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Airline To Bring Aurora Viewers From China

(Fairbanks, AK.)  A Chinese air carrier will bring winter visitors to Fairbanks. Explore Fairbanks Tourism director Scott McCrae (ma-CRAY) says Taiwan based China Airlines flights are scheduled for December.

“Charter service from Taipei to Fairbanks.  They’re planning 3 different flights: December 4th, 8th and 12th, using the A 340 aircraft. They’ve got capacity of 280 passengers.”

McCrae says the flights which are already fully booked are primarily aimed at visitors coming to Fairbanks for Aurora viewing. The China Airlines charters are similar to those flown to the city for Aurora tours by Japan Airlines.

“There’s some mirroring, looking at previous charter service of how that might have been successful, and  those were the dates that they’ve landed on for this inaugural launch.”    

McCrae says the 9 hour direct flights are shorter than connecting flights Chinese visitors can otherwise use to get to Fairbanks on Delta, Alaska Airlines and other carriers. ###  

Dan has been in public radio news in Alaska since 1993. He’s worked as a reporter, newscaster and talk show host at stations in McGrath, Valdez and Fairbanks. Dan’s experience includes coverage of a wide range of topics, from wolf control to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and dog mushing.