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One of my major draws for visiting Taiwan was to be able to experience the breathtaking nature of the Taroko Gorge National Park in the northeastern part of the country. Having seen pictures of the majestic valley and its lush greenery, I knew I had to make that one of the focal points of my trip to the country. My plan was to take a day trip from Taipei, where I would leave the city in the morning and return in the evening after a day full of hiking and exploring.
During my research, I found that the most cost-effective option to get to the Taroko Gorge would be via train from Taipei Station to Hualien station, from which shuttles were available to get to the Gorge. However, given that this was supposed to only be a day trip, the train was an inefficient choice as the entire journey would take around 3-4 hours, one way, to get to the gates of the park. As such, I looked into alternative options and found that Uni Air operates a daily, 40-minute flight fom Taipei Songshan Airport to Hualien Airport, departing Taipei at 7:30 AM, and departing Hualien at 8:10 PM, allowing for a comfortably long time at the park, before it would close for the evening. Plus, the relatively cheaply priced ticket (USD$68 roundtrip) cut the travel time to get to the park by about an hour. (From an avgeek standpoint, of course the flight was a no brainer for me ;) ) From arrival into Hualien Airport, there were standard bus services to the Hualien train station, from which the shuttle service departed for Taroko Gorge. The final itinerary for the entire trip can be seen below. With that, welcome to the trip report for probably the shortest flight of my life so far!
Departure from Taipei City and Arrival at Taipei Songshan Airport
Having stayed in Taipei for the previous 2 days, I quickly realized that getting around the entire city is extremely simple due to its vast metro system connectivity. I was in awe that I could get between so many places so quickly with the use of the metro. My hostel was conveniently located within walking distance of the Taipei 101 tower. At around 6 AM, I set off from my hostel and walked toward the Da'an station, on the Brown Metro line. A light, refreshingly misty rain began as I started my walk, which set the tone for the rest of the day. The station for Taipei Songshan airport was directly on the brown line and about 15 minutes after I got on the train at Da'an, I found myself at the station for the airport.
The welcoming, aviation themed platform at Taipei Songshan Airport station
The airport's metro station is located underground and the exit leads outside toward the terminal entrances. The airport itself is divided between the domestic and international terminals, which, once airside, were exclusive to each other. Heading toward the domestic side of the airport, I was greeted with a departures screen and was relieved to see that my flight was departing for Hualien on time.
Domestic Departures and Arrivals at TSA
Entrance to the domestic terminal
Once inside, I was greeted by a sterile and well-lit check-in area that was not as crowded as I had imagined. With Uni-Air, online check in is not possible with domestic flights, however, the check-in process went by fairly quickly with the agent checking my passport, asking me for my seat preference (window…obviously ;)), and handing me my boarding pass. I only had a backpack and a camera with me, so the security checkpoint was a breeze and I made my way airside. An interesting thing to note is that, like a train service, domestic plane tickets in Taiwan can be purchased on the same day at the check-in desk (depending upon availability), up to an hour before the flight.
Check-in desk for Uni Air flights from Songshan airport
Airside
Once airside, I had an opportunity to explore the small terminal. The domestic terminal is situated on two levels, where the top level has two jetway-equipped gates for the common Mandarin Airlines ERJ-190 aircraft, and the bottom level consists of two bus gates for the rest of the flights.
A Mandarin Airlines ERJ-190 resting at the gate
The hallway connecting the top level of domestic departures with the escalator to the bottom level
An overview of the bus gate area on the bottom level of the terminal
A view of the Mandarin Airlines ERJ-190 from the bottom level of the terminal
While the domestic terminal handles many movements throughout the day, the efficiency of the security check and check-in allow for the passengers to maximize their time landside before heading airside. As such, the airside section of the domestic terminal does not contain many facilities, but does have the standard hot/cold water dispenser, the ubiquitous (in East Asia I found out!) 7Eleven vending machine, and a small shop selling baked goods. A lounge was also located inside the terminal, which I did not have access to.
A quaint store selling baked goods to passengers awaiting their flights
After exploring the terminal for a little bit, I sat down and waited for my flight to start boarding.
Boarding
As I found common with other airlines in this section of the terminal, boarding was a swift process that almost resembled boarding a long-distance bus. Since all aircraft performing domestic flights within Taiwan are small and all economy, boarding for the flight was called all at once. A sign was placed in front of the door with an agent calling all passengers for the flight. Once the boarding pass was checked, the terminal doors were opened and we were directed into a large bus that would take us to the aircraft's location on the tarmac.
The sign placed in front of the gate signaling boarding for flight B7 8971 to Hualien
The interior of the bus that would take us to the aircraft
The ride from the terminal to the aircraft door was a short 5-6 minutes, but was exciting as multiple aircraft were visible on the tarmac, including those at the international section of the airport.
Various aircraft on the tarmac at Songshan Airport
Once the bus arrived next to the aircraft, the doors were opened and passengers started boarding the aircraft. As is the case with boarding a small aircraft (usually), the entire process was efficient and I was on the plane within 2 minutes of getting off the bus.
Greeted by Uni Air's pleasing color scheme
The logo on the vertical stabilizer providing a hint at Uni Air's parent company
Eye-level with the fuselage prior to entering the aircraft
Logistical Information
Aircraft: ATR 72-600
Registration: B-17012
Scheduled Departure: 07:30 (TPE Time)
Actual Departure: 07:41 (TPE Time)
Scheduled Arrival: 08:20 (+0, HUN Time)
Actual Arrival: 08:07 (+0, HUN Time)
Scheduled Duration: 00h 50m
Actual Duration: 00h 26m
First Impressions and Departure
The sole flight attendant greeted the passengers with a smile and a hello as we filed into the aircraft. A modern looking cabin greeted us which was impeccably clean. The 2-2 configuration with slimline Recaro seats gave the small aircraft's cabin a spacious feel.
A look at the aircraft's cabin (Taken on the return flight to Taipei Songshan - B7 8978)
After settling into seat 3K, at the outset, I noticed quite a fair amount of legroom allowing me to stretch my legs as needed. The rest of the seatback was quite standard, with a literature pocket containing an EVA air magazine and the safety card. A small tray table was located underneath the literature pocket, which was just the right size for the types of service on these short flights. Finally, another small pocket could be found underneath the tray table containing the airsickness bag. The only drawback to the seat was that the bracket that held the seat down was directly between my feet, obstructing the space for me to keep my backpack underneath the seat in front of me.
An overview of the seatback
A view outside the window from my seat [Featuring my travel companion, Zhonghua (Named after China Airlines!) :)]
With all passengers settled, the safety demonstration began and the aircraft started its pushback sequence from its location on the tarmac. The engines were started one-by-one and we taxied to the runway, number one for takeoff.
Lining up with the runway
In-Flight
The crew announced a short flight time of 26 minutes, which took us southeast over Yilan county, until making a sharp right turn over the Pacific Ocean where we headed straight toward the city of Hualien.
Post-flight route of B7 8971, courtesy of flightradar24.com
While the service on the flight was efficient and the flight attendant was very pleasant, the reason this flight was worth remembering was due to the views from the aircraft. From takeoff to landing, the lush greenery of Taiwan's East was evident. The overcast skies and constant drizzle of rain only added to the lush and fresh scenery outside the aircraft. I was thankful to have received a seat on the "K" side of the aircraft to have been able to witness these views throughout the flight. Upon takeoff, we were very firstly treated to a stunning view of Taipei's Xinyi district and the Taipei 101 Tower.
An overview of the Xinyi District and the Taipei 101 Tower
A view of Taipei above the Keelung River
Upon exiting the Taipei metro area, the terrain suddenly transitioned to green and mountainous hinting at what the surroundings of the Taroko Gorge area would be like.
Outskirts of Taipei giving way to green, mountainous terrain
Upon reaching the outskirts of the city, the aircraft leveled off and the flight attendant started distributing the service, which consisted of a (tasty!) box of apple juice. Even with this small token, I was impressed by the fact that there even WAS a service, especially that with a smile, on such a short route! Settling into my box of apple juice, I had my head glued to the window for the rest of the flight.
The petite service consisting of an apple juice on the flight (surprising on such a short sector!)
More mountainous terrain east of Taipei
Until reaching the eastern coast of Taiwan, the mountains lead to a flat patch of land that was dotted with buildings, which turned out to be the city of Yilan. A dense fog had developed above this region obscuring the view, however, I felt that it perfectly fit the environment and the current weather pattern.
Yilan City underneath a dense fog
Upon reaching the Eastern Taiwanese coast, the dense fog cleared slightly, which led to a hilly coastline meeting the beautiful, deep blue Pacific Ocean just underneath, a view that remained through the rest of the flight.
The hilly eastern coast of Taiwan meets the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean
A beautiful view of a line of clouds just above the hilly peaks on Taiwan's eastern coastline
A glimpse of the actual Taroko Gorge National Park from the aircraft!
Upon sighting one of the bridges in Taroko Gorge National Park, the pilot announced the start of the descent into Hualien. The descent took us all the way above the city of Hualien, where we made a sharp right-turn to line up with the runway.
A stunning descent into Hualien with the airport visible in the center-left-hand side of the image
Above Hualien city
Just before making the sharp-right hand turn to line up with the runway at Hualien Airport
As quickly as the flight had started, it was already coming to an end and as the plane touched down at the airport, the flight attendant announced that due to the surrounding military base, taking photos of the tarmac would not be permitted. Once the aircraft touched down, within 15 minutes, I found myself at Hualien station, eagerly getting on the shuttle bus to get to Taroko Gorge National Park.
Even for a short flight, Uni Air met all expectations and even exceeded some with the small service. A smooth airport experience on both ends coupled with a comfortable cabin and amazing views made for a very nice flight!
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 8 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Taipei City (TSA) → Hualien (HUN).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est TransAsia Airways avec 7.3/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 0 heures et 37 minutes.
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