Flight Report | |||
Taiwan re-opened to the outside world on October 13, 2022 with removal of mandatory quarantine on arrival. Visitors would need to go through a 0+7 self-initiated prevention period, staying in a hotel or home with a private bathroom on their own. They would need to use rapid tests 4 times during the period, although they can go out, use public transport, or go to work.In the previous month, Taiwan reinsated visa-free entry for passport holders from a number of countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, Schengen area, and a number of Southeast Asian countries. Unfortunately, Hong Kong was not part of the group, limiting visitors to only large tour groups or by applying for an official business visa. Under-estimating the lengthy process to apply for a business visa, I set off requesting my business counterparts in Taiwan to provide the relevant documents to apply online. The process was seemingly straight forward by submitting everything on their web portal. Interestingly, I didn't need to pay to apply, although there is a fee involved, which is due once the application is approved. However, several rounds of questions later, which all came through their web portal, I became perplexed by the amount of documentation and requirements to push through the business visa application, such as a personal profile written in Chinese, not English, a contact's local phone number, providing my parents' names and birthdates, as well as an affirmation I'm not affiliated with the Communist party. This was in addition to the standard invitation letter from Taiwan and proof of my status in Hong Kong. I got the impression that Taiwan was still not open for business and I got caught up in geopolitics. The anxiety came to an end on Valentine's Day, when Taiwan announced they would resume processing Hong Kong passport applications to visit through their old online portal like what we used to do before the pandemic, which would fit either business or leisure visits and without the need for endless documentation proof. That website would re-open on Feb 20, which marks how this trip came into being. On the morning of Feb 20, I tried in vain to load that website and wouldn't succeed until the afternoon. As expected, I got my visa approval seconds after filling out the old, simple form online. This trip was ticketed shortly after. However, it's not totally back to normal yet. As I pushed through online check-in, I got an error message that I couldn't receive my boarding pass due to an additional documentation check. I guess they need to verify I got a paper copy of the visa at the counter.
The Day Of ... The Airport Express was noticeably more busy during the afternoon, with many rows taken and I had to search a bit to find one.
The airport was still quiet and I didn't have to wait to check my bag in using a traditional counter. Elsewhere, the land-side area had a lot of people wandering about, a marked change from my last flight out in December.
Security didn't take long and I emerged air-side with many shops and restaurants open, another marked change from December although I flew out late at night that time compared to just before dinner time today.
I noticed a new outdoor lounge area upstairs on the restaurant floor, where many were out enjoying a tan. I ended up leaving quickly, as there was another big new attraction that I wanted to check out.
I visited the new bridge to the North Satellite Terminal last December, but there wasn't much to see at night. The daytime experience is a different world altogether, with lovely views of the parked planes, the occasional one that taxied underneath.
What I didn't notice last time was an observation deck at the far end of the bridge just beyond the escalators down to the North Satellite Terminal.
There is also a scale model of the future airport with the 3rd runway and many more new buildings.
The low-cost carrier Hong Kong Express is going through a rebranding and their livery will change.
Satisfied with my side trip within the airport, I then continued along the length of the terminal to my gate at the far end. Most of the shops have re-opened and I noticed a few foreign airlines that have returned to Hong Kong.
I saw more and more new types of seating at the gates, but not too many passengers around to try them out.
Today's flight is operated by an A350-1000, a new aircraft type that is usually flown on long-haul routes.
Boarding was a bit chaotic even with new technology. Passengers now use gates to enter by using face recognition technology so you don't even need to scan your boarding pass. The assumption is when you enter air-side, you get your face scanned at the automatic gates there, but it is possible to use a manned counter if you don't want the airport, and perhaps the government, to know too much of your biometric details. Many people couldn't pass that boarding gate, and had to move to a manual counter instead. While there were many staff there to help direct the various lines to the machines, the hiccups kept them on their toes and I don't think this new procedure saves any manpower at all.
I quickly settled into my Economy seat at the back of the plane. The flight was full and we pushed back on time for a long taxi to the other end of the airport.
Luckily, the sun was still setting so my left window should command a lovely view of the city on departure.
With a flight time of just a little over an hour, I had few expectations for service from years of flying this route. I felt for the crew, who would rush to serve everyone and collect all the trays just as quickly as we wouldn't be at cruise for long. Ages ago, I used to request a fruit platter meal to avoid the bun that was served as the regular meal. I was surprised a rice dish arrived. There is no other option but I was very satisfied with this warm and delicious dinner. The sauce went very well with the rice.
We landed at 7pm, just ahead of schedule, and pulled into Terminal 1 shortly after. Welcome back to Taiwan after almost 4 years.
Terminal 1 looked exactly the same as back in 2019. After a long walk, we first emerged at a luggage scanning station where they made sure we didn't carry banned foods. Most then went into the citizens' line and there was only a short wait for international visitors, a huge change from before where I would get held up at immigration. Processing here was quick and they used the same face photo and fingerprinting machines as Japan. Emerging downstairs, the luggage wait would be quite long, taking over a half hour for my case to emerge. I had time to get a SIM card and activate it before starting the long wait.
Getting into Taipei has been made easier with the new Taoyuan MRT that runs both express and local trains. I got an Uber, which was cheaper than a taxi and the app told me which exit gate to find my car. My order was taken almost immediately and I was comfortably seated inside my car within minutes of booking. It appears the Uber pricing is based on an hour-long rental with a maximum kilometre limit at 1200 Taiwanese dollars. For only an hour flight, I didn't fuss over which airline to fly. To be honest, all 3 major traditional airlines (Cathay, EVA, and China Airlines) would offer a similar product, while even low-cost carriers would suffice as the meal would not be a game changer anyway. I was happy with the A350 as I had flown it on a much longer flight from Toronto weeks earlier, there was plenty of entertainment on board, and the hot rice was a bonus. | |||
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