(長榮航空 ''Changrong Hangkong'') is an
Airline based at
Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport near
Taipei ,
Taiwan . It operates passenger flights to over 40 international destinations, as well as dedicated cargo services.
The airline was established in March
1989 and started operations on
1 July 1991 . It was founded by YF Chang as Taiwan's first private international airline. In the mid-90s, EVA Air expanded into the domestic Taiwan market by acquiring shares in Makung International Airlines, followed by Great China Airlines and Taiwan Airways. On
1 July 1998 , all three carriers, as well as EVA's existing domestic operations, merged under the
UNI Air title.
EVA Air is primarily owned by the
Evergreen Group , a large shipping company. True to its Evergreen name, aircraft are painted in a green livery. It has 5,089 employees (at December
2005 ).
EVA is not part of an airline alliance. It has broad cooperative service arrangements with
Air Canada ,
All Nippon Airways ,
American Airlines ,
America West Airlines ,
Continental Airlines , and
QANTAS , as well as joint-venture agreement with
Air New Zealand . It also has cargo agreements with
British Airways and
Lufthansa . Its main competitor is
China Airlines .
EVA Air was the launch customer for
Boeing's 777-200LR in June
2000 . At the same time, the airline ordered four
Boeing 777-300ER s. In January
2001 , EVA Air ordered its first
Airbus . In the summer of
2004 , EVA Air converted its remaining 8 options for Boeing 777-300ERs into firm orders. The first Boeing 777-300ER, with registration B-16701(see below for image), entered service in July 2005.
EVA Air operates four (six) classes of services.
- Super First Class - available on B747-400
- Super Business Class - available on B747-400
- Premium Laurel Class (Business class) - EVA Air's new Business class product on A330-200 and B777-300ER. The seats are fully reclinable and provides a flat surface for sleep.
- Business Class - B767-300ER
- Evergreen Deluxe/Elite Class - EVA Air's Premium Economy product. It offers comfort and service between Economy and Business. Available on B747-400, B777-300ER
- PTV is available in Evergreen Deluxe, Super Business and Super First in B747-400 and in all classes of service on A330-200 and B777-300ER.
- PTV is not available in B767-300ER and Economy in B747-400.
- Star Gallery is the entertainment system on A330-200 and B777-300ER. Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) in all classes. The system used onboard is Panasonic Avionics 3000i.
- Star Gallery provides many programmes and films mainly in Mandarin and English with some programmes in Japanese, Deutsch and French.
- VERVE is the inflight magazine. It has articles in English, Chinese and Japanese.
The EVA Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of April
2006 ):
The average age of the EVA Air fleet is 7.6 years (at April 2006)
EVA Air has code-share agreements with the following carriers: