News
V Air calls it quits
August 12th 2016
Taiwanese low-cost carrier V Air will suspend all operations from October 1, less than two years after its launch. Read More »
The airline currently operates two A320s and two A321 on services to Osaka, Naha, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Busan, Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Passengers already booked to Osaka and Naha will be transferred to TransAsia Airways flights, while those travelling to Fukuoka and Chiang Mai will be rebooked once TransAsia secures the relevant route permits. Passengers bound for Bangkok, Busan and Nagoya will be fully refunded.
V Air is a wholly-owned subsidiary of accident-ridden TransAsia.
TransAsia chairman, Vincent Lin, said the integration of V Air into the parent company will "accelerate the TransAsia Airways Group restructuring", under which the parent carrier has already grounded its underutilized A330 fleet and announced plans to pursue a hybrid business model.
V Air CEO, Eleni Lung, has told Orient Aviation the carrier has not turned a profit since beginning commercial operations in December 2014.
Citing Taiwanese Civil Aviation Administration sources, local media last week suggested both V Air and rival Tigerair Taiwan had incurred total losses exceeding 1 billion Taiwan dollars ($32 million) since their respective launches approximately two years ago, equivalent of half of each carrier's paid-in capital. As such, CNA reports that China Airlines (CAL) is considering shutting its Tigerair Taiwan subsidiary down, or whether to recapitalize or fold it into its Mandarin Airlines unit.
Potentially a precursor to what is to come, in last week’s schedule update, Tigerair Taiwan reduced frequencies from Taipei to Fukuoka, Hakodate and Nagoya, as well as from Kaohsiung to Macau and Narita.
