Taiwanese privately owned airline EVA Air has signed an agreement to spend $1.94 billion to acquire new Boeing aircraft. These new planes are set to boost the airline’s global expansion, reliability of its fleet, and offer more long-term operational benefits. The EVA Air board approved the plan on Friday, which would see four additional Boeing 787-9 be purchased, and the extension of leases for four Boeing 777-300ER, which are already operating.
EVA Air is one of the Republic of China (Taiwan )’s major international carriers alongside China Airlines and Starlux. EVA Air is a Star Alliance member and offers a range of short-haul and long-haul international services to and from Taiwan, including non-stop services to North America.
Four New Dreamliners
Part of the deal, as published by Focus Taiwan, will see the airline acquire four new Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which will support the expansion of the airline’s international network. The airline is also looking to capitalize on its hub at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) as a transit airport, seeking to attract travelers from its North America gateways which are Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), Toronto (YYZ) and Vancouver (YVR) – through to destinations in South-East Asia.
In addition to the plans for new 787s, EVA Air also signed off on the decision to extend lease agreements on four Boeing 777-300ER aircraft that are already operating in the fleet, alongwith a $152 million to be spent on the upgrade of interior passenger cabins on six of its Boeing 777-300ER airplanes. The new cabin upgrade is expected to kick off next year and will see the total number of EVA Air 777-300ER upgrades go to 20.
EVA Air currently has a total fleet as per ch-aviation of 89 active aircraft, which include the Airbus A321-200, A330-300, Boeing 777-300ER, 787-9, and 787-10. Its cargo fleet is currently made up of the Boeing 777F.
Improved Onboard Experiences
A major component of the plan is to improve the onboard experience for its passengers. The airline looks to improve the cabin seats onboard, while also upgrading the onboard inflight entertainment systems alongwith other cabin improvements. Part of the retrofit will also see the addition of more lie-flat business class seating, appealing more to the high-value customer. Simple Flying flew the airlines busness class to Taipei – read more about it here.
Demand for travel to and from Taipei to the United States continues to soar, which has seen the introduction of not only US carriers beginning routes to Taiwan, but also the impressive expansion from both China Airlines and Starlux to and from gateways in the US. Phoenix is a prime example of this, where both China Airlines has already started operating, and Starlux will commence in mid-January 2026.
EVA Air remains a fully international carrier, operating no domestic routes, and is headquartered at Taoyuan International Airport. The airline is part of the shipping conglomerate Evergreen Group, and offers not only passenger services, but also cargo, catering, ground handling, and aviation engineering. It operates a domestic and regional subsidiary under UNI Air.
EVA Air History
EVA Air Corporation is one of the three largest airlines in Taiwan (2nd after China Airlines, and ahead of Starlux). It is a privately owned carrier operating to 40 international destinations across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. The airline also has subsidiaries UNI Air, which operates domestic services, while also serving short and medium-haul destinations within Taiwan, Macau, and mainland China.
The airline was launched in September 1988 and was formed to become the first private international airline in Taiwan, following the move from the Taiwanese government to create a more liberal air transportation system. Operations began in July 1991, and initial destinations included Bangkok, Seoul, Jakarta, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.
As per data from ch-aviation, EVA Air has more than 50 aircraft on order currently as part of its fleet renewal and upgrade programme. These include 18 Airbus A321neo (to replace the A321-200), 24 Airbus A350-1000 (which will replace older Boeing 777-300ER), five Boeing 787-9 (to replace older A330-300), and five additional 787-10. Additionally, three Boeing 777-300ER/SF were converted from passenger aircraft orders to cargo.
