The first daily direct charter flights across the Taiwan Straits are set to start on December 15, Taiwan media reported on Wednesday.

Ticket prices are likely to be more expensive than the current indirect route, and travel time longer than first anticipated.

The United Daily News reported that China Airlines, Taiwan's leading carrier, had set its flight schedule, and on Tuesday began to take bookings for flights operating between December 15 and the end of the year. The report quoted China Airlines as saying its route from Taoyuan International Airport to Shanghai will take 105 minutes, instead of 82 minutes as earlier anticipated.

Ticket prices have not been lowered, except for a discount of less than 300 yuan (US$44) for bulk bookings.

None of the six carriers on the mainland that currently operate weekend and holiday charter flights to the island have announced their daily flight plans.

A spokeswoman for China Southern Airlines told China Daily on Wednesday that its plan has been submitted to the aviation authorities, and the company is waiting for approval.

Air China, another mainland carrier, has scheduled at least 10 aircraft for the daily flights, Lou Yongfeng, a senior manager, said. "We will make full use of the given routes," he said.

Six mainland carriers and five Taiwan carriers have been operating direct charter flights on the four traditional Chinese holidays (since 2006) and at weekends (since July this year). The aircraft have to fly through Hong Kong's airspace.

An agreement signed on November 4 between the two sides calls for the frequency of flights to be increased from four times a week to daily, tripling the number of direct charter flights to 108 per week, shortening routes and opening 16 more mainland airports from the current five.

In another development, Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Chiang Pin-kung said he believed talks between the two sides would continue despite difficulties.

"Even though the road (to peace) is full of obstacles and difficulties, I am sure the two sides will firmly keep moving forward," he said.

(China Daily November 20, 2008)