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EVA Launches Direct Charter Flights from Taiwan to Mainland China
Marking the historic opening of links between Taiwan and Mainland China, EVA Air and its subsidiary UNI Air launched direct, nonstop weekend charter flights from Taipei (Sung Shan Airport), Taoyuan (Taoyuan International Airport) and Kaohsiung to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou starting from July 4, 2008. The two Taiwan-based airlines together are scheduled to make 7-8 round-trip flights a week on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
Passengers worldwide can book and buy tickets for travel to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou via EVA’s user friendly web site at www.evaair.com, through a travel agent or by calling an EVA reservations hotline (800-695-1188 in North America). Chartered flights operated by both EVA and UNI, including those from Sung Shan Airport near Downtown Taipei, can be booked as onward connections for any of EVA’s regularly scheduled service and Evergreen Club members earn mileage.
EVA uses Taoyuan International Airport and its domestic and regional subsidiary UNI Air serves Taipei’s convenient, close-in Sung Shan and Koahsiung International Airport in southern Taiwan, in addition to Taoyuan. UNI’s initial flight to Shanghai was the first international departure from Sung Shan in 30 years.
EVA’s new flights are a welcomed development for international business and leisure travelers worldwide as well as for those in Taiwan and Mainland China. Flight time between Taipei and Beijing is a little more than four hours and on the Taipei – Shanghai route, it’s approximately two and a half hours, saving travel time and adding convenience. Before July 4, EVA passengers bound for Mainland China had to change airlines in Hong Kong or Macau and returning passengers reversed the process.
EVA is flying these new routes with new Airbus 330-200s outfitted with the latest cabins and configured to carry 252 passengers with 24 in Premium Laurel business class and 228 in Economy. UNI Air is using comfortably equipped MD-90s that carry 152 passengers, seating 12 in Business Class and 140 in Economy.
Reflecting the different tastes enjoyed in regions of Mainland China and Taiwan, EVA and UNI Air designed special menus. Passengers dine on regional foods created for each destination, e.g., Beijing, Shanghai and Cantonese meals on flights to Mainland China. On trips to Taiwan, travelers can enjoy traditional gourmet specialties. Premium Laurel and Business Class Passengers can pre-select meals at www.evaair.com in advance of flights.
Passengers Can Now Book EVA to Miyazaki, Komatsu Flights from Taipei start June 1
Travelers can make reservations now for EVA Air’s new flights to Miyazaki and Komatsu, Japan. The service starts on June 1, 2008 with two flights a week between Taipei and each of the new destinations. On July 1, 2008, EVA is also increasing service to Sendai from two to five flights a week, giving passengers more booking options. The launch of its Miyazaki and Komatsu flights establishes EVA in eight cities in Japan. From Taipei, it will be serving more destinations in the country than any other airline and giving its passengers the most flexible, convenient itineraries available.
Miyazaki Flight Schedule:
EVA’s Taipei - Miyazaki flight number BR172 will depart Taoyuan International Airport at 07:00 (7:00 a.m.) on Wednesday and Sunday, arriving at 10:20 (10:20 a.m.) local time. Return flight BR171 will leave Miyazaki at 11:40 (11:40 a.m.) and land back in Taoyuan at 12:50 (12:50 p.m.). Departure and arrival trips each have flying time of approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Komatsu Flight Schedule:
EVA’s BR158 leaves Taiwan at 14:10 (2:10 p.m.) every Wednesday and Sunday and arrives in Komatsu at 18:00 (6:00 p.m.). Flight BR157 returns at 19:30 (7:30 p.m.) local time and gets back to Taoyuan International Airport at 21:40 (9:40 p.m.). Flying time in either direction is close to 3 hours and 10 minutes.
EVA Launches Taipei-Osaka-Los Angeles Route
EVA Air is launching a Taipei – Osaka – Los Angeles route on March 30, 2008, giving passengers an alternative to its Taipei hub and nonstop service between Southern California and the thriving Japanese city. EVA is now the only airline with scheduled nonstop flights between Osaka, Japan and Los Angeles. The new flights will be operated three days a week, on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday (see schedule below).
With the new routing, the airline is increasing its Taipei-Osaka frequency from seven to 10 flights a week. EVA will serve the long-haul, Taipei-Osaka-Los Angeles flights with new Boeing 777-300ERs, aircraft among the most technologically advanced in use today. EVA is now flying B777-300ERs for almost all of its trans-Pacific trips.
EVA’s B777s carry 316 passengers with 42 in Premium Laurel Class, 63 in Elite and 211 in Economy. Whichever one of EVA’s fresh, comfortable cabins travelers may choose, they’ll find the latest inflight amenities, including audio/video on demand with movies, games and children’s programming.
The Premium Laurel cabin offers passengers first-class services for the cost of business class. Elite Class, the newest model of the innovative premium economy that EVA premiered in 1992, creates a cabin in-between business and economy with services close to domestic business at fares closer to economy. The always in-demand cabin has become more exclusive than ever on EVA’s B777s.
EVA inaugurated flights between Taipei and Osaka in 1998. It now offers 63 flights a week to a total of six destinations in Japan, also serving Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Sendai. With the launch of the Taipei – Osaka – Los Angeles routing, EVA is adding more Japanese cabin attendants and serving gourmet meals from Ding Tai Fung, an international restaurant group acclaimed worldwide for the quality of its food.
EVA Gives Evergreen Club Members Automatic Text Message Flight Updates
EVA Air’s Evergreen Club members can now register once for a lifetime of Global Flight Information Short Message Service. The handy text-message service is delivered via passengers’ mobile phones. By simply signing up the one time and providing their Evergreen Club membership number every time they book an EVA flight, passengers get automatic text messages that keep them up-to-date on flight status prior to take-off.
EVA launched the text messaging service for passengers in 2003. Travelers as well as the family members and friends who drop them off and greet them at airports worldwide have found the service to be a welcomed convenience. Previously, everyone including Evergreen Club Members had to register for the texting service every time they booked a flight. Now, lifetime flight status text messaging service is an added benefit of Evergreen Club frequent flyer program membership. Passengers who are not frequent flyers still need to register every time they book a flight, as do friends and relatives who are dropping off or picking them up.
star lights and mood lighting for Premium Laurel and Elite Class passengers
EVA Air’s sixth Boeing 777-300ER, delivered at the aircraft manufacturer’s Everett, WA factory on 10 May, 2007, treats its Premium Laurel and Elite Class passengers to flights with twinkling star lights and mood lighting timed to help regulate body clocks. EVA is the first Taiwan-based carrier to brighten its flights with these innovative LED lighting features in cabin ceilings and windows.
Passengers in Premium Laurel Class, EVA’s top cabin, can lie flat and gaze up at twinkling constellations, including Orion, Ursa Major, Pegasus, Cygnus, Auriga, Centaurus and more. Mood lighting in the two cabins adjusts to six different levels, starting with sunrise and progressing through midday, sunset, evening, relaxation and night-time. The subtle changes in brightness are designed to help passengers’ body clocks adjust to the kinds of time-zone variations experienced on trans-Pacific travel. The new onboard lighting system makes long flights more pleasant and brings the outside sky onboard.
EVA will deploy its sixth new B777-300ER on its Taipei - Los Angeles route, and will fly the majority of its 17 flights from Taipei to Los Angeles with B777-300ERs. The airline is taking delivery of two more of these aircraft later this year and will also place them in service on routes to the United States. EVA flies a total of 36 flights between Asia and the US every week. In addition to its Los Angeles service, it also flies 12 to San Francisco and seven to Seattle, three of which continue on to New York. EVA is also using two B777s on its Taipei – Bangkok – London route.
EVA AIR adds 7th brand-new 777-300ER to the fleet
EVA Air’s seventh brand-new Boeing 777-300ER is ready to be placed in service between Taipei and Los Angeles. EVA Air president Peter Chen accepted delivery of the aircraft in a ceremony at the Boeing factory in Everett, WA on 22 Aug., 2007. Later this year, the airline will add an eighth B777 to its fleet and also use it on Los Angeles trips.
EVA began deploying new B777s on the Los Angeles route in 2006 and has a load factor this summer of approximately 95 percent. With this addition, EVA will operate these aircraft on 14 of its 17 weekly flights to the Southern California gateway. EVA BR12 departs Taoyuan International Airport daily at 18:40 (6:40 p.m.) and BR11 returns from Los Angeles at 17:30 (5:30 p.m.). The daily BR16 flight leaves Taipei at 23:55 (11:55 p.m.) and returning BR15 takes off at 01:20 (1:20 a.m.).
EVA added special mood lighting in Premium Laurel and Elite Class cabins on the new B777s that is timed to help regulate body clocks. These lights have six levels, starting with sunrise and continuing through midday, sunset, evening, relaxation and night-time. Subtle changes in brightness help passengers adjust to time-zone variations on trans-Pacific travel, make long flights more pleasant and bring the outside sky onboard. And in the Premium Laurel cabin, passengers can lie back under a twinkling, star-lit sky filled with constellations such as Orion, Ursa Major, Pegasus, Cygnus, Auriga and Centaurus. EVA configured its B777s to carry 316 passengers in three cabins. Premium Laurel Class has 42 spacious seats and comfortably gives an increased number of travelers the luxury, top-cabin option. Elite, a new, improved version of the innovative premium economy cabin that EVA introduced in 1992, seats 63 passengers and Economy is outfitted for 211 travelers. Every passenger on EVA’s B777s has access to his/her own interactive Star Gallery Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) entertainment system with movies, features, music and video games, and digital air-to-ground, easy-to-access Short Message Service (SMS) in English and Chinese for sending messages to mobile phones or e-mail addresses. Passengers also enjoy meals served piping hot from steam ovens, and lavatories with touch-free infrared faucets that are kept tidy inflight.
EVA flies a total of 36 flights a week between Taiwan and the United States, giving travelers convenient access to and from an extensive network of destinations throughout Asia. In addition to its Los Angeles frequency, EVA has 12 flights a week to San Francisco and seven to Seattle, three of which continue onward to Newark. And it flies to Vancouver five times a week. Passengers can book, buy and reserve seats on EVA’s user friendly web site at http://www.evaair.com/.
New EVA VIP Lounge Opens at Los Angeles Airport (LAX)
After a soft opening starting on 20 Aug., 2007, EVA Air has rolled out the red carpet to its luxurious new $5 million VIP lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal of Los Angeles International Airport. Available for the comfort and convenience of the airline’s Premium Laurel Class and Silver, Gold and Diamond Card frequent-flyer club passengers, the 8,000 sq. ft. Los Angeles International Lounge is located on the fourth floor in the north wing of the terminal and can be accessed after passing through security check points.
EVA’s Super Business and Super First Class passengers are also entitled to lounge access. Diamond and Gold Card members of EVA’s Evergreen Club frequent flyer program can bring one guest into the lounge. In addition, Evergreen Club members at these levels can redeem 5,000 mileage points to bring one family member or guest into the lounge. The spacious lounge has 186 seats, Wi-Fi and a business center equipped with individual work stations that have laptop hook-ups and telephones plus photocopier and facsimile services. It has its own lavatories for guests and showers. And one section can be partitioned to give dignitaries or celebrities privacy.
Waiting to board one of EVA’s 17 weekly flights to Asia or in transit, guests can relax and enjoy delicious ethnic and local foods, including sushi, sandwiches, fresh fruit and favorite snacks. In addition to juices, gourmet coffee, tea and soft drinks, the lounge also has a full bar. And, along with multiple flat-screen, high-definition televisions, it is fully stocked with newspapers and magazines in several languages.
EVA’s new facility is one of four mega lounges financed by the airlines themselves and designed to give travelers as much as 72% more space than those previously operated by individual carriers. While allocation of the other three is based on the airline alliance groups, EVA shares its new lounge with eight other independent, non-affiliated airlines, including Air India, Air Tahiti Nui, China Airlines, China Eastern, El Al Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Mexicana Airlines and Philippine Airlines. The Los Angeles International Airport began refurbishing the Tom Bradley International Terminal in Oct. 2006 and is wrapping up construction now.
EVA to Start B777-300ER Service on Direct Taipei – New York Flights
EVA Air is putting a new Boeing 777-300ER in service on its Taipei – New York route on 4 Dec., 2007. With the equipment change, EVA will fly to New York nonstop and reduce flight time for its three weekly flights to 14 hours, shaving approximately four hours off the trip and eliminating a stop in Seattle. Return flights from New York to Taipei will make a one-hour, fifteen-minute refueling stop in Anchorage because of strong head winds.
EVA will also introduce B777-300ERs on its four weekly Taipei – Seattle flights. The equipment upgrades on the two routes are not only good economic moves for the airline but also will enhance service quality for passengers.
EVA launched its Taipei – Seattle – New York route with Boeing 747-400 aircraft that have a maximum cruising range of 13,185 kilometers (7,325 nmi ). The aircraft’s payload limitations have required EVA to stop in Seattle, making the trip longer and less convenient for passengers going to and from New York. EVA’s new B777-300ERs have a maximum cruising range of 14,184 kilometer (7,880 nmi) and are powered with GE 90-115B engines. The new aircraft are 20% more fuel efficient than the B747-400s, more environment friendly, and enable EVA to fly from Taipei to New York without stopping.
EVA’s Taipei – New York flight BR32 will leave Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport on Monday, Thursday and Saturday at 6:50 pm and arrive at Newark International Airport at 8:10 pm the same day. Return flight BR31 departs New York the same evening 9:50 pm and arrives in Taipei two days later at 6:10 am.
EVA’s Taipei – Seattle flight BR26 will take off from Taoyuan International Airport on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and land in Seattle at 5:35 pm the same day. Return flight BR25 departs Seattle at 1:30 am the following day and gets into Taipei at 6:40 am.
With the direct service to New York, EVA will have increased frequency on its US network from 36 to 39 flights a week, including 20 to Los Angeles and 12 to San Francisco, along with the four to Seattle and three to New York. Starting in April 2008, brand-new B777-300ERs will be placed in service on EVA’s San Francisco route. By the end of 2008, EVA will be serving all of its US gateways with new B777-300ERs.
EVA Refreshes and Upgrades B747-400 Aircraft
To maintain consistent service quality among all its aircraft, EVA is making a sizeable investment to refresh and upgrade the three youngest Boeing 747-400s in its fleet. After their makeovers, the B747-400s have the same three exceptionally comfortable cabins and all the comforts and amenities as the airline’s new Boeing777-300ERs. EVA is retiring its last Super First Class cabin on 1 Dec., 2007.
EVA began introducing the new cabins when it took delivery of its first Airbus 330-200s in 2003 and fully rolled them out on advanced B777-300ERs in 2005. The B777-300ERs replace EVA’s original B747-400s and will be the backbone of the carrier’s long-haul fleet. The refurbished B747-400s are being configured to seat 372 passengers with 36 in Premium Laurel Class, 56 in Elite and 280 in Economy.
Demonstrating its commitment to upgrading both soft and hardware on its aircraft, EVA imported Taiwan’s first wallpaper-pasting machine from the United Kingdom. The airline is using the machine to renew cabins and ensure that passengers on retrofitted B747-400s have the same new-cabin experience that they would on a B777. EVA is the first carrier in Taiwan to acquire the technology needed to renovate entire aircraft cabins, including seats and entertainment systems.
Evergreen Aviation Technologies (EGAT) retrofitted the first of these B747-400s in June 2007 and EVA deployed it on US routes. Work on the second aircraft will be finished in mid October, and the third will be refurbished in December. The aircraft will be deployed on EVA’s Taipei – London and Taipei – Vancouver routes, respectively.