A major Taiwan-based international air carrier will resume direct commercial flights between Taipei and Paris starting Jan. 21.

An EVA Airways statement said the company based its decision on falling oil prices coupled with steady passenger demand.

EVA Airways will offer three passenger flights a week from Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport to Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The return flights from Paris to Taipei will fly on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the airline said.

EVA's first flight on Jan. 21 on the reimplemented route is already 80 percent full, said Eyvva Chou, assistant deputy chief of the airline's reservations department. The direct flights between Taipei and Paris last about 12-14 hours.

That's a good deal, which is quicker than service on other airlines which make intermediate stops along the route.

EVA suspended service on its Taipei-Paris route in November 2007, citing deficits caused by soaring oil prices.

In addition, high fees for flying over Russian airspace enroute made the operation prohibitively expensive, the airline said. When EVA Airways resumes service, it will be flying its new Boeing 777-300ERs.

The new jetliners use 20 percent less fuel than the Boeing 747-400s that the airline previously flew on its Taipei-Paris route.

In July last year, EVA Air and its subsidiary Uni Air launched direct, non-stop weekend charter flights from Taipei, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Before the direct flights were launched, EVA passengers bound for the mainland had to change airlines in Hong Kong or Macau.