Air passengers flying between Taiwan and mainland China will have several more flights to choose from starting next month, with prices set to be much lower for the late night flight services.

China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways, the two leading air carriers based in Taipei, as well as TransAsia Airways (TNA) will each provide one weekly round trip flight between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Pudong airport in China's eastern Shanghai City.

The new flights are part of the new air pact reached between Taiwan and mainland China in June to add 94 additional weekly direct cross-strait flights to boost the total number of flights to 558 from 370.

The three late night and early morning "red eye" flights will start in early August.

Both CAL and EVA have started selling tickets for the new Taoyuan-Shanghai flights on their websites.

CAL said its new flight will take off from Taoyuan at 10:30 p.m. every Friday night and reach Pudong at 0:15 a.m. The service will begin on Aug. 5.

The return flight will depart Shanghai at 1:20 a.m. and arrive in Taoyuan at 3:05 a.m.

The prices for tickets valid for 14 days will be only NT$8,000 and the total price will be approximately NT$10,295 including tax.

The new EVA flight will begin on Aug. 2. The flight will leave Taoyuan every Tuesday at 10:25 p.m. and arrive in Pudong at 0:15 a.m.

The return flight will depart Shanghai at 1:20 a.m. and arrive in Taoyuan at 3:10 a.m.

The discount ticket prices, valid for 14 days, will be only NT$8,150 for the first three flights on Aug. 2, 9 and 16. The total price will be a little over NT$10,000 including tax.

For return trips, the ticket price is NT$8,650 before the end of September.

The new flight from TNA will start on Aug. 12 with ticket price set at NT$8,000 before Sep. 30. The airline's flight will leave Taoyuan at 10:30 p.m. and arrive in Pudong at 0:30 a.m.

The return flight will depart Shanghai at 1:25 a.m. and arrive in Taoyuan at 4:00 a.m.

In response to passengers' complaints about the comparatively high ticket prices for cross-strait flights, Direct-General Yin Cheng-pong of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said the CAA has started monitoring the prices of flights in two categories, those valid within a period of 14 days, and those valid over a period of a year.

The ticket prices for "red eye" flights will be generally lower due to weaker market demand, he said.

Many budget-minded travelers have said they will consider using the late night flights to save money for other sightseeing and pleasure activities.

But some business executives in Taiwan said they will generally continue selecting daytime flights so that they can immediately start working after landing, even though the cost can be NT$1,000 higher.