LV must wait for Taiwan flights

China Airlines, Taiwan's national air carrier, is considering nonstop flights between Taipei and Las Vegas. But it may take five years for the company to obtain the jets it would use for the long haul.

T.S. Chang, regional director for the Americas for China Airlines, said the company has been eyeing direct service to Las Vegas for passengers and cargo and is taking some interim steps toward introducing service. But Chang said he doesn't realistically see nonstop flights between the two cities until 2003 at the earliest.

That's when the airline expects to take delivery of its first Boeing 777 jet, a twin-engine aircraft Chang said would be ideal for the route.

Chang made his comments during an official visit to Las Vegas by a delegation from Taiwan. Foreign Minister Jason Hu led the contingent that included about 25 Taiwanese journalists and members of Taiwan's San Francisco-based U.S. diplomatic staff.

Gov. Bob Miller, who led a tourism mission to Japan and Taiwan last month, was host to the delegation in what state officials called a "follow-up visit."

When Miller went to Taiwan, he met with representatives of China Airlines and Evergreen Air, the two largest air carriers serving the island that has been the subject of political tension for decades.

While Taiwan considers itself an independent nation apart from the mainland, the People's Republic of China considers it a renegade district. While Taiwan is more closely aligned with Western values and ideals, the U.S. government officially recognizes mainland China as the government in power.

Several members of the Nevada group that traveled to Japan and Taiwan met the Taiwanese delegation that visited Las Vegas for two days. The Taiwanese also visited Los Angeles and Anchorage, Alaska, in their trip. Miller gave journalists an overview of the city, they then heard representatives of Hilton Hotels, Circus Circus, Mirage Resorts Inc. and Caesars Palace explain their expansion plans.

Chang said China Airlines has always been interested in serving Las Vegas and currently participates in a code-sharing agreement with American Airlines. Under the agreement, the airlines make their schedules compatible, with China flying passengers to Los Angeles from Taipei and on American Eagle between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

China Airlines currently has 34 flights a week between Taipei and Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Honolulu.

Chang said Boeing's fuel-efficient 777 jets would be ideal for his company in the Las Vegas market. The reason: The flight could be made less expensively with a seating capacity closer to the expected loads. The 777 carries about 280 passengers. Most airlines fly overseas on Boeing 747s, the largest commercial jet in the air.

Northwest Airlines, which began nonstop service between Tokyo and Las Vegas in early June, and Japan Airlines, which plans to compete on that route beginning in October, use the massive jumbo jet for the 10-hour flight.

Another Japanese carrier, All Nippon Airlines, is planning charter flights between Nagoya and Las Vegas later this summer. Chang said China Airlines opted against charters because the company doesn't believe there would be enough demand for Southern Nevadans flying to Taipei and the company feels for a charter to be successful, the plane would have to be full in both directions.

Chang said the dark clouds of political and economic turmoil continue to brew over Taiwan, but the company isn't going to let them change the airline's strategy for serving U.S. destinations in the era of open-skies agreements. He added that Taiwan's economy has remained relatively stable despite the recession that has rocked other Pacific Rim nations.

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