggage will be directly transported.

(People's Daily September 18, 2002)