Taipei March 13 (CNA) EVA Air's board of directors has approved the purchase of five Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to use on its European and North American routes in anticipation of growing passenger demand in the coming years, the company announced Monday.
EVA Air said Boeing will start delivering the planes in 2025, with all five planes scheduled to be delivered by 2027.
The carrier is also scheduled to take delivery by 2025 of four other 787-9s, seven 787-10s and a Boeing 777 cargo plane that have already been ordered, the statement said.
Once the additional five 787-9 Dreamliners join its fleet, EVA Air will have a total of 26 Boeing 787s in service, with half of them 787-9s and the other half 787-10s.
According to local media, the board approved the additional purchase of the five 787-9 aircraft for a price not exceeding US$1.777 billion.
EVA President Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said the airline will use its 787-9 Dreamliners on routes to Europe and North America because of their longer range and introduce a three cabin layout -- business, premium economy and economy -- in the planes by mid-2024.
The 787-10s, with their passenger capacities, will offer two classes of service -- business and economy class -- and fly them mainly to destinations in the Asia-Pacific region, Sun said.
The company has continued to order Boeing 787s because they are made with composite materials such as carbon fibers that do not erode or rust easily and reduce the overall weight of a plane, it said.
According to the statement, the new aircraft will use GE Aerospace's GEnx Engine to decrease fuel consumption and cut emissions.
