TransAsia Airways announce name of LCC subsidiary: V air

TransAsia Airways selected (24-Jan-2014) V air as the name of its planned LCC subsidiary following the conclusion of a public naming contest. The carrier said it picked V air from 8000 names, stating the name is easy to remember and recognise, commenting: "V can stand for voyage, vision, vivid, or victory which symbolises the positive energy a new company requires and can help boost the public's preference and acceptance of the new company." The carrier further explained that V air's Chinese name means "Wei Hang" which means "mighty airline" in English. The management team for V air will now start work on designing the LCC's logo, website as well as Facebook page. The carrier also said it hopes the name will help it expand its operations to the overseas market. V air will have registered capital of around USD100 million, with a fleet of two to three leased A320/A321 aircraft initially and aim to commence operations this year. V air is just one of two Taiwan-based LCCs expected to be launched this year. In Dec-2013, China Airlines announced plans to establish Tigerair Taiwan with Tigerair, with the proposed JV expected to become operational this year with a fleet of three A320s. Taiwan is served by 13 foreign LCCs, operating 15 routes. In 2013, 2.3 million passengers travelled with LCCs to/from Taiwan, accounting for 5.9% of total traffic, an increase from the 930,000 passengers (3.5%) in 2012. [more - original PR - Chinese]