TAIPEI, Taiwan - The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday confirmed that an additional 88 cross-strait flights will be available on each side of the strait for the Lunar New Year holidays, between January 31 and February 28.

According to participating airlines, the prices for flights to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shenzhen will have a 15 percent discount on the price of the original holiday ticket, whilst remaining destinations, including flights to Beijing, will be priced with a 30 percent discount.

Of all the extra flights, those heading to Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are restricted in terms of destination.

According to the flight allocation of the CAA, during those four weeks, 12 will be Shanghai-bound flights from China Airlines and EVA Air (three extra flights per week).

TransAsia Airways will have eight.

For Beijing and Guangzhou, 10 additional flights will be available at China Airlines and EVA. For Shenzhen, China Airlines and Uni Air will each have eight.

Other destinations are not limited regarding routes and frequency of additional flights; hence the Civil Aviation Authority said individual airlines on both sides can request additional flights depending on the demand.

As many are most concerned about the cross-strait passenger fares, the CAA has enforced a rule of refusing additional flights if airlines refused to cut flight rates, hence all five airlines have committed to cutting prices for the holiday.

The airlines promised that the ticket fares to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shenzhen will have (but not exceed) a 15 percent discount. In other words, flights to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Ningbo will cost around NT$20,400, whilst those to Shenzhen will cost around NT$16,000.

The remaining airlines will reduce the cost of flights by 30 percent; meaning flights to Beijing will cost approximately NT$23,500 (not including non-airport service charges and fuel surcharges).

However, prices are still much higher than those of direct fares on weekdays. During non-holidays, a month-long round-trip ticket to Shanghai costs between NT$12,000 to NT$15,000 (depending on the airline).

It may appear that the fare is discounted, but it is still a lot more than the usual NT$8,000.

According to the CAA, tickets will become available in mid-January, 2010.