pinyin: Chángróng Hángkōng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tióng-êng Hâng-khong) is a Taiwanese airline

based at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and

dedicated cargo services to over 40 international destinations in Asia, Australia, Europe and

North America. EVA Air is largely privately owned and flies a fully international route

network. It is the second largest Taiwanese airline. EVA Air is headquartered in Luzhu,

Taoyuan County. Since its founding in 1989 as an affiliate

of shipping conglomerate Evergreen Group, EVA Air has expanded to include air cargo,

airline catering, ground handling, and aviation engineering services. Its cargo arm, EVA Air

Cargo, links with the Evergreen worldwide shipping network on sea and land. Its domestic

and regional subsidiary, UNI Air, operates a medium and short-haul network based in Kaohsiung,

Taiwan. EVA Air is the 6th safest international airline in the world, with no hull losses

or fatalities since its establishment. EVA Air operates a mixed fleet of Airbus,

Boeing, and McDonnell Douglas aircraft, with Airbus A330, Boeing 747, and Boeing 777 airliners

primarily used on passenger routes, along with Boeing 747 and MD-11 freighters used

on cargo routes. The airline was one of the first carriers to introduce the premium economy

class, which it debuted in 1991. EVA Air's slogan is "Sharing the World, Flying Together."

History 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 recipient 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 EVA Air 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, one of the first in

the airline industry, 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 shorthaul 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 thrice-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.

Recent developments In 2010, EVA Air released a newsflash about

their service to Toronto, which began on 29 March 2010. 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.

Corporate affairs and identity Management

As of 2011, EVA Air's corporate leadership is headed by Chairman Lin Bou-shiu and President

Chang Kuo-wei. EVA Air's president plays a primary role in managing EVA's business operations.

Other members of EVA Air's board manage support and service services of the company, including

its catering and maintenance divisions. Related areas outside EVA Air's direct management

include UNI Holidays, Evergreen's Evasión travel service and Evergreen Laurel Hotels.

EVA Air has its headquarters, known as the EVA Air Building, in Luzhu, Taoyuan County.

EVA Air is largely privately owned. Primary shareholders are Evergreen Marine Corporation,

Evergreen founder Chang Yung-fa, and Evergreen International Corporation. Foreign investors

and individual stockholders combined hold 28% of EVA Air shares.

Cultural details EVA Air has differentiated its onboard service

by using Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka, English, and other languages for its in-flight cabin

announcements. The order of Hokkien and Mandarin has varied since the carrier's launch. EVA

Air has also used Taiwanese folk songs in its boarding music, including an orchestral

form of "Longing for Spring Wind" performed by the Evergreen Group's Evergreen Symphony

Orchestra. The carrier's aircraft and employee color scheme has at times been interpreted

by observers as support for the Pan-Green Coalition of Taiwanese politics, mainly due

to Evergreen founder Chang Yung-fa's political views in the 2000 presidential election, but

this association changed following Chang's support of the Pan-Blue Coalition in the 2004

presidential election. The carrier has further abstained from displaying official markings

of Taiwan on its aircraft, and received expedited approval of international landing rights as

a result. Branding

Name and logo The name "EVA" was taken from two letters

of "Evergreen" and the first letter of "Airways." The name "EVA" is always spelled in capital

letters. The airline uses the logo of its parent company, using green with an orange

trim. Livery and uniforms

The standard EVA Air livery utilizes dark green, signifying durability, and orange,

representing technological innovation. The tail globe logo is intended to represent stability

and reliability, and its positioning on the tail, with one corner off the edge, represents

service innovation. The EVA Air livery was updated in 2002, adding a larger typeface

and the use of green covering the aircraft below the window line. The tail design and

logo remained unchanged. Since 2003, EVA Air has adopted its current

uniform, featuring dark green dresses with cropped jackets. Chief pursers are distinguished

by orange highlights, gold bands, and orange stripes; flight attendants feature green trim

and white stripes. The current uniform replaced the former green-and-orange necktie ensembles

used in EVA Air's first twelve years. Marketing slogans

EVA Air has used different slogans throughout its operational history. The first slogan

appeared on English advertising in the United States, while the 1996 and 2003 versions were

introduced internationally in both English and Mandarin. In 2005, a second "Sharing the

world" slogan was introduced to complement the arrival of the airline's Boeing 777s.

EVA Air slogans have been as follows:

Divisions EVA Air Cargo

Founded concurrently with the passenger operations of EVA Air, EVA Air Cargo operates facilities

in Europe, Asia, and North America. Its cargo operations have diversified to include transportation

of high-tech equipment and special care items such as museum artwork and live zoological

specimens. EVA Air has stated its goal of achieving a 50/50 split in revenues between

its passenger and cargo operations. The airline's cargo operations are mainly operated via a

fleet of Boeing 747-400, MD-11 dedicated freighters, Boeing 747-400 Combi aircraft, and additional

belly cargo space on passenger aircraft. Following the establishment of its A330 fleet

and the introduction of Boeing 777 long-haul aircraft, the airline converted some of its

older Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft to freighters to meet cargo market demands. EVA

Air Cargo established its European Cargo Center in Brussels in 2003 and opened its Southern

China Cargo Center in Hong Kong in 2006. As of 2007, EVA Air Cargo has 43 weekly cargo

flights to London, Vienna, Brussels and US destinations including Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft.

Worth, Chicago, Atlanta and New York. The carrier also has code-shares with international

airlines including Air Nippon, British Airways World Cargo, Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa

Cargo. In recent years, the airline has focused its

North American cargo operations solely on point-to-point routes. By 2004, EVA Air Cargo

ranked among the world's top 10 largest air freight companies. Industry publication Air

Cargo World ranked EVA Air Cargo 6th out of 50 in its 2008 Air Cargo Excellence Survey,

a measure of cargo service customer service and performance. In 2008, EVA Air handled

the transport of two Chinese pandas, donated as a gift to the Taipei Zoo.

Maintenance and support

EVA Air service divisions further include pilot and cabin attendant training facilities,

along with its Evergreen Sky Catering and Evergreen Airline Services ground support

divisions. EVA Air has partnered with General Electric since 1998 to operate the Evergreen

Aviation Technologies Corporation, a heavy maintenance and aircraft overhaul service.

Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation provides safety, repair, and refit services

for EVA Air, other airlines' aircraft, and has handled the modification of four Boeing

747 Large Cargo Freighter aircraft for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner program.

Destinations

Most EVA Air flights originate out of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, its main hub

near Taipei, Taiwan. At Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, EVA Air's flight operations are concentrated

in Terminal 2. Additionally, EVA Air and its domestic subsidiary UNI Air operate numerous

flights out of Kaohsiung International Airport. A focus city for EVA Air outside Taiwan is

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, with westerly connections to all its European destinations

except for Paris. Through the mid-2000s, EVA Air's route network

was affected by the political status of Taiwan, which has historically limited access for