EVA Airways Budgets NT$100 B. to Purchase 25 New Planes

Taipei, June 27, 2011 (CENS)--EVA Airways Corp. will purchase 25 new planes, including 10 Boeing 777-300ERs and 15 Airbus A321s, as part of its fleet renewal, said the president Chang Kuo-wei.

With the procurement to be finalized in the second half, a market insider predicts the renewal to cost EVA over NT$100 billion.

EVA has 56 planes, with the major carriers being Boeing 777-300ERs introduced in 2003 and Airbus A320-200s introduced in 2005, as well as having flown passenger and cargo planes as the Boeing 747 and MD-90s for nearly two decades.

Chang says the less-competitive Boeing 747s have to be replaced due to safety and fuel consumption issues, adding that high fuel-efficiency planes as Boeing 777-300ERs will decide profitability. For instance, Boeing 777-300ER passenger planes are 20% more fuel-cost-efficient than 747s.

EVA plans to fly 10 wide-body Boeing 777-300ERs passenger planes to replace the Boeing 747-400s on its European and U.S. routes.