News Backgrounder
Boom times for EVA Air cargo
October 1st 2021
The year 2021 has brought EVA Airways (EVA), one of Taiwan’s two leading airlines, recognition for its passenger service, winning awards from AirlineRatings, Travel + Leisure, SKYTRAX, and for the first time, Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice award. Read More »
However, with the borders of Taiwan tightly shut to travelers for most of this year due to the pandemic, EVA’s air cargo services, not its passenger cabins are in the spotlight when it comes to the company’s profitability.
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In the first three quarters of this year, EVA said, cargo operations earned TW$55.1 billion (US$1.97 billion) in revenue, an annual increase of 64.8%. The airline transported 631,000 tonnes of air freight, an annual jump of 28.3%, reaching a very impressive cargo load factor of 94.5%, reported Taiwan’s United Daily News (UDN).
In the present fourth quarter, traditionally the busiest period in the air cargo industry, EVA almost certainly will experience a rise in cargo volumes and therefore revenue, especially after it takes delivery of three more 777Fs.
Last year the airline reached agreement with Boeing to convert a standing order of some 787-10s to three 777Fs. The first from the batch, registration number B-16787, was delivered to Taiwan on October 15, becoming the sixth B777 freighter in EVA’s fleet.
Boeing is scheduled to deliver two more new 777Fs in November and December, expanding the airline’s dedicated freighters to eight.
The 777Fs are operating more than 40 flights a week. In response to cargo demand, the carrier also has been flying 33 passenger airplanes in in-cabin cargo mode. These planes have been performing more than 50 flights a week.
Taiwan’s exports rose for the 15th consecutive month in September. Recently, several foreign missions in Taiwan have urged the government to ease its strict COVID-19 border control measures, arguing they are hurting people-to-people exchanges and the country’s commerce, reported Taiwan’s Central News Agency. Tomasz Sniedziewski in Taiwan.
