Taiwan-based carrier China Airlines will drop its nonstop service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Taipei as part of a move to cut 100 passenger flights per month mainly between the United States and Asia due to soaring fuel costs.

Flights will end after Sep. 1, said Robert Ha of Asia Travel in Seattle's International District. China Airlines flies four times a week between the two cities, he said.

EVA Airways will continue its five weekly nonstop flights linking Seattle and Taiwan with onward connections to other Asian cities. That airline announced earlier that it planned to cut 10 percent of its international flights, saying long-haul flights to Amsterdam, Los Angeles and San Francisco would be most affected.

A China Airlines spokesman couldn't be reached for immediate comment, but Ha speculated that new competition on international routes to Taipei might have influenced its decision. Northwest Airlines recently announced new service to Taipei via Tokyo.

"We sell more EVA flights to China," Ha said. "Fare-wise, it's about the same," and many passengers prefer EVA because its "EVA Elite" service which falls between economy and business class.

China Airlines started its Seattle service in 2004. Sea-Tac recently added service to Beijing via Hainan Airlines and Northwest plans nonstop Beijing service starting Mar. 1, 2009.