Shenzhen Airlines, the mainland's largest private carrier, announced yesterday that it would cooperate with Air Macao to provide an easier and cheaper service for travelers between Taiwan and the mainland.

Starting yesterday, travelers in 13 mainland cities can take Shenzhen Airlines to Shenzhen, then take an Air Macao flight from there to Macao. From Macao, they can take another flight to Taiwan and return to the mainland the same way.

"Travelers can check in just once and need not worry about their luggage. The price is attractive also; a ticket may be 30 to 50 per cent lower than for a journey from a mainland city to Taiwan with one stop in Hong Kong or Macao," said Li Kun, the general manager of Shenzhen Airlines.

Previously, travelers on the mainland must fly to Hong Kong or Macao first, then take another flight to Taiwan. This means they have to check in twice, with their luggage transferred twice.

The 13 mainland cities are Beijing, Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanning, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Guiyang, Chongqing, Shenyang, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xi'an and Kunming.

The plan is expected to eventually benefit other mainland destinations connecting with Shenzhen, Li said.

Injured tourists back in Taiwan

Meanwhile, also yesterday, a Taiwan chartered plane carried 14 Taiwanese tourists injured in a bus accident in Northeast China's Jilin Province back to Taiwan.

It was the second cross-Straits direct charter flight between the mainland and Taiwan for emergency medical treatment.

The plane took off from Taipei at midnight on Monday, and arrived at Yanji airport after a more than 5-hour non-stop trip.

On board were intensive care equipment, 12 crew and 16 staff members from International SOS Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei emergency centers.

The flight arrived back at Taipei's Taoyuan Airport at about 1 pm.

An agreement allowing for direct charter flights across the Straits in the case of medical emergencies was signed in June.

The first such flight was for a seriously ill Taiwanese man who was flown to Taipei last week from Guangzhou.

"Without a stopover, it saved us about 2 hours in transit time, which provides precious time for the curing of patients," said Charles Van Reenen, medical director from the North Asia Region of International SOS.

The bus accident occurred on September 11 on a highway in Wangqing county. A bus carrying 20 Taiwanese tourists overturned and fell into a river, killing two women and the mainland bus driver.

Three tourists, Yen Wenhsiong, Tseng Mingmei and Yang Suiying, who were all severely injured, were transferred to Beijing for further treatment. Another tourist has already gone back to Taiwan.

"I am looking forward to going home. Thanks to all the doctors and nurses at the hospital; they treated us so well. My thanks also go to the farmers who saved us from the river, or else we would have lost any chance of survival," said Weng Chen Shuyi, whose right arm was fractured in the bus accident.

Editor: Donald