EVA Air will replace part of its numerous Boeing 777-300ER fleet with the rival Airbus A350. The Taiwanese carrier revealed on November 7 plans to acquire 18 A350-1000 jets as well as 15 A321neo.
The announcement was made on the Taipei Stock Exchange, but neither EVA Air nor Airbus issued press releases.
The aircraft manufacturer only released the information on its social media accounts stating that the airline chose the A350 for its long-haul routes.
The choice of the A350 has a bitter taste for Boeing, which sees a traditional 777 operator not being interested in the new 777X. Eva Air has 34 777-300ER widebodies, some of which were delivered just six years ago.
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Not even recent orders for the 787 Dreamliner appear to have been enough to convince Eva Air to maintain a standardized fleet of jets from Boeing, which in the past was a major 747 customer.
At the same time, Eva Air is familiar with Airbus, of which it owns 12 A330s and 19 A321s.
It is not known what role the delay in the 777-9 development program may have played in the Taiwanese airline’s decision.
Boeing had intended to put the 777X into service starting in 2021, but project delays and changes to FAA certification procedures pushed the commercial debut to 2025.
