EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday signed a NT$50 billion (US$1.6 billion) deal with Boeing Co to procure five new freight aircraft.
The Taiwanese carrier is expected to receive the first of five Boeing 777 Freighters in October 2017 and have all five in operation by September 2019, EVA Air chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said.
The 777 Freighter uses about 20 percent less fuel than the older Boeing 747-400 cargo aircraft in the company’s fleet, Chang said.
Photo: EPA
He said that it is crucial for the company to modernize its fleet, as the cargo sector is beset by dwindling margins and declining transport volume.
“The Boeing 747-400 is no longer the ideal choice, as there is no longer enough demand to fill it to capacity on each flight,” Chang said, adding that the 777 Freighter’s smaller capacity of 85 to 90 tonnes affords much more flexibility.
The new aircraft also shares many characteristics with other 777 series aircraft in EVA Air’s fleet, which will allow pilots to easily switch between flying cargo and passenger aircraft and simplify maintenance, he said.
EVA Air also plans to purchase 24 to 26 passenger aircraft in 2018 or 2019, which is expected to be one of the carrier’s largest procurement bids ever, Chang said.
The company is considering the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350, and has urged Boeing senior vice president John Wojick to provide a more “friendly” price in the upcoming purchase, he said.
In light of the carrier’s lengthy history with Boeing aircraft powered by General Electric Co (GE) engines, Chang said that the 787 would be the ideal choice, as the A350 is powered by Rolls-Royce PLC engines, which would complicate maintenance.
Growth prospects are expected to be constrained for its maintenance business, he said.
“In terms of engine maintenance, many manufacturers are requiring clients to use their own first-party services or risk having their warranties voided, leaving other operators out of the picture,” Chang said.
Evergreen Aviation Precision Corp (EGAP, 長榮航與精密), an affiliated business of EVA Airways, has started shipments of its rigid cargo barriers for Boeing freight aircraft and has delivered 11 units since December last year as part of a contract that runs through 2019, he said.
GE awarded EGAP a six-year contract to supply 45 parts for the US company’s next-generation LEAP (leading-edge aviation propulsion) engine, he added.
Chang said the Taiwanese firm is striving to establish a vertically integrated aviation supply chain, aiming to tap into the market for aircraft parts assembly.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI