China Airlines said it planned dishes named after National Palace Museum treasures for its business class customers, including 'meat-shaped stone'

Amid the upcoming launch of cross-strait weekend charter flights on Friday, China Airlines (CAL), the nation's largest airline, said yesterday that flights between Taiwan and Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen for the first week were full, and that seats on second and third-week flights were 80 percent and 70 percent full respectively.

However, the company said the Guangzhou route, to be launched in the second week, had only reached 60 percent capacity, which China Airlines spokesman Bruce Chen described as "so-so."

CHINA-BOUND

Chen also said that more Taiwanese travelers than Chinese travelers planned to board the charter flights, and that passenger rates for Taiwan-bound flights were 20 percent lower than China-bound flights.

"China Airlines will likely start receiving more Chinese customers in the third week, when Chinese tourists begin to visit Taiwan," Chen told reporters at a press conference yesterday.

Meanwhile, China Airlines yesterday unveiled the in-flight meals that the company planned in cooperation with Formosa International Hotels Corp, the parent company of the newly opened Chinese restaurant Silks Palace, located at the National Palace Museum.

China Airlines business class customers will be able to enjoy dishes called "jade cabbage" and "meat-shaped stone" — named after items in the museums collection — on flights from China to Taiwan, while economy class customers will enjoy Taiwanese food.

EVA PLANS

In a separate event yesterday, the nation's second largest airline, EVA Airways Corp, and its subsidiary Uni Airways Corp announced a different strategy — in-flights meals based on the flights' destinations.

Chinese dishes including Beijing duck will be served to Beijing-bound passengers, while Taiwan-bound passengers will be able to enjoy local favorites such as beef noodles, the airline said yesterday.