Tigerair Taiwan

Airline overview

Tigerair Taiwan is a low-cost carrier based in Taiwan, China, with IATA code IT, ICAO code TTW and call sign Smart Cat. It operates from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport and its website is tigerairtw.com.

Tigerair Taiwan was founded in 2013 as a joint venture between the China Airlines group and Tigerair Holdings, with China Airlines holding about 90 percent. It is the only international low-cost carrier based in Taiwan. It launched in September 2014 with short and medium-haul international routes from Taipei Taoyuan and later expanded to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau and scheduled cross-strait services.

Public information from the airline shows an all-Airbus narrowbody fleet led by the A320-200 and the new-generation A320neo. The A320neo has new-generation engines with better fuel efficiency and lower noise than the current type, and its single-class economy layout seats about 186. In February 2026 Tigerair Taiwan announced an order for four A321neo aircraft, the first larger narrowbody in its fleet, to extend routes and raise capacity per aircraft.

Its operating model as a low-cost carrier includes a single aircraft type to cut maintenance and training costs, no free meals or checked baggage, a high load factor strategy and a network built on short and medium-haul point-to-point routes. The same model shapes its belly cargo product: a simplified standard loose-load belly service without complex special handling or value-added services, at a cost-competitive rate.

For Chinese shippers the value is low-cost belly capacity at the Taoyuan hub plus connections on cross-strait and regional Asian routes. Low-cost carriers usually price belly cargo below full-service airlines, which suits cost-sensitive small and medium lots. The cross-strait scheduled routes give specific mainland Chinese cities a nonstop channel for time-critical cargo to Taiwan.

Cross-strait trade has long been close. Mainland China is the largest trading partner and export market for Taiwan, with Taiwan exporting electronic components, machinery and electrical products, precision instruments and petrochemicals to the mainland, and the mainland exporting consumer electronics, textiles and apparel, agricultural products and general merchandise to Taiwan. Belly capacity on scheduled cross-strait nonstop flights is an important channel for time-critical trade cargo.

Taoyuan International Airport is the largest air hub in Taiwan and a significant passenger and cargo transit airport in Asia. It has cargo terminals, aircraft ground handling facilities and cross-border clearance channels able to receive, build up and transit narrowbody belly cargo. With Taoyuan as its hub, Tigerair Taiwan uses the airport's existing cargo facilities and needs no dedicated terminal.

As the low-cost carrier in the China Airlines group, Tigerair Taiwan sits alongside China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines in a segmented market: China Airlines flies long-haul and full-service routes, Mandarin Airlines runs domestic and regional routes, and Tigerair Taiwan focuses on short and medium-haul low-cost traffic. The three share ground resources and operational support at Taoyuan. For shippers this means Tigerair Taiwan belly cargo at Taoyuan can connect to China Airlines long-haul widebody flights, giving indirect access from cross-strait points to Europe, North America and Oceania.

Company history and cross-strait routes

Fleet and belly loading capability

The Tigerair Taiwan fleet is built on Airbus A320 family narrowbodies, with cargo carried in passenger belly holds. The A320 family is single-aisle, and the belly hold takes loose cargo and small containers but not large pallets.

No public information shows Tigerair Taiwan operating dedicated freighters. Cargo moves in passenger belly holds, and with the cargo facilities at Taoyuan International Airport the airline provides belly transport on cross-strait and regional Asian routes. Actual space and rates depend on the load plan on the day of booking.

Cross-strait and Asian network

Public information from the airline website and the Civil Aviation Administration of China shows a network covering Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau and cross-strait cities.

Network: from China worldwide

The diagram shows mainland Chinese cargo radiating from the Taipei Taoyuan hub to Taiwan, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia on low-cost belly capacity, drawn as orange arcs.

Cargo services and cargo types

Tigerair Taiwan provides scheduled cargo service in passenger belly holds and, as a low-cost carrier, prices belly cargo competitively. Cargo types are mainly small and medium lots that fit the belly hold of an A320 narrowbody.

Time-critical cross-strait express

Documents, samples and urgent spare parts can fly nonstop in the belly hold of scheduled flights between Taoyuan and cross-strait cities, with a flight time of about one to two hours, which suits cross-strait trade cargo with tight deadlines.

E-commerce, textiles and apparel

Small commodities from Yiwu, footwear and apparel from Quanzhou, electronic parts from Wuxi and consumer electronics from Changsha suit low-cost belly transport. Low-cost carriers usually price belly cargo below full-service airlines, which suits cost-sensitive e-commerce and textile shippers.

Regional Asian transit cargo

Mainland Chinese cargo can transit Taoyuan to Asian cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Bangkok and Singapore, or Asian cargo can transit Taoyuan to mainland Chinese points, using Tigerair Taiwan low-cost belly capacity at Taoyuan. Taoyuan is a regional Asian hub with dense flights to Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian cities, and connection times usually run from two to six hours.

High-value electronics across the strait

Taiwan's exports to the mainland are dominated by electronic components, wafers, circuit boards and precision instruments, which demand transit time and security and suit nonstop cross-strait belly carriage. Mainland exports of consumer electronics, computer accessories and telecom equipment to Taiwan likewise suit low-cost belly capacity.

Restricted categories and categories without public data

No public information shows Tigerair Taiwan offering dedicated services for dangerous goods, live animals or temperature-controlled cold chain. Acceptable commodities follow the carrier's current cargo manual and booking confirmation.

Handling narrowbody belly cargo

The A320 family is single-aisle with limited belly space, and piece weight and dimensions are constrained by the belly door and container sizes. Shippers should confirm piece weight, outer dimensions and whether palletising is needed before delivery; larger lots can be split across several waybills or flights. Low-cost carriers normally charge belly cargo by weight and volume with little room to waive fuel and security surcharges, so shippers comparing quotes should look at the total freight cost.

Key points for transiting Taoyuan

Mainland cargo transiting Taoyuan to Asian cities must go through transit customs, sortation and reloading at Taoyuan International Airport. A dedicated truck lane links the cargo terminal and the passenger terminals, so transit cargo can be sorted and reloaded within hours. Goodhope Freight works with ground agents at Taoyuan and can work back from flight times to set delivery and transit declaration deadlines, avoiding cargo sitting at the transit point.

Cost advantages for Chinese shippers

Booking path from China

Mainland Chinese shippers sending cargo to Taiwan, to Asian cities or through Taoyuan can complete booking and transport arrangements as follows.

What Goodhope Freight does on Tigerair Taiwan

Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited handles air freight from China to Asia and tracks belly capacity and schedule changes across carriers at Taoyuan International Airport. For Tigerair Taiwan it provides the services below directly to Chinese shippers.

Booking and space monitoring at the Taoyuan hub

Goodhope Freight works with ground agents at Taoyuan and with carrier sales channels to check Tigerair Taiwan A320 belly space flight by flight and to hold space early when it tightens.

Consolidation and clearance at cross-strait gateways

Shippers in cross-strait cities such as Wuxi, Yiwu, Quanzhou and Changsha can deliver cargo to a Goodhope Freight warehouse, where export clearance and space handover are completed and delivery times are set back from the flight schedule.

Taoyuan transit and Asian connections

When cargo transits Taoyuan to Asian cities including Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Bangkok and Singapore, Goodhope Freight arranges sortation at Taoyuan and books the onward flight.

End-to-end air waybill tracking

After delivery at the Chinese gateway, Goodhope Freight tracks flight status, loading and arrival time by air waybill number and notifies the shipper at once of delays or space changes, coordinating alternatives.

Settlement and proof of delivery

Settle at the agreed rate, provide the waybill copy and itemised charges, and close the shipment end to end.

Cargo structure in cross-strait trade

Cross-strait trade centers on electronic components, machinery and electrical products, textiles and apparel, agricultural and fishery products and consumer goods. Taiwan's exports to the mainland are dominated by high-value goods such as wafers, circuit boards, computer accessories, optical components and precision instruments; mainland exports to Taiwan are mainly consumer electronics, furniture, building materials, agricultural products, textiles and apparel. Both suit low-cost belly transport, with the difference that Taiwan's high-value electronics demand more on transit time and security while mainland consumer goods are more rate sensitive. Tigerair Taiwan low-cost belly rates have a clear advantage in the latter case, and cargo such as Yiwu small commodities, Quanzhou footwear and apparel and Wuxi electronic parts can fly nonstop to Taiwan via Taoyuan.

The Asian network through Taoyuan

Taoyuan International Airport is a major regional transit hub in Asia, with dense flights to Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Busan, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau. Mainland Chinese cargo transiting Taoyuan to those cities, or Asian cargo transiting Taoyuan to mainland points, can connect on Tigerair Taiwan low-cost belly capacity. China Airlines group widebody long-haul flights at the Taoyuan hub can carry cargo further to Europe, North America and Oceania, forming a combination of low-cost short-haul and full-service long-haul.

Booking strategy for low-cost belly capacity

Low-cost carriers release belly space alongside passenger sales, so the higher the load factor the less space remains. Shippers should book one to two weeks before departure, and two weeks or more ahead in peak tourist and e-commerce seasons. Goodhope Freight can coordinate space across several Tigerair Taiwan cross-strait and Asian points according to the shipping plan, avoiding cargo left behind when a single flight is oversold.

Choosing nonstop or transit

If the destination is Taoyuan or elsewhere in Taiwan, a nonstop cross-strait belly service is the choice, with short flight time and no transit. If the destination is a city in Japan, South Korea or Southeast Asia, cargo can connect at Taoyuan to a Tigerair Taiwan Asian flight or a China Airlines widebody, giving one delivery and two legs. Goodhope Freight recommends the most economical nonstop or transit combination for the destination and transit requirement.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)