EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) has placed a firm order to purchase nine planes from Airbus SE, including six long-range A350-1000s and three single-aisle A321neo aircraft.
The order would bring EVA Airways’ backlog of aircraft to be delivered to 24 A350-1000s and 18 A321neo aircraft, Airbus said in a statement on Monday.
“The new additions to our fleet reaffirm our commitment to sustainable aviation and delivering an exceptional travel experience,” EVA Airways president Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said in the statement.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
“Both the A350-1000 and A321neo set a high standard in their respective categories, offering remarkable efficiency and comfort to our passengers,” Sun said. “As we move forward with our fleet and network expansion plans, we look forward to leveraging the aircraft’s extended range and efficiency to strengthen our market position.”
The carrier’s board of directors on March 12 approved the plan to buy the nine Airbus aircraft for up to US$3.1 billion.
EVA Airways expects the delivery of the six A350-1000s to start in 2031 and the three A321neos in 2032.
The carrier, which operates a fleet of 85 planes, has eight Boeing Co 787-9s and five Boeing 787-10s on order, with delivery expected to be completed by 2029, while the delivery of 18 A350-1000s and 15 A321neos already on order would begin in 2027 and 2029 respectively.
EVA Airways posted a record net profit of NT$30.4 billion (US$921.02 million) for last year, up 31.6 percent from a year earlier, with earnings per share of NT$5.37, compared with NT$4.01 the previous year.
The number of passengers the carrier served hit 13.16 million last year, up 16.8 percent from a year earlier, with the average load factor — an industry metric for measuring the percentage of passenger capacity used — hitting 82.6 percent, company data showed.
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