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EVA Air chairman says B787 delivery heralds new era for carrier
October 5th 2018
On Tuesday, Taiwan’s EVA Air, took delivery of its first B787 Dreamliner, a -9 variant on lease from ALC. Read More » Airline chairman, Steve Lin, said the delivery marked “the beginning of a new era” for the carrier, but stopped short of divulging details of the new vision.
“This milestone delivery marks the beginning of a new era for EVA Air as we continue to revolutionize Taiwan's dynamic commercial aviation industry,” Lin said in North Charleston, South Carolina. “The 787 will elevate EVA Air's position as a five-star global airline. We are excited to introduce the 787 into our fleet. It will play an integral role in our success going forward.”
The Evergreen Group carrier has not announced routes for the Dreamliner. Considering it decided against a premium economy cabin on the aircraft, it is expected EVA will fly the aircraft to regional destinations.
The B787 order was placed in 2015 by former EVA chairman, Chang Kuo-wei. Chang became chairman of EVA Air in January 2013, but when his father, Evergreen Group founder, Chang Jung-Fa, died in January 2016, a succession war erupted and Kuo-wei was forced out as chairman and succeeded by EVA stalwart, Steve Lin.
Chang Kuo-wei is readying to launch his own airline later this year. StarLux Airlines will be “the new hope of Taiwan's aviation industry”, Chang has said and added the carrier would be a tier-one international full-service airline. It will have a fleet of A321s and A350 and/or B787/B777X aircraft to serve international gateways from Taipei.
EVA Air, a Star Alliance member, has ordered four B787-9s and 20 B787-10s. The airline will lease the four -9s and two of the -10s from ALC. The remaining 18 aircraft will be purchased directly from Boeing. EVA Air’s -9s will have 26 business class and 278 economy class seats. The carrier has yet to reveal its cabin layout for the -10s.
EVA Air’s 34 B777-300ERs are equipped with 1-2-1 reverse herringbone business class seats but the B787-9s are being outfitted with Thompson Aero’s forward facing 1-2-1 Vantage XL seats. The cabin was designed by Designworks by BMW.
EVA’s fleet is 22 A321ceo, three A330-200s, nine A330-300s and 34 B777-300ERs. The addition of 24 B787s will be a steep capacity increase for the airline. EVA already appears to have more capacity than its operations require. Last month, it was leasing spare B777 capacity to Air New Zealand.
Boeing will deliver all four B787-9s to EVA by year end. The first -10 is expected in the second quarter of next year. All 24 aircraft are due at the carrier by 2022.
“This milestone delivery signals yet another chapter in our enduring partnership with EVA. I am confident that the market-leading capabilities of the 787 will contribute immensely to the airline's long-term success,” said president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Kevin McAllister.
EVA Air will use a variety of Boeing Global Services tools, including Maintenance Performance Toolbox, Airplane Health Management and the electronic flight bag product, on the B787 fleet. The airline will also use Component Services, where Boeing and its partners own, manage and maintain a global pool of high-value rotable parts, components and line-replaceable units for convenient access.
