The Taiwanese company based at the airport of Taipei-Taoyuan announced its intention to order 18 A350-1000 and 15 A321neoa contract worth $10.1 billion at list price.
EVA Air will replace part of its Boeing fleet 777-300ER by its European rival, the Airbus A350. Indeed, the Taiwanese carrier revealed on November 7 its intention to acquire 18 A350-1000s as well as 15 A321neos. The announcement was made on the Taipei Stock Exchange, but neither EVA Air nor Airbus issued a press release. The aircraft manufacturer only published the information on its social media accounts, indicating that the airline had chosen the A350 for its long-haul routes.
The choice of the A350 has a bitter taste for Boeing, which sees a traditional operator of the 777 not being interested in the new one 777X. Eva Air has 34 777-300ER wide-body aircraft, some of which were delivered as recently as six years ago. Despite recent acquisitions last March relating to additional Dreamliners (13 in its fleet today and 12 others remaining to be delivered), EVA Air inflicted a hard blow on Boeing, by turning away from it in favor of Airbus. A former customer of the 747 which she had in passenger and cargo versions, she knew Airbus well before since she owns nine Airbus A330-300 and three A330-200 all in two-class, as well as 18 A321s.
It is not known what role the delay in the development program of the 777-9 may have played a role in the decision of the Taiwanese airline. Boeing had planned to put the 777X into service starting in 2021, but project delays and changes to FAA certification procedures pushed the commercial debut back to 2025.
