EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), one of the nation’s largest airlines, on Tuesday received delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner passenger aircraft at Boeing Co’s delivery center in South Carolina.
It is the first 787 Dreamliner in Taiwanese civil aeronautics history and the first in EVA Air’s planned fleet of 787s.
The Taiwanese carrier, which plans to debut the long-range aircraft on international routes next month, leased the aircraft from Air Lease Corp, a Boeing statement said.
Photo courtesy of EVA Airways Corp
“Today’s delivery marks the first of 24 Dreamliners requisitioned by the Taipei-based airline,” the statement said.
EVA Air in 2015 announced an order for 18 787-10 airplanes, along with plans to lease four 787-9s and two 787-10s from Air Lease, Boeing said, adding that it is the largest commercial airplane purchase in Taiwan’s history.
A member of Star Alliance, EVA Air serves international routes with about 565 weekly flights.
Photo: Chen I-chia, Taipei Times
Boeing said that passengers on the airline’s new 787 Dreamliner would experience EVA Air’s new Royal Laurel business class seats designed by Designworks, a BMW Group company, while EVA Air also partnered with Teague to redesign its economy class seats.
To improve the operational efficiency of its 787s, EVA Air plans to use a variety of tools available from Boeing Global Services, including a maintenance performance toolbox, airplane health management and electronic flight bags, which are tablet-based solutions for pilots that increase cost savings by removing paper products, Boeing said.
The 787-9 is the second member of the Dreamliner family, and offers 20 to 25 percent better fuel efficiency per seat and lower emissions than the first 787, Boeing said.
As the longest-range member of the family, the 787-9 can carry 290 passengers in a typical two-class configuration up to 7,635 nautical miles (14,140km), the company said.
The 787-10 is a larger version of the 787-9, although the two aircraft retain more than 95 percent in common, Boeing said, adding that the 787-10 has additional seating and cargo capacity and has 25 percent better fuel efficiency per seat and lower emissions than the 787-9.
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