BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Royal Brunei Airlines has announced it will resume flights to Taipei beginning December 3.
In a statement released Monday, the national carrier said they will be operating flights to the Taiwanese capital three times a week using RB’s new fleet of A320neo aircraft.
“RB first flew to Taipei in 1986, and we are excited to reconnect the cities,” said CEO Karam Chand. “Taipei is projected to be a key tourism market for Brunei and also a major contributor to RB’s network”.
The new service will operate between Brunei International Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, with a total flight time of three hours and 30 minutes. The airline previously operated direct flights from Taiwan to Brunei between 1996 and 2004.
RB is trying to woo tourists from East Asia by rapidly expanding its network into the competitive China market. China is currently the second biggest market for tourist arrivals into Brunei, with over 52,000 visitors in 2017.
The Taiwanese government is also trying to attract more ASEAN visitors by trialing a visa waiver programme, which grants visa-free entry for 14 days to citizens of Brunei, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.
Last month, Taiwan announced it would extend the trial period of the programme for another year until July 31, 2019.