The nation’s major airlines predicted that their operations would deteriorate until next quarter after the Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday increased travel advisories for 97 countries to level 3 “warning” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) said that it would not halt its international flights, even though almost all of its destinations were included in the list.
“We will cut flights and adjust our flight schedule, but we will not stop our operations completely, as we believe that there would still be essential travel, such as Taiwanese returning home,” EVA spokesman David Chen (陳耀銘) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
A government ban on entry by foreign nationals that begins today would negatively affect EVA’s business, but it would comply with the center’s instructions, he said.
Revenue is likely to drop next quarter, given that ticket sales from flights to the US and Canada accounted for 38 percent of total revenue last year, while those from services to Europe made up 12 percent, company data showed.
EVA, which has five cargo aircraft, would continue to concentrate on its cargo business to offset the declining passenger ticket sales, but it has not considered using passenger jets to transport cargo, Chen said.
“It would not be smart economically, as a passenger jet can only carry goods in its hold, so its capacity would be much smaller than that of a cargo airplane. The fuel efficiency is low,” he said.
China Airlines Ltd (華航) said that it would check all foreign travelers’ documents from today, while those without an Alien Resident Certificate or special entry permit would not be allowed to board.
The state-owned airline, with 18 Boeing 747 cargo aircraft, would also rely on its cargo business to weather the COVID-19 crisis, saying that it has asked some pilots who used to fly Boeing 747 passenger jets to fly the cargo variants.
China Airlines’ board of directors yesterday approved a plan not to distribute any cash dividend this year, after the carrier reported a net loss of NT$1.2 billion (US$39.6 million) for last year.
In a statement, the carrier attributed the results to a decreasing number of tourists from China and canceled flights amid protests in Hong Kong.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
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Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
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