2012-10-11 — /travelprnews.com/ — September 28 marked the first anniversary of China Airlines’ SkyTeam membership. One year has passed since CAL became the 15th member and SkyTeam has now grown to 18 members. Thanks to the extensive SkyTeam network, CAL now offers more than 15,000 daily flights to 993 destinations in 186 countries, with 520 VIP lounges around the world.
CAL began offering Round the World Passes in Taiwan’s market after becoming a SkyTeam member. Round the World Passes are divided by distance into four types: 26,000 miles, 29,000 miles, 33,000 miles and 38,000 miles. Fares of Economy Class range from NT$110,000 to a little over NT$170,000, allowing travelers to plan departure and arrival destinations in their itinerary. Round the World fares provide savings of up to 25% compared to purchasing tickets separately. Travelers can visit Madagascar, Russia, Mexico, the Middle East and other destinations for a unique round-the-world itinerary. For business travelers, this offers an even more economical way to fly and visit customers around the world. CAL has sold almost 100 SkyTeam Round the World Passes over the past year. Age of travelers has ranged from 19 to 70 and most trips last between one to two months.
In addition, SkyTeam has launched the SkyPriority services for Elite Plus members and passengers traveling in First or Business Class. CAL launched SkyPriority services on March 15, providing priority check-in, priority baggage drop-off, priority boarding and priority baggage handling services at 72 airports. Priority service at ticket/transfer desks, accelerated security and passport clearance are also available at selected airports. SkyTeam has introduced SkyPriority services at 550 airports around the world and this will increase to 1,000 airports in 2013.
To celebrate the first anniversary of CAL’s SkyTeam membership, customers who buy tickets through the CAL website at http://www.china-airlines.com/ will go into a daily lucky draw for a CAL SkyTeam livery airplane model (promotion runs September 28 to October 31). CAL is also offering a limited edition Round the World Crystal Ball priced at NTD 2,380, available only through the CAL eMall at http://calec.china-airlines.com/emall/.
CAL is the first airline in Taiwan to join a global airline alliance. This move has not only raised the global profile of the CAL brand and enhanced Taiwan as an Asian air transportation hub, but also offers travelers worldwide a more convenient way to fly. CAL will continue to work with SkyTeam and allied airlines to promote new travel products and inter-airline service initiatives that demonstrate the high quality of services achieved by the internationalization of CAL.
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