Ever since COVID-related border restrictions eased, people in Taiwan have been itching to travel. To meet the demand, the aviation industry is making a comeback, and airlines are adding on new routes. On Thursday EVA Air held its maiden flight of its new Taipei-Munich route, complete with tour groups and business travelers. This follows the launch of EVA Air’s new Taipei-Milan route that opened last month. Meanwhile, China Airlines is about to open a new Taipei-Cebu route and Starlux Airlines plans to begin flights to destinations in the U.S. next year.

The maiden flight to Munich is about to land.

EVA Air has launched a new route to Munich, operating four flights a week. It’s the second new route that the airline has launched since COVID border restrictions were eased, the first route being Taipei-Milan. The Munich route is the airline’s sixth European route.

Wang Fu-min
FTV reporter
On the Munich-bound flights, passengers in all classes get top-notch meals created by a three-starred Michelin chef. Business-class passengers can also drink a special Munich-style cocktail.

Whether it was business class or economy class, the 333 seats on the maiden flight were almost sold out.

Passenger
I haven’t been to Konigssee, so I would love to go this time. Germany is beautiful, especially Bavaria.

Passenger
Before the pandemic, I used to travel here about four times a year for work. I must’ve been to Munich about 100 times. In the past when I had to transfer planes, there could be delays. Now, there’s no need for a connecting flight.

Sun Chia-ming
EVA Air
Our main task at this point in time is resuming other flight routes. We have opened up these two maiden flight routes to Europe, and next year we plan to inaugurate a new route to Clark International Airport in the Philippines.

It’s not just EVA Air. Other Taiwanese airlines are increasing flights and adding on new destinations.

China Airlines is expected to launch a maiden flight to Cebu in December. Next year, it plans to launch new routes to Southeast Asia, such as Da Nang in Vietnam and Chiang Mai in Thailand, which are aimed at providing direct flight options for business travelers. Back in October, Starlux Airlines expanded its routes to include Taiwanese favorites such as Okinawa and Sapporo in Japan. It plans to enter the American market next year and test the waters with flights to Los Angeles.