台湾航空会社、「どこにも行かない」観光便運航　子どもの職業体験も

【桃園ＡＦＰ＝時事】新型コロナウイルスの影響で旅行客の激減に直面する中、台湾の航空会社が自社旅客機を活用して「どこにも行かない」観光便の提供を始めた。サービスには子ども向けの客室乗務員体験レッスンも盛り込まれている。（写真は台湾・桃園にある中華航空の施設で行われたイベントで、客室乗務員の仕事を体験する子どもたち）
　桃園にある中華航空の本社では８日午前、子ども５０人がレッスンに参加し、模擬客室で接客を学んだ。その後、制服に身を包んだ子どもたちは、約２時間の空の旅に出発。このフライトは台湾上空から日本の領空まで飛行した後、台湾東岸に戻る。
　航空各社は事業が停滞する中で少しでも利益を得ようと奮闘しており、斬新な試みの一つとしてこうした観光便を提供している。
　中華航空の主要ライバル社であるエバー航空も８日、台湾桃園国際空港からエアバスＡ３３０型機の便を運航。この便は台湾北東部の岬上空を飛行し、琉球諸島上空を旋回した後、絵のように美しい田園地帯が広がる南東部沿岸上を飛びながら出発地に戻る。
　飛行時間は２時間４５分。エコノミークラスのチケットは５２８８台湾ドル（約１万９０００円）前後で、ビジネスクラスは６２８８台湾ドル（約２万３０００円）で販売されている。
　エバー航空と中華航空によるとチケットはすぐに完売したといい、数週間以内に増便を予定している。
　台湾の新型コロナウイルス感染者数は５００人未満、死者数は７人で、その対策が評価されている。
　２００３年に流行した重症急性呼吸器症候群（ＳＡＲＳ）から教訓を得た台湾は、新型コロナウイルスの発生直後に高度な追跡プログラムを開始。島の特性を利用して、事実上の封鎖措置を講じた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/08/11-13:13）

Faced with the coronavirus collapse in travellers, Taiwanese airlines have begun offering sight-seeing flights to nowhere on their passenger jets -- including flight attendant lessons for children.
At the headquarters of Taiwan's China Airlines in Taoyuan on Saturday, 50 children took a morning course on how serve passengers aboard a mock cabin.
Cheng Yu-wei, who works in the fashion apparel business and enjoys travelling abroad, came with his wife and six-year old daughter to revive that old feeling of travelling.
Maybe it's because we have been bored for too long, Cheng said to AFP.
Later in the day, the excitable gaggle of kids took to the skies in their new uniforms for a two hour flight over the island and the soaring mountain range that runs down its spine.
The flights are part of an innovative attempt by airlines to scramble up some extra cash at a time when their business has all but dried up.
Like most airlines around the world, both China Airlines and its main competitor Eva Air have had to mothball a huge chunk of their fleet as international travel evaporates during the pandemic.
The two also have a limited domestic business to fall back on.
On Saturday, an Eva A330 from Taoyuan International Airport flew over Taiwan's northeast cape, circled Japan's Ryukyu Islands before returning home via the picturesque and rural southeast coast. The total flight time was two hours and 45 minutes.
An economy seat is selling for around NT$5,288 (US$180) while business class costs NT$6,288.
The China Airlines flight lasts around two hours and will also fly into Japanese airspace before turning around to the eastern coast of Taiwan.
Further flights are planned in the coming weeks and both Eva and China Airlines say they have quickly sold out.
Local enthusiasm for the trips has been helped by the knowledge that there is currently little chance of catching the coronavirus on a Taiwanese flight.
The island has been held up as a poster child for how to beat the virus with fewer than 500 infections and just seven deaths despite its proximity and economic links to China.
Taiwan, which is blocked from joining the World Health Organization by China, learned from the 2003 SARS outbreak to set up a sophisticated track and trace programme that swung into action as soon as the virus emerged.
It also virtually sealed its borders, something an island is in a much better position to do.
With widespread international travel unlikely in the foreseeable future, authorities have been encouraging Taiwanese to take domestic holidays instead.
Cruise ship companies have started to offer domestic trips around the island.
In recent weeks both Songshan and Taoyuan airports have even started offering so-called flights to nowhere where people go through the process of checking in and boarding a flight that never takes off.