EVA Air

Launch

In September 1988, during the 20th anniversary celebration of Evergreen Marine Corporation's founding, company chairman Chang Yung-fa announced his company's intentions to establish Taiwan's first private international airline. The opportunity to create a major Taiwanese airline had just arisen following a decision by the Taiwanese government to liberalise the country's air transportation system. Government requirements still mandated global experience and financial capital requirements for any company seeking permission to initiate international airline service from Taiwan.Upon receipt of regulatory approval, EVA Airways Corporation was formally established in March 1989. The airline was originally to be called Evergreen Airways, however this was deemed too similar to the unrelated Evergreen International cargo airline. In October 1989, the newly formed EVA Airways Corporation placed a US$3.6 billion order for 26 aircraft from Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, including Boeing 747-400 and MD-11 airliners.Operations began on 1 July 1991 with a small fleet of Boeing 767-300ER aircraft featuring business and economy class seating. Initial destinations from Taipei were Bangkok, Seoul, Jakarta, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. By the end of the year, the EVA Air network had expanded to include additional cities in East Asia and its first European destination, Vienna. First year revenues reached US$40 million.

Expansion in the 1990s

In 1992, EVA Air received the first of its Boeing 747-400 aircraft on order, and launched its premium economy class, "Economy Deluxe", on its 747 transpacific flights to Los Angeles, beginning in December of that year. EVA Air's premium economy cabin was the first in the world featured a wider 2-4-2 abreast configuration, legrests, individual seatback video, and enhanced meal services. EVA Air's Economy Deluxe cabin proved popular with the traveling public. For international services, EVA Air's 747s were configured with 104 premium economy seats as part of a 370-seat, four-class cabin, in addition to first, business and economy classes. In 1993, EVA Air added flights to Seattle, New York, Bangkok and Vienna with the Boeing 747-400.

By 1994, EVA Air was providing regular service to 22 destinations worldwide, and carrying over 3 million passengers annually. In 1995, the airline posted its first profit on revenues of US$1.05 billion, one year ahead of schedule. Internationally, EVA Air's rapid expansion and increased passenger volume was boosted by its safety record, in contrast to its primary competitor, China Airlines. In addition to receiving IOSA certification, EVA Air in 1997 achieved simultaneous official ISO 9002 certification in the areas of Passenger, Cargo, and Maintenance Services.Dedicated EVA Air Cargo operations began in April 1995, with the first weekly McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter flights to Taipei, Singapore, Penang, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. EVA Air Cargo's fleet was expanded to five freighters by the end of the year. Previously, EVA Air Cargo operations mainly relied on passenger aircraft cargo space.

In the mid-1990s, EVA Air expanded into the domestic Taiwan market by acquiring shares in Makung International Airlines, followed by Great China Airlines and Taiwan Airways. On 1 July 1998, all three carriers, as well as EVA's existing domestic operations, merged under the UNI Air title. UNI Air became EVA Air's domestic intra-Taiwanese subsidiary, operating short haul flights out of its base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's southern port and second-largest city.

Maturation in the early 2000s

In 2000, EVA Air embarked on its first major long-haul fleet renewal. The airline became one of the launch customers for the Boeing 777-300ER, ordering four aircraft plus eight options. At the same time, the airline placed three orders for the Boeing 777-200LR. In January 2001, EVA Air ordered its first Airbus aircraft, the A330-200. The Boeing 777 aircraft were intended for United States and European services, while the Airbus A330 aircraft were intended for regional Asian routes.

In 2001, EVA Air began listing public stock offerings on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Initially, one percent of the company's shares was offered over-the-counter, with one-quarter held by parent company Evergreen Marine Corporation and EVA Air employees, respectively. In 2002, EVA Air underwent internal corporate reforms, with staff reductions and streamlined management. This culminated a process which had begun in 1997, when the Asian financial crisis began affecting profitability. The 2002–2003 SARS contagion also affected passenger traffic for medium-haul flights in Southeast Asia, while long-haul flights to North America, Japan, and Europe were less affected.In 2004, EVA Air converted its remaining eight options for Boeing 777-300ERs into firm orders. The first Boeing 777-300ER entered service as EVA Air's new flagship aircraft in July 2005. With the arrival of its new Boeing 777s, EVA Air launched a comprehensive revamp of its cabins, introducing lie-flat seats in its new Premium Laurel business class cabin, and upgrading its premium economy product to the new Elite Class cabin. The airline's A330s were introduced with two-class Premium Laurel and Economy cabins. In December 2005, EVA Air and its associated divisions had 5,098 employees, and the airline's network spanned 40 passenger destinations worldwide, with additional cargo destinations.

Repositioning in the late 2000s

In 2007, EVA Air announced a nonstop Taipei to New York service, to be operated with its new long-range Boeing 777-300ERs. At the same time, the airline withdrew passenger service from Taipei to Paris. On 31 October 2008, EVA Air announced a resumption of Taipei to Paris service with twice-weekly passenger flights beginning 21 January 2009. In 2008, the airline also announced the suspension of services to Auckland. The carrier also prepared to increase direct flights to China, after initiating weekly charter flights in July 2008 following changes to the Three Links travel agreements.

For the 2007–2008 period, EVA Air coped with a 34% surge in fuel prices, which contributed to a US$61.2 million 2007 loss. In August 2008, EVA Air reported a second quarterly loss due to increased fuel costs. In response, the airline implemented cost-saving measures, including flight schedule reductions and fee increases. In early 2008, EVA Air's business office in El Segundo, California, announced a major staff reduction, with over half the staff advised that they would no longer be employed by May 2008. Functions performed by those local staff were shifted to Taiwan by half, such as the reservation center.

EVA Air carried 6.2 million passengers in 2007, and employed 4,800 staff members as of April 2008. The carrier returned to profitability in the first quarter of 2009, with a US$5.9 million net gain. In August 2010, EVA Air was named one of the top 10 international airlines in Travel+Leisure's World's Best Awards.

Further expansion in the early 2010s

In March 2010, EVA Air began services to Toronto. In November 2010, EVA Air began nonstop flights connecting the inner-city Taipei Songshan and Tokyo Haneda airports. In 2010, Chang Kuo-wei, son of Chang Yung-fa, returned to serve as EVA Air's president, and the carrier recorded increased sales and yearly profits. In early 2011, the carrier announced that it had applied for airline alliance membership with Star Alliance, and later that year clarified that it was in talks to join either Oneworld or Star Alliance by 2013. In June 2011, the carrier began nonstop flights from Taipei to Guam, and in October 2011 the carrier announced nonstop service from New York to Taipei.On 27 March 2012, EVA Air announced that it would join Star Alliance in 2013. On 24 September 2012 EVA Air signed a partnership with Amadeus IT Group Altéa suite for its Altéa Revenue Management system. On 18 June 2013, EVA Air became a full member of Star Alliance.

In October 2014, EVA Air announced its intention to expand its North American network by adding new routes to Houston in 2015 and Chicago in 2016, along with expanding 55 flights per week to 63 flights per week to North America.In October 2015, EVA Air announced its intent to purchase up to 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and two additional 777-300ER jetliners from Boeing. EVA Airways joined the 787-10 launch customer team.

Recent developments

In November 2015, EVA Air unveiled a new livery on its Boeing 777-300ER.In January 2016, Evergreen Group chairman Chang Yung-fa died, leaving control of the company to his son by his second marriage, Chang Kuo-Wei. In March 2016, a coup by the three children of Chang Yung-fa's first marriage removed Chang Kuo-Wei as chairman and replaced him with Lin Pang-Shui . Chang Kuo-Wei later established a new airline separate from EVA Air, called StarLux Airlines.In June 2016, EVA Air was one of eleven airlines to be given a Skytrax 5-star rating.On 24 August 2017, EVA Air unveiled its third-generation uniform, designed by fashion house Shiatzy Chen. Those new uniforms were rolled out in November 2017, replacing the second generation uniform that was introduced in 2003.On 2 October 2018, EVA Air took delivery of its first of four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The airline has orders for 20 787-10s and options for six more. In June 2019, EVA Air took delivery of its first of twenty Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners.