TAIWAN: EVA Air, Flight Attendant Fired For Joking She Would "Add Ingredients" To A Captain's Food

EVA Air estimated 02-Aug-2019 it will compensate TWD805 million (USD25.5 million) to passengers due to the cabin crew strike.

The airline also signed agreement with Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union to increase the bonus for cabin crew, estimating an increase of TWD175 million (USD5.5 million) in expense.

Taipei-based airline fully resumes normal operations after the longest strike by cabin crew in the airline’s history.

In a short statement, the airline said it was reinforcing preventive measures to ensure every passenger’s flight safety because of threatened malicious actions that have made passengers anxious about flying with EVA Air.

The airline called out members of the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union who led the strike in a bitter dispute over pay and conditions for making the threats.

The allegations include:

- A threat not to close cabin doors properly

- Tampering with inflight meals for passengers and crew

- Bullying crew members who didn’t take part in the strike

It’s believed that EVA Air sacked the leader of the union earlier this month after she made several jokes that she claims were misinterpreted as threats.

Kuo Chi-yen is alleged to have threated to add something to flight crew meals for anyone who crossed the picket line and helped break the strike.

In another comment, Kuo was alleged to have said she would pummel strike-breaking flight attendants.

She argued that the comments were made in response to excessive criticism of the union but EVA Air reported her to police on suspicion of breaching the Civil Aviation Act.

After an EVA Air flight attendant and union leader was fired for joking that she would "add ingredients" to a captain's entree, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) wants a full explanation from the air carrier.

Kuo Chi-yen, former EVA Air flight attendant and director of the Taoyuan Flight Attendants' Union (TFAU) was dismissed on July 11 by the airline for making a joke about "adding ingredients" to the captain's meal during the flight attendant strike.

Now the U.S. DOT wants an explanation of the incident.

EVA Air confirmed on Sunday July 21 that the DOT had notified it of complaints from passengers about the incident and that the company would respond to the current situation.

Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said last week that EVA Air had informed it of the incident.

Because Eva Air operates flights to the U.S., the DOT sent a letter to the air carrier, requesting that it reply to the threat by the former flight attendant.

The CAA also indicated that it had asked EVA Air to properly explain the situation and maintain normal flight operations in the U.S.

At 12:24 a.m. on July 9, Kuo released a post on the TFAU Facebook page in which she admitted that her statements about "pummeling" anti-strike flight attendants and "adding ingredients" to the captain's entree were inappropriate, emphasizing that they were meant as jokes.

She said that she was sorry that the comments led to misunderstandings and she would accept the company's investigation.

After learning of Kuo's comments, EVA Air said it had reported the case to the police on July 9 because of the serious impact it had on cabin order and flight safety.

On July 11, the company's personnel review committee found that Kuo's actions obviously violated the company's management rules regarding cabin crew members.

The committee also found that there was a possible unlawful infringement against company staff in the workplace that may have violated the relevant provisions of the Civil Aviation Act and the Criminal Code.

The circumstances were considered so serious that the company decided to dismiss her with immediate effect, and her case has now entered the judicial process.

The CAA said that because the case has entered the judicial process, it will respect the court's judgment.

If the prosecution does not indict Kuo, it said it will review her cause under civil aviation law.

Kuo reportedly went to the Luzhu precinct of the Taoyuan Police Department on the afternoon of July 13 to file a report.


Tourism Observer

Safe And Unsafe Airlines

AEROFLOT OR ANY RUSSIAN AIRLINE

Russian airlines lead the world in crashes and fatalities. The only air disasters in the past ten years that stole the headlines from missing Malaysian Air flights were catastrophic Russian crashes which wiped out the Polish government, a hockey team, and hundreds of vacationers to Egypt.

Aeroflot is Russia’s flag carrier, and it has an ominous record as the airline with the most crashes in the world.

Today Aeroflot is modern and safe and hasn’t had a major incident since 2008, but the list of other Russian airlines, including S7 and Siberian Air and Nordstar, with huge crashes, is too hard to ignore. If you’re flying in or out of Russia, take Finnair.

AIR NEW ZEALAND

Air New Zealand was rated as the safest airline in the world by Skytrax for 2017, the third year in a row they won this prestigious, and important, award.

This is New Zealand’s flag carrier and they have flights to destinations mostly in Asia, but also to the UK, US, Australia, and Canada. The only incident they’ve had is when a flight carrying pilots, technicians, and a safety inspector crashed into the ocean in 2008.

Otherwise, Air New Zealand has never lost a civilian passenger, joining the ranks of Air Canada for the safest airline. With fewer accidents, crashes, and deaths than any other airline, rest easy when you’re traveling on Air New Zealand!

PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES

Pakistan's flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, is one of the most messed-up airlines in the world. The airline has a near-zero rating fromairlinereviews.com and is in the top 10 least safe airlines in the Skytrax annual review.

The airline has suffered many crashes resulting in fatalities every single year since they were founded in 1947, and when they’re not crashing or blowing up mid-air, they have a long list of minor accidents caused by pilot negligence and lack of ground maintenance.

FINNAIR

Finland’s largest airline and flag carrier has an impeccable safety record.They haven’t had a fatality since 1963, and have had few mishaps and accidents than any other airline in the world since then.

There were a couple of hijackings and attempts at bombing a Finnair airline, but these were all dealt with efficiently by authorities and passengers and crew were unharmed.

Finnair keeps a fleet of modern, well-maintained aircraft crewed by excellent pilots and professional flight attendants. If you’re flying anywhere in Europe, you can’t go wrong with Finnair.

MALAYSIAN AIRLINES

Malaysian Airlines has had a bad decade. Several large airline disasters have captured the world’s media attention, including the disappearance of Flight 370 in 2014.

What seems like such a shock to the world was no surprise to airline safety agencies and industry watchdogs, such as airlinereviews.com. Malaysian Airlines has a history of minor crashes, unsafe maintenance, corporate corruption and half-trained pilots and aircrew.

When several planes went down more recently, it was a culmination of a bad corporate culture that resulted in one of the most unsafe airlines in the world.

BRITISH AIRWAYS

British Airways was founded in 1974 by a government commission and has since grown to become the largest carrier in the UK. British Airways is one of the safest airlines in the world and hasn’t lost a passenger since 1976 when Flight 476 collided with another aircraft on takeoff, hurting 63 people on board.

This is the only time British Airways has had fatalities. Their pilots and crew are top-notch, and thanks to their fantastic skills several notable disasters have been avoided, like when Flight 900 flew through a volcanic ash cloud and the pilots glided the aircraft to a safe landing.

Qr the time a windshield blew out and the pilot was sucked out of the aircraft, but hung on while the co-pilot landed the plane safely. Nobody was hurt.

AIR INDIA

Air India is an Indian government owned airline founded in 1932. It has a dubious safety record, with a habit of exploding in mid-air.

Thankfully modern security screening has drastically reduced airline bombings around the world, but that doesn’t stop things like Air India flights randomly catching fire, or skidding off the runway, or simply driving into parked airplanes at the terminal loading docks.

Skytrax rates Air India as one of the least safe airlines due to a lot of negligence-caused accidents on the part of pilots, aircrew, and ground maintenance.

AIR CANADA

Air Canada has a proud and long history as one of the safest airlines in the world. Canada’s flag carrier was founded in 1937 and has never had a single fatality in all that time. They have flights to 207 cities around the world, making them one of the top 10 largest airlines and one of the top five oldest.

They’ve had the odd mishap, like in 2017 when the pilot accidentally turned off his radio while coming into San Francisco International Airport and landed on a runway full of taxiing airplanes.

This was the most serious incident in the airlines, history, and nobody was hurt. The pilot was suspended and the airline launched a full investigation. Air Canada flights are modern, well-maintained, and professional.

THAI AIRWAYS

Thailand’s national carrier has had a tough run as a world-class airline. They try really, really hard to be safe, but bad things just keep happening. In 2001 an entire wing blew up thanks to a fuel leak, resulting in one death on board.

In 2009 a flight crash-landed on a runway, while another plane dove into a rice paddy in 1998, killing everyone on board. For the most part, Thai Airways is safe, as they’ve had very few fatalities.

It’s just that things keep blowing up or falling off their airplanes, which shows a lack of maintenance and, as is usually the case with airlines from the developing world, corporate corruption which stops new parts and aircraft from reaching the fleet.

CATHAY PACIFIC

Cathay Pacific was one of the most luxurious airlines in the world at one point, winning the coveted “best airline” year after year. It has since fallen from the top spot, replaced by newcomers such as Qatar Airlines and Emirates.

Cathay Pacific still holds on to its stellar safety record, however. Hong Kong’s flag carrier reaches destinations around the world, and its last disaster was in 1972 when a bomb took down a flight, which can’t really be held against the company.

Their airplanes are known to be well-maintained and crewed by professionals, and their customer service is the best in all of Asia!

JETSTAR PACIFIC

Jetstar Pacific is a budget-airline out of Vietnam. Officially called Jetstar Pacific Airlies Joint Stock Aviation Company, this airline is near the bottom of Skytrax’s annual airline safety list.

According to aeroinside.com, which tracks airline incidents, Jetstar Pacific has had numerous safety incidents including tail strikes on takeoff, when the plane rotates the nose up to takeoff, the pilot is supposed to lift the plane off the ground or the tail will smash into the runway, known as a tail strike.

Other reports include landing gear malfunctions, noxious fumes in the cabin, and failure to pass a safety inspection at an Australian airport.

LUFTHANSA

Lufthansa was founded in the 1920s and then regrown after World War II and is one of the largest airlines in the world today. You can catch a Lufthansa flight to pretty much anywhere in Europe, and rest confident that you’ll actually get there alive. The airline isn’t without incidents, however.

Between 1959 and 1993, Lufthansa had several major accidents resulting in fatalities. The past 25 years have been very safe, with no fatalities and very few accidents. Although they are expensive, you’re getting what you pay for when you choose to fly with Lufthansa.

EGYPTAIR

Egyptair is Egypt’s national airline, with flights to nearly a hundred countries around the world. It’s also rated by Skytrax as one of the ten least safe airlines.

Even if you discount the company’s disasters, such as Flight 804 flying into the Mediterranean in 2016, or Flight 990 flying head-first into the Atlantic in the 90s, you still have an airline with a long history of mishaps.

In 2016 a plan caught fire while sitting on the runway. Another’s engine fell off during takeoff. There have been multiple hijackings of Egyptair flights in recent years, which makes for an uncomfortable vacation.

EMIRATES

Emirates has a decent safety record. They’ve never had a fatality on any of their flights, although they have had several mishaps on takeoff and landing.In 2004, and again in 2009, Emirates flights ran out of runway and plowed through landing lights and fences.

Nobody was hurt, but come on, really?In both cases, the investigators blamed the pilots for not lifting off and blamed Emirates for not giving the pilots enough rest between flights.

The odds of such an exciting start to your travels are rare, so instead sit back and enjoy Emirates world-famous comfort and service.

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES

Philippine Airlines is the flag carrier of The Philippines and is also one of the safest Filipino-operated airlines.Unfortunately, they aren’t the safest in the world, with a string of accidents, most of them minor.

Philippine Airlines flights have also been targeted by terrorists in the past, with al-Qaeda blowing up an airliner in 2007, and local extremists knocking down local propeller-driven craft now and again.

For the most part, you’ll survive your flight with these guys, but they still remain accident prone. Engines seize up mid-flight, landing gear doesn’t retract, planes fall off the runway, minor stuff.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

Asian-based airlines seem to have a fantastic safety record. Eva, Cathay Pacific, and Singapore Airlines are all represented in the top 10 safest airlines in the world.Singapore Airlines isn’t without incidents, however.

In 1991 Pakistani militants hijacked Flight 117, until Singapore Special Forces stormed the aircraft and freed all the passengers while dispatching all the terrorists.

In 2000, Flight 006 took off from the wrong runway in Taiwan and crashed into some construction equipment, and 86 people lost their lives. There haven’t been any other fatalities in the airline's history and they’ve had an accident-free 18 years!

CHINA AIR

China Airlines is the largest air carrier in China and is partially government owned. If you’re heading to China, chances are you’ll end up booked on a China Air flight.

They fly to more than a hundred cities around the world, and is considered the 10th largest airline in the world! China Air also has one of the worst safety records of all the major airlines, with more than 30 catastrophic crashes and hundreds of minor accidents.

Most of their pilots are well-trained and come from a military background, but it seems that the aircraft themselves are not well maintained, and the company tends to skimp on spending the money necessary to keep their fleet safe.

EVA AIR

Eva Air is a Taiwanese airline launched in 1989. They have one of the best safety records of all the Asian airlines, and to date has not had a single aircraft incident or passenger fatality.If you’re flying Eva Air you can rest assured that you’re in good hands.

I’ve never flown Eva, but passenger reviews online tell a story of friendly, professional treatment, comfortable flights and average food.If you’re heading anywhere in Asia, try Eva Air. At the very least you’ll get there alive.

CUBANA

Cubana Airlines is considered one of the most accident-prone airlines in the world, with an accident rating 60 times higher than British Airways! Cubana is Cuba’s national airline, wholly owned by the Communist government.

It was founded in 1930 as a subsidiary of Pan-Am Airlines, but after Castro’s takeover, it was nationalized. Today it is known as Crashbana by Cubans and Mexicans.

In 2018 it had a catastrophic crash with 107 fatalities, which came only a year after another crash, which was eight months after another crash. If you must go to Cuba, fly on Air Canada.

JAPAN AIRLINES

Japan Airlines is one of the safest airlines in the world, having only one catastrophic accident in its history. That was when Flight 123 flew face-first into a mountain back in 1985, taking 520 passengers with it.

The company has since fired all of its kamikaze pilots and passengers can expect a relatively comfortable flight. I’ve flown JAL several times and was once even upgraded to first class, the only time in my traveling career, so I have a soft spot for them.

According to airlinerratings.com, JAL has a 7.2 out of 10 rating, making them one of the top 10 safest in the world!


Tourism Observer

NEW ZEALAND: EVA Air Leases Its Boeing 777 To Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand will use a leased plane from Taiwan's EVA Air to cover for Dreamliner aircraft that are still affected by Rolls-Royce engine problems.

An EVA Boeing 777-300 will be used on Auckland-Vancouver and Auckland-Nadi routes for a fortnight from later this month.

It is the second leased 777 Air New Zealand is using.

During a six-week period until early September, the airline has an ex-Singapore Airlines 777-200 on the Auckland Honolulu route as it works through checks and repairs, if needed, to different parts of Trent engines.

The EVA plane is believed to be about nine years old, six years younger than the ex-Singapore aircraft which has been praised as roomy but has had problems with its in-flight entertainment system.

Air New Zealand said that it was leasing planes because continuing to get customers to their destinations has been its first priority as it worked through disruption from engine issue.

EVA Air is a fellow Star Alliance member.

This particular aircraft is of a similar standard to our Air New Zealand fleet with business, premium economy and economy class seating, the airline said.

There are 38 business class seats, 64 premium economy and 221 economy seats.

We are pleased to confirm that Air New Zealand crew and pilots will be operating this aircraft, who will provide the friendly Kiwi service our customers are familiar with.

Earlier this year the airline wet leased older Airbus A340s from charter operator Hi Fly that needed to be staffed by its Portuguese crew.

Air New Zealand's flight schedules have been badly affected because nine of its 11 Boeing 787s have engines subject to inspections of compressors and range some can fly from airports has been restricted.

Engines have been flown to Singapore to replace cracked compressor blades, a job that can take 10 days but also stretch for weeks depending on what else is needed.

The intermediate compressor problems, and earlier turbine blade problems led to groundings and severe disruption for airlines, including Thai and LATAM which also serve this market.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines' regional carrier Scoot have also been affected by problems with Trent Package C engines, used by about a quarter of the Dreamliner fleet.

EVA Air started flying in 1991, has 78 aircraft serving 63 destinations. It had more than 12 million passengers across its network and the US is its biggest market outside of Asia Pacific.

The airline was awarded best business class and premium economy class in Asia, at the 2018 TripAdvisor Awards which are determined by airline reviews and ratings submitted by travellers worldwide.


Tourism Observer

TAIWAN: EVA Air Triumphs In Hong Kong And Japan

EVA Air is a Taiwanese full-service carrier that focuses purely on international routes. It was the second largest carrier serving its home market in 2017, with only China Airlines offering more seats.

EVA Air’s active passenger configured fleet currently includes A321s (22 aircraft), A330-200s (three), A330-300s (nine), and 777-300ERs (34).

It has a number of 787s on order and also operates a fleet of dedicated freighters. EVA Air owns a subsidiary operator called UNI Air which performs regional and domestic services.

It is the largest domestic operator in Taiwan, having taken on its parent airline’s domestic network. Passenger and capacity data for UNI Air is not included in this analysis since the two airlines have independent IATA codes and separate published capacity.

EVA Air passenger numbers have doubled in the past eight years.

EVA Air has enjoyed an impressive increase in passenger numbers over the past 10 years. In 2008 it welcomed 5.79 customers on its flights, but by 2017 this had increased by 110% to 12.13 million.

From 2009 to 2017 the airline’s traffic figures more than doubled. The period 2008 to 2017 saw consistent annual increases in passenger numbers ranging from 3.5% in 2011 to as high as 13.1% in 2015.

In total there were four double-digit year-on-year increases from 2008 to 2017, while the average annual growth rate for the period was 8.6%.

EVA Air hasn’t offered any domestic capacity in Taiwan since 2011, and even then it was minimal in proportion to the airline’s international network.

During the period 2008 to 2017, the number of domestic seats on offer on EVA Air services peaked at 136,800 in 2008.

An analysis of the annual passenger load factor (LF) published by EVA Air reveals a relatively stable trend in this important performance metric, with very little variation over the past 10 years.

The lowest average LF recorded during this period was 77.4% in 2009, when the global economic recession was at it height. The peak LF was 80.8% in 2015.

The variation between the peak and lowest load factors from 2008 to 2017 was subsequently a marginal 3.4 percentage points, indicating that the airline managed its capacity effectively during this time.

The average capacity on EVA Air flights increased from 257 seats in 2008 to 261 in 2017, although there were numerous peaks and troughs along the way.

During this period, the average capacity grew from 148 seats to 184 on the airline’s narrow-body operated services, and from 284 seats to 321 on wide-body flights.

The increase in narrow-body capacity was a result of replacing smaller types like the MD-90 with larger A321s.

One of the most significant developments in the carrier’s wide-body fleet has been the phasing out of its 747-400s, with these aircraft being replaced by additional A330-300s and 777-300ERs.

Wide-body aircraft still operate the majority of EVA Air’s available seats, although the proportion of total capacity they provide has dropped from 89% in 2008 to 80% in 2017.

57 airports hosted EVA Air services during the week commencing 31 July. Only four of these are in Taiwan: Taipei Taoyuan, Taipei Songshan, Kaohsiung and Taichung.

Taoyuan is by far the biggest operating base, accounting for 43% of the airline’s departing seats and offering connections to 47 destinations in peak S18.

EVA Air will only operate nine routes from Kaohsiung, five from Songshan and two from Taichung during the week commencing 31 July.

The highest capacity route in the EVA Air network this summer is its link from Taoyuan to Hong Kong,which will see 60 weekly flights offering nearly 14,000 one-way seats.

Daily frequencies on this airport pair vary between eight and nine. In total 10 of the top 12 routes link Taiwan with other destinations in Asia Pacific.

The only destinations outside of the region to feature among the top 12 routes are both in the US with San Francisco claiming fourth spot and Los Angeles hot on its heels in fifth place.

Japan is the destination country represented most frequently among the top-ranked routes this summer, with two connections to Tokyo and one to Osaka Kansai.

The Taipei – Tokyo city pair is represented twice among the top 12 routes, with connections from Taoyuan to Tokyo Narita and from Songshan to Tokyo Haneda.

Taoyuan is the departure airport for the carrier’s 11 biggest routes, with Songshan the only other Taiwanese airport managing to break its monopoly, making it into 12th place with its Tokyo connection.

Eight of EVA Air’s top-ranked routes have experienced an increase in weekly capacity in S18 compared to the equivalent period last year.

The strongest growth has taken place on the links from Taoyuan to San Franciscoa 47% increase in seats, Narita 25% and Kansai 24%.

The Californian connection, has seen a third daily service added, increasing the total weekly flights by 50%, while the two Japanese routes have remained at the same frequencies, but have seen a boost in seat numbers due to the use of more wide-body aircraft.

Three of the top 12 routes have experienced a drop in seat numbers, with the largest decline coming on the Taoyuan – Shanghai Pudong sector, where weekly capacity is down 6.2% compared to peak S17.

The airline has cut two routes from Taiwan since S17, with links from Taoyuan to Asahikawa in Japan and Surabaya in Indonesia missing from this summer’s peak schedule, although the former does appear to be returning for a short period between September and October.

Four routes have been added since last July, including a long-haul link from Taoyuan to Vienna.

Schedules show that EVA Air will serve 17 countries direct from its home market in during the week commencing 31 July.

Japan is the largest destination with more than 30,000 one-way seats on offer to nine Japanese airports. The airline only serves four countries directly outside of the Asia Pacific region: Canada and the US in North America, and Austria and France in Europe.

The US is the largest extra-regional destination country in its network in S18. It should be noted that EVA Air also offers indirect itineraries from London Heathrow, Amsterdam and Vienna to Taoyuan via Bangkok Suvarnabhumi.

EVA Air’s route map for the week commencing 31 July shows the high concentration of destinations served within the Asia Pacific region.

About 79% of the airline’s weekly capacity from Taiwan will serve Asia Pacific routes in peak S18. It also offers direct links to Canada and the US in North America, as well as to Austria and France in Europe.

It provides indirect flights to Taiwan from the UK and the Netherlands via Bangkok Suvarnabhumi.


Tourism Observer

TAIWAN: EVA Air To Feed North America Network

Regional Asia growth does not receive the attention that intercontinental long haul growth does, but regional expansion provides the foundation connections for an expanded range of long haul flights.

In Jul-2018 Eva Air inaugurated service to Chiang Mai, its 12th Southeast Asia destination. EVA Air disclosed that it is planning for its 13th and 14th destinations – Penang and Yangon. EVA Air may also fly to India.

Taiwan's Go South policy encourages the economy, transportation and tourism included to do more business in Southeast Asia in order to differentiate away from Northeast Asia and reduce reliance on mainland China.

The new destinations will also help fuel EVA's North America network, which accounts for approximately half of the airline's system-wide flying. Half of EVA's North American passengers connect beyond Taipei, mostly to Southeast Asia.

New destinations, especially those that few other competitors serve, add uniqueness. Rapid trans Pacific growth in recent years has necessitated a greater number of unique city pair combinations.

Cathay Pacific's regional arm Cathay Dragon is adding service to two Southeast Asian destinations not yet served by another Northeast Asian airline.

EVA Air is considering service to Penang and Yangon.

EVA Air studying India, dependent on aeropolitical instruments.

Taiwan is encouraging tourism and visitor growth in Southeast Asia in order to differentiate away from Northeast Asia, especially from mainland China.

Southeast Asian destination growth important for EVA Air to feed its North American network.

Taiwan is pursuing Southeast Asia tourism growth.

The new destinations, if launched, would further Taiwan's aim to grow tourism from Southeast Asia and reduce dependence on Northeast Asia.

Approximately two thirds of Taiwan's visitor arrivals are from Northeast Asia. This includes mainland China, with a 25% share of all arrivals, and Japan at 18%.

Taiwan's quest for Southeast Asia growth is partially out of opportunity, but also as a hedge should the uncertain mainland China market dip – which has occurred over the years, with significant impact on Taiwan tourism.

Taiwan visitor arrivals by market: 2017

Taiwan receives a larger share of visitors from the US before any Southeast Asia market. Taiwan's largest Southeast Asian source markets are Malaysia (5%), Singapore (4%), Philippines (3%) and Indonesia (2%).

Singapore has only a 1ppt difference from Malaysia, despite Singapore's much smaller size.

This is partially the result of LCC competition between Singapore and Taiwan with Scoot and Jetstar as well as ample full service airline capacity, as EVA Air and China Airlines use widebodies to feed their North American networks.

EVA Air has not served Penang. Penang would be a new passenger destination for EVA Air. The airline has freighter services to Penang, while China Airlines has freighter services as well as a daily 737-800 passenger service.

China Southern has twice daily Airbus narrowbody flights to Guangzhou, which connect with its North American network (albeit limited).

Penang International Airport international seat capacity by airline: week commencing 02-Jul-2018

The main competition is from Cathay Dragon, which has twice daily flights on narrowbody and widebody aircraft. Cathay Dragon's sister airline Cathay Pacific has a larger North America network but also links Penang to the rest of Northeast Asia.

No other Northeast Asian airline serves Penang with passenger service (Korean Air has freighter service). Cathay Dragon is the fourth largest international operator at Penang. 17% of Penang's international capacity is to Northeast Asia.

Penang International Airport international seat capacity by region: week commencing 02-Jul-2018

EVA Air briefly served Yangon. Yangon represents a service resumption for EVA Air, if launched. EVA Air was one of a number of airlines to launch service to Yangon after political change and an impending opening-up for business.

EVA Air entered Yangon with other Northeast Asian airlines, including ANA and what is today Cathay Dragon, both of which are able to link Yangon with their large North American networks.

EVA Air served Yangon for eight months from Oct-2012 to May-2013. Taiwan was initially a smaller business partner for Myanmar and EVA Air operated at lower frequency than Cathay Dragon. ANA also had low frequency, but operated a premium aircraft while Japan had larger business ties.

Yangon has far more Northeast Asian competition than Penang. Also, Gulf airlines are more present in Yangon. One-stop flights from Yangon to North America can be longer than transiting through a Northeast Asian hub, but fares can be low.

Gulf airlines tend to be more present in the Southeast Asia-East Coast North America market, which represents a smaller detour compared to Northeast Asia-West Coast North America.

Unlike service on Penang, the North American heavyweights ANA and Korean Air serve Yangon. Two mainland Chinese airlines – Air China and China Southern – link Yangon with their main hubs. China Eastern serves Yangon from Kunming and not Shanghai, the hub for its North American network.

Northeast Asia represents 19% of Yangon's international seats, which is a share not much higher than the 17% that Northeast Asia represents at Penang.

Yangon Mingaladon International Airport international seat capacity by region: week commencing 02-Jul-2018

India's high volumes but low yields are challenging. EVA Air has also said that it is considering service to India but would have to assess aeropolitical instruments.

Taiwan and India amended their air service agreement in 2016, with reports stating that each side was permitted 14 weekly passenger flights. The only passenger services are two weekly flights from China Airlines on the Taipei-Delhi route. This low frequency does not suggest a large unserved market.

Northeast Asian airlines have a number of challenges growing in India. Local demand is typically very small due to limited business, tourism and VFR markets – unlike in Southeast Asia.

Flights from Northeast Asian hubs to India can between five and nine hours – a long time to sustain a flight on mostly connecting traffic with little O&D traffic.

Gulf airlines do this across their network, but their market is connecting traffic, whereas Northeast Asian airlines are structured more towards a balance between O&D and connecting traffic.

The high cost of Northeast Asia-India flights is especially limiting to ANA and JAL, which are historically Northeast Asia-North America connecting airlines but have the highest cost bases in Asia.

The distance between India and Northeast Asian hubs requires a widebody aircraft to be used in most instances. Next generation narrowbodies (A321LR, 737 MAX) will only open so many markets in Northeast Asia-India.

This limits the opportunity to link thinner markets and offer high frequency, or trade three weekly widebody flights with a daily narrowbody traffic rights permitting; some are based on frequency and others on seats/units of capacity.

Southeast Asia growth fuels North America expansion. New Asian destinations will help EVA's North America network. North America accounts for 48% of EVA's ASKs, and more when the regional Asia capacity that exists largely to feed North American flying is taken into account.

An expanded Asia network can help EVA Air grow in North America while also improving the existing network.

As one-stop trans Pacific competition increases, EVA Air needs more differentiation.

EVA Air ASKs by region: Week commencing 02-Jul-2018

Should EVA Air add Penang and Yangon, it will have 14 destinations in Southeast Asia from its main hub.

In 2017, with 11 markets, EVA served the same number of Southeast Asian destinations as China Eastern did from its hub. This considers only destinations served, and not frequency, capacity or connectivity.

EVA will have much more differentiation than ANA, and come up to Korean Air. Penang and Yangon, besides being new destinations, bring more uniqueness to EVA's network.

In comparison, all of ANA's Southeast Asian destinations are served by three or more airlines in this benchmark study of leading trans Pacific operators with Southeast Asian connections.

EVA Air's additions of Penang and Yangon also reduce the dominance of competitors. Exceptions are Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon, which have added service to two destinations – Davao and Medan – not served by any other Northeast Asian airline.

Potential for the connectivity upside is still largely unrecognised. Yet for all the changes, there is still far more growth to be unlocked with improvements in narrowbody aircraft technology, slots, traffic rights and government transparency.

The inevitable focus on China market growth tends to disguise the great potential for growth of southeast and south Asian transfer markets over north Asia.

The large distances across the Pacific make direct services operationally difficult and often uneconomical, but as economies grow and trade links with north America expand, traffic flowing along the linkages made possible by connecting services will only increase.


Tourism Observer

EVA Air Has Won Four TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards

EVA Air announced the carrier won the TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards in four different areas.

This is a doubled increase from only winning two in the previous year, showing the enhancement of the carrier’s services.

EVA has now won four awards, including a fifth-place ranking among prizes such as Top 10 Airlines in the World, Top 11 Major Airlines in Asia, and Best Business and Premium Economy Classes in Asia.

Commenting on this special occasion was EVA’s President Clay Sun: EVA never compromises safety and service and makes every effort to give passengers the best possible flying experience.

All of us at EVA deeply appreciate our passengers for expressing satisfaction with our services in their ratings and reviews.

We will further elevate the passenger experience during the second half of this year when we start introducing brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and will initiate more enhancements as we begin to add Boeing 787-10s next year.

We continually seek to introduce new services and amenities and make every effort to ensure 5-star service quality for all our passengers, he added.

Also, Bryan Saltzburg, Senior VP and General Manager for TripAdvisor Flights said:

We’re thrilled to recognize the global TripAdvisor community’s favorite airlines and shine a spotlight on the carriers around the world that provide the very best flying experiences, including EVA Air.

As the airline industry introduces new fare products and a widening array of in-flight offerings, consumers continue to seek out the carriers that deliver value and a quality experience.

The Travelers’ Choice awards for airlines recognize the carriers that exceed passenger expectations and receive top marks from travellers.

To complement these awards, other honorable institutions such as SKYTRAX has listed the airline as a 5-Star Airline two years in a row and also recognized the carrier for Best Business Class Comfort Amenities and World’s Cleanest Aircraft Cabins.

In addition, EVA Air has been evaluated by the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre and has been consistently recognized as one of the World’s Top 20 Safest Airlines.

The awards won by EVA at TripAdvisor is a bold statement that can be made across the world. TripAdvisor acquires over 400 million monthly visitors with up to 600 million reviews and opinions per month across the globe.

All-in-all, it is clear that EVA has not just bettered themselves an airline in terms of the standards they offer to fliers but are on their way to perfecting themselves as a global representative in the aviation world.


Tourism Observer

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines Cabin Crew Leaders Programme (CCLP) Accredited

Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) Cabin Crew Leaders Programme (CCLP) has been accredited with the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) Advanced Certificate in Service Excellence under the nationally-recognised WSQ Service Excellence Competency Framework supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG). About 200 newly-promoted SIA cabin crew leaders are expected to benefit from this certification each year.

All cabin crew who complete the CCLP will now be awarded a WSQ Advanced Certificate in Service Excellence. This accreditation ensures SIA’s training programme is benchmarked against national standards and reinforces the importance of SIA empowering its employees with nationally-recognised certifications for training and development. The new accreditation builds on the accreditation of SIA’s Cabin Crew Readiness Programme (CCRP) to the WSQ Certificate in Service Excellence in 2013.

The CCLP is a six-week programme under which cabin crew who are promoted to the rank of Leading Steward/Stewardess undergo customised classroom and on-the-job training. The training includes a wide variety of modules aimed at developing their leadership capabilities, coaching skills and customer relationship management competencies. Cabin crew are also trained in First Class customer service, in-flight sales, documentation procedures and service recovery techniques. The programme is designed to equip them with the knowledge and skills required to effectively perform their role as a team leader on SIA flights.

“In a time when businesses are undergoing transformation, it is critical for employers to embrace skills development as one of the core business strategies. SIA is an exemplary company which has been consistently investing resources to develop the skills of its employees. The accreditation of the CCLP to the WSQ Advanced Certificate in Service Excellence emphasises SIA’s commitment to empower its employees so as to maintain its competitive advantage. SSG will continue to work closely with our partners to enable more Singaporeans to stay relevant in today’s fast-changing economy,” said Dr Gog Soon Joo, Group Director, Training Partners Group, SkillsFuture Singapore.

“Staff training and development is a cornerstone of Singapore Airlines’ corporate philosophy and part of our continuous pursuit of excellence. The latest WSQ certification is an important step in providing further recognition of our cabin crew as service professionals and service leaders. It is an important motivator as our senior crew demonstrate the highest standards of performance and are role models to our new staff,” said Singapore Airlines Senior Vice President Cabin Crew, Mr Tan Pee Teck.

Singapore to Manchester – which is newly direct, replacing the former route that stopped in Munich on the way to Manchester. The Manchester flight now continues on, somewhat bizarrely, to Houston.

Airbus A350-900. Singapore Airlines has nine of these in its fleet, and another 58 on order.

Krisflyer – although this acts as a codeshare with both Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand, so points can be allocated to their respective schemes.

CLASS

Business, in seat 16K.

DURATION

A scheduled 14 hours, 25 minutes, but it lands 20 minutes early.

THE FREQUENCY

Five times a week.

THE SEAT

The leather seats – which are being rolled out across the whole Singapore Airlines long haul fleet – line up in a 1-2-1 formation and each one feels like a chunky, self-contained fortress. There's a 60-centimetre pitch, and 28-centimetre width – more than enough to comfortably wriggle around in. There are also lots of little storage cubby holes around it, plus several adjustable lights and easily jabbed recline controls.

BAGGAGE

The allowance of 40 kilograms for checked baggage – spread across as many cases as you like – is relatively generous. The carry-on allowance of two pieces, with a maximum weight of seven kilograms a piece, seems on the stingy side though. I take on one that is significantly more than that, but it's not weighed, so rigorous enforcement doesn't seem to be a priority.

COMFORT

In the seated position, it's hard to imagine business class done better. It feels more like a little room than merely a seat. Converting it to a lie-flat bed is a conundrum that nearly everyone requires assistance with. As with all business class beds, there are compromises, and here it's a lack of mattress-like cushioning plus forcing the feet into a small gap at the end rather than letting them spread free.

Socks, blankets, eye masks and slippers are provided, although oddly ear plugs aren't – which doesn't matter too much as the A350 is extraordinarily quiet.

ENTERTAINMENT

The 18-inch LCD screen is hugely impressive, as is the intuitive touchscreen handset which makes you feel like airlines have finally joined the smartphone era. The movie selection is large – I count 407 – but the new releases are a bit underwhelming, which is probably more Hollywood's fault. The TV selection is fabulous though, with several complete seasons, including Westworld, Game of Thrones and – the one that keeps me going most of the flight – Veep.

FOOD

A highly satisfying tournedos steak in mushroom sauce wins out of the three dinner options, and while the accompanying vegetables look a little mushy, they've enough firmness in the bite. The nasi lemak for breakfast is a winner, too. You would be perfectly happy with both meals in, say, a hotel restaurant.

The drinks options don't quite match up to the food – two red wines (including a feisty Robert Oatley shiraz), two whites, a selection of cocktails that seems obsessed with using 7-Up as an ingredient. And the beer selection – Heineken, Tiger or Budweiser – is lazily poor.

SERVICE

Singapore Airlines has a long-standing reputation for service, and it is smooth efficiency that is the hallmark rather than concerted friendliness. That said, the gimmick of addressing every customer by name is clearly drilled in. Most crew are doing their first Manchester flight, so are a little unsure of the food and drink options, but they check when asked and promptly return with an answer.

ONE MORE THING

You can link your electronic devices to the screen if you wish, while extra connectivity comes with the in-flight Wi-Fi, which works remarkably smoothly and costs $US21.95 for the whole flight.

THE VERDICT

Reputation matters – Singapore Airlines is often regarded as the best in the business, and with good reason. The A350 experience lives up to expectation – and it's particularly impressive from a technological point of view. The overall feeling is of a five-star luxury chain hotel, rather than an edgy boutique joint, though – reliable excellence wins over personality. And letting the hair down occasionally, even if it's just by sticking a craft beer option on the menu, could make it even more impressive.

Twenty-five awards were given out last night to airlines that contributed to the growth and development of the Singapore air hub over the past year, as part of the 12th annual Changi Airline Awards.

The ceremony, organised by Changi Airport Group (CAG) and held at The St Regis Singapore, was attended by Minister for Education (Schools) and Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng.

The top five airlines and airline groups, based on passengers last year, were Singapore Airlines Group, followed by Jetstar Group, AirAsia Group, Cathay Pacific Airways and Lion Group.

Singapore Airlines Group also topped the list for the highest cargo volume, followed by Cathay Pacific Airways, FedEx Express, China Airlines and EVA Air.

The partner of the year award was given to delivery firm DHL Express, which in October launched its fully automated South Asia Hub at the Changi Airfreight Centre.

The $140 million facility, the firm's largest infrastructural investment here, tripled DHL's cargo-handling capacity to 628 tonnes during the peak processing window, and increased its parcel-sorting speed to 24,000 shipments and documents per hour - a sixfold improvement.

CAG chief executive Lee Seow Hiang said Changi Airport will "continue to transform" to meet future challenges. "We will do so by catering supply for future growth, as well as working with our partners to grow sustainable demand for aviation services."

He mentioned the Airport Collaborative Decision Making initiative as an example of Changi Airport adding capacity to the airport ecosystem.

The initiative has enabled a reduction of 90 seconds in the average taxiing time for departing flights during peak hours, which has translated into fuel savings for airlines.

Mr Lee said CAG is pursuing avenues for "sustainable growth" with its partners in the long term, such as growing new passenger segments for airlines.

"These include meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, fly-cruise out of Singapore, and low-cost long-haul travel such as forthcoming services by Scoot and Norwegian to Athens and London respectively," he said.

Last year, Changi Airport handled a record 58.7 million passengers, a growth of 5.9 per cent year-on-year.

The airport, which also added four new airline partners and eight new city links last year, is expected to receive 60 million passengers this year.

EVA Wins Two Gold Medals for Inflight Wines in Tasting Competition Takes top honors for Best Business Class Cellar and Sparkling Wine

Wine experts judging Business Traveller Magazine’s prestigious annual Cellars in the Sky 2016 competition awarded EVA Air two Gold Medals, one for Best Business Class Cellar and the other for Best Business Class Sparkling.

The top honors are tributes to EVA’s core commitment to quality service and to the experience its Royal Laurel Class business passengers enjoy onboard flights.

This is the second year in a row for EVA to take the highest honors in the Business Class Cellar category.

More information about the airline’s excellent services is available on its website at www.evaair.com.

EVA’s winning sparkling wine is Champagne de Castelnau blanc de blancs Millésime 2007, France. This wine is now at its prime drinking age, opening up with a delicious symphony of flavors and establishing itself as a great 2007 champagne.

Made from 100% chardonnay grapes sourced mainly from the Champagne regions of Montagne de Reims and Côte des Blancs, it has a delicate pale-gold color and dances through flutes with jewels of elegant bubbles when it’s poured.

Its nose flits between hints of menthol, buttery croissants, the faintest roasting coffee and a touch of honey. Its palate is a sensation of subtle cream/chocolates melting together in a delicious velvety finish.

The 2016 competition was Business Traveller’s 31st year to participate in the International Wine Challenge, a tasting that began in 1985.

The magazine kicked off the 2016 tasting competition last summer by inviting the world’s leading airlines to participate and 33 responded with wines from their inflight cellars.

The magazine’s panel of experts judged wines that entrants serve in first and business classes in Red, White, Sparkling and Fortified/Dessert categories in addition to selecting the Best-Presented Wine List and Best Cellar for each cabin.

EVA pours its fine wines to accompany meals made with fresh, seasonal ingredients on all flights and adds niceties to emphasize local luxuries on selected routes.

Ladurée Macaroons from Paris, SEASON Artisan Pâtissier from Taipei and entire dining experiences created by the acclaimed chef of three-star Michelin Restaurant Nakamura Kyoto are among the regional selections EVA offers.

The airline also makes comfort foods such as dumplings from Din Tai Fung, tasty hamburgers, Haagen Dazs ice cream and more available for meals and snacks.

EVA Creates Bad Badtz-Maru Jet for More Travel Fun Specially painted plane flies Taipei-Fukuoka and Seoul

EVA Air is introducing more characters and creating a new edition of its popular Sanrio-family aircraft.

Best known for Hello Kitty jets, EVA launched a “Travel Fun” Jet today (Saturday, 4 March, 2017), starring the naughtily charming Sanrio character, Bad Badtz-Maru.

The airline is flying the latest in its collection of specially painted planes on Taipei-Fukuoka and Taipei-Seoul routes. The aircraft is the world’s first with Bad Badtz-Maru livery to be scheduled for international service. More information about this and EVA’s other Sanrio-family aircraft, in addition to flight schedules, is available at http://evakitty.evaair.com/en/.


EVA’s Badtz-Maru Travel Fun Jet is an Airbus A330-300 configured for 309 passengers, 30 in Business Class and 279 in Economy. To start, flight BR106 departs Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport at 8:10 (8:10 am) and arrives at Fukuoka Airport at 11:15 (11:15 am). Return flight BR105 leaves Fukuoka at 12:15 (12:15 pm) and gets back to Taipei at 13:50 (1:50 pm).

EVA then operates the aircraft as BR160, taking off from Taoyuan International Airport at 15:15 (3:15 pm) and arriving at Seoul’s Incheon Airport at 18:45 (6:45 pm). Return flight BR159 leaves Incheon at 19:45 (7:45 pm) and arrives back in Taipei at 21:40 (9:40 pm).

Bad Badtz-Maru is one of the Sanrio family’s most popular characters. Different from Hello Kitty’s sweet image, Badtz-Maru is naughty in a charming kind of way.

The new livery captures Bad Badtz-Maru in action, wearing his backpack and sprinting to the nose of the plane, ahead of his best friends. With hats, a camera, snacks and other holiday necessities, Bad Badtz-Maru and friends are ready for a relaxing, laughter-filled vacation aboard EVA.

Building on affiliate UNI Air’s domestic success with its launch of the world’s first Bad Badtz-Maru aircraft last year and complementing its new Sanrio-family livery, EVA has designed more than 30 inflight service items and cabin amenities, including Bad Badtz-Maru pillows, slippers, headrest covers, playing cards, meal boxes, post cards, safety cards and disposable hand towels.

All items are part of the airline’s dedicated program to make the flying experience fun for passengers.

EVA and its Sanrio family jets have been popular among passengers all over the world since it launched its first generation of Hello Kitty Jets in 2005. In 2016, the Daily Mail recognized EVA’s specially painted aircraft among the world's best liveries and Global Traveler Magazine awarded the carrier a special “Leisure Lifestyle Award for Outstanding Customized Service,” recognizing it for “going beyond what is expected” and “doing something extraordinary.”

To keep giving passengers fresh experiences and making flying fun, EVA is renewing its series of specially themed aircraft and developing new liveries during the first half of this year.

2017 Best Airlines

For many locals and expatriates in the UAE, frequent travel is a part of life. They spend a great deal of time in the stratosphere, jetting off to another country three times a year, on average, according to a study. This is why choosing the best airline to travel with is very important for a lot of people.

AirlineRatings.com, which regularly reviews carriers around the world, has recently released its list of top 10 airlines for 2017, to let flyers know which ones excel in offering safety, comfort and service in the sky, and are able to maximise their profits at the same time.

According to the ratings agency, the airline that shows "exceptional performance" is Air New Zealand.

Winning the "airline of the year" award for the fourth time in a row, the Kiwi airline bested other carriers for its exemplary financial performance, in-flight innovations, operational safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff.

“In our objective analysis, Air New Zealand came out number one in virtually all of our audit criteria, which is an exceptional performance,” said AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas.

Also worthy of high praises are other airlines that comprise the rest of the top ten list for 2017: Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic/Virgin Australia, British Airways, Etihad Airways, All Nippon Airways, Eva Air and Lufthansa.

AirlineRatings picked the top ten airlines using four major international industry and government audits and nine key criteria, including fleet age, passenger review ratings, profitability, investment rating and key product offerings.

Emirates, included in last year’s edition, is missing in the top ten, but it did get the best in-flight entertainment award.

“The crash of the 777 was a serious blow to the airline’s safety record and thus, it has slipped out of the top ten,” Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief, AirlineRatings.com, said.

Qantas scooped three awards for offering the best domestic airline service, catering and lounges.

The UAE’s Etihad Airways earned the award for having the “best first class”, while Virgin Australia won best business class.”

The “best cabin crew” award went to The Virgin Group
- Virgin Australia
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin America.

For excellence in long haul travel, the following airlines did it best:
- Delta Air Lines (Americas)
- Virgin Atlantic (Europe)
- Etihad (Middle East/Africa)
- Singapore Airlines (Asia/Pacific).

In terms of value and safety in the low-cost airline sector, the following stood out:
- Virgin America (Americas)
- Norwegian (Europe)
- Kulula.com (Africa/Middle East)
- Scoot (Asia/Pacific)

TAIWAN: Is Turkey Safe After Coup Attempt?

Turkish Office Representative Ismet Erikan yesterday said that Turkey is a safe travel destination, despite an attempted military coup on Friday last week, adding that the impact on the economy has been minimal.

“Turkey is totally safe, as safe as any other country in the West, no more, no less. Istanbul is as safe as Paris and London,” Erikan told a news conference in Taipei yesterday morning.

Erikan was responding to questions on whether now is a suitable time to visit Turkey following the recent coup attempt, which prompted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise its travel advisory for Turkey on Saturday last week to “red,” the highest in the ministry’s four-color alert system.

The “red” alert was downgraded on Wednesday to “orange,” which advises visitors to be highly cautious and avoid unnecessary travel.

Erikan said he understands the ministry’s concerns and why it decided to increase the travel alert, but that he was optimistic that the travel advisory would be further downgraded soon.

More than 1,000 Taiwanese tourists were in Turkey during the coup, Erikan said, but only a small number of them returned to Taiwan because of the event. All the others continued their trips.

The Turkish representative also dismissed a reported link between the coup attempt and EVA Air’s decision on Thursday to suspend flights between Taipei and Istanbul until next summer.

“This is the company’s decision… It has nothing to do with recent developments in Turkey, but rather a financial issue and decision of the company,” Erikan said.

Asked whether the Turkish government would consider waiving visas for visitors from Taiwan to boost tourism, Erikan said that while he is open to discussion about such a proposal, the current e-visa system has proven effective in attracting Taiwanese visitors because it takes less than two minutes to apply for a visa online.

Meanwhile, the Turkish representative also predicted that Taiwan’s investments in Turkey would increase to US$1 billion in less than two years.

“The failed coup’s effect on the economy is very limited and very minor, which shows that the Turkish economy is strong enough to weather this shock,” Erikan said.

The representative’s remarks came after Standard & Poor’s on Wednesday cut Turkey’s credit rating to “BB,” two notches below investment grade, with a negative outlook, over concerns that political uncertainty could trigger an exodus of foreign capital.

Moody’s on Monday put Turkey’s credit rating on a review for downgrade as it needs time to assess the medium-term impact of the failed coup, it said.

Turkey’s GDP is expected to grow 3.8 percent annually this year, slightly lower than last year’s 4 percent expansion, the IMF forecast in April.

Taiwanese companies have been leveraging Turkey’s geographic position to sell their products to European countries, Erikan said.

“I have seen very strong indicators and interests from Taiwanese businessmen conducting more businesses and making investments in Turkey,” Erikan said, declining to disclose company names.

Taiwanese companies — including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, Wistron Corp and Teco Electric & Machinery Co — have invested about US$100 million in Turkey, according to the trade office’s tallies.

Taiwanese investments will go up to US$1 billion very soon, Erikan said.

eco set up an office in Turkey three years ago and the company intends to invest more, he added.

Turkey has imposed a state of emergency for three months, but Erikan said that would not affect the daily activities of the financial sector.

Taiwanese businesses in Turkey are under the guarantee of the government. They are very secure and their businesses are well protected, he said.

TAIWAN: EVA Air to Launch Taipei-Cebu Flights

Star Alliance member EVA Air is set to launch flights between Taipei Taoyuan, Taiwan and Cebu City, Philippines on March 27, 2016. The City of Cebu is EVA Air's second Philippine destination after Manila flying daily.

EVA Air plans to fly four times weekly utilizing an Airbus A321-200 aircraft. Reservations for Taipei-Cebu and Cebu-Taipei flights opened on Thursday, Decemeber 17, 2015

EVA Air flight BR281 departs Taipei at 6:15 AM and arrives Cebu at 9:15 AM. The return flight, BR282 departs Cebu at 11:05 AM and arrives back in Taipei at 2:00 PM. The flight operates every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific Air recently launched flights between Cebu and Taipei on December 17, 2015. The flight operates every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday using its 180-seat Airbus A320-200 aircraft.

Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 300 departs Cebu at 9:45 PM and arrives in Taipei at 12:25 AM the next day. The return flight, 5J 301 departs Taipei at 1:05 AM and arrives in Cebu at 3:45 AM.

EVA Airways Corporation is a Taiwanese international 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 City, Taiwan.

TAIWAN: EVA Air Increases Flights To JFK Airport

EVA Air of Taiwan will be adding three additional weekly flights on their direct Taipei (TPE) – JFK route effective July 7, thus bringing the airline’s total number of New York flights to ten weekly.


The Star Alliance member first began service to the New York area in 1992 with service to Newark via Seattle. With the delivery of new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft the route went nonstop in 2008, although a technical stop in ANC in one direction was still required. In 2011 the airline moved to JFK with nonstop flights and eventually increased to a daily frequency.

The additional flights will operate during daylight hours on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday – a great opportunity for local spotters to finally catch the airline’s fun array of ‘Hello Kitty’ inspired aircraft. EVA recently introduced a new corporate livery and has announced intentions of adding Chicago and Washington, D.C. to their route map in the United States.

The airline currently serves Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and San Francisco, in addition to Toronto and Vancouver in Canada. Further growth is expected with orders for Boeing 787 aircraft.

EVA Air joins other Asian carriers who have recently increased their JFK frequency, many adding a second rotation on certain days of the week. Among these include ANA, JAL, China Eastern, and Air China who have all added to the market.

Schedule:

BR030 TPE0750 – 1045JFK 77W 246
BR032 TPE1910 – 2205JFK 77W D

BR031 JFK0125 – 0455+1TPE 77W D
BR029 JFK1245 – 1615+1TPE 77W 246

Trazee Travel Honors EVA As Favorite Asian Airline Carrier

EVA Air was honored as the Favorite Asian Airline in Trazee Travel’s first-annual awards program, staged in Orlando, FL on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. This award follows a series of honors EVA has received this year. SKYTRAX ranked it as one of the “World’s Top-10 Best Airlines” and the number one airline for “Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness” for 2015. AirlineRatings.com recognized it as a carrier of choice for 2015 among the “World’s Top-10 Airlines” and Germany’s AERO International Magazine rated it third among the world’s safest airlines. Bookings and information about EVA’s award-winning services and products can be found at www.evaair.com.

Trazee editors and staff collected nominations from the web publication’s contributors and invited readers to submit favorites using online ballots. A panel of Trazee and parent FX Express Publications management analyzed nominations and selected the winners. By being singled out as the Favorite Asian Airline, EVA joins a select group of other leading airlines, airports, hotels and destinations to win kudos from Trazee Travel’s millennial-generation staff, contributors and readers.

The web publication, www.trazeetravel.com, is written for and by travelers aged 18-35 and includes content that covers everything related to travel from A to Z.

AUSTRALIA: Star Alliance Named Best Airline Alliance at Australian Business Traveller Awards

Star Alliance, the world’s longest serving and most comprehensive airline alliance, has been named Best Airline Alliance by Australian Business Traveller, Asia-Pacific's leading website for business travellers and frequent flyers.

Australian Business Traveller Editor David Flynn said the inaugural awards program recognised "trend-setters and game-changers in the highly-competitive business travel market".

“With 28 member airlines under its wing, Star Alliance can take business travellers almost everywhere they need to go," said Flynn. "Our readers especially value unique benefits such as the ability to use frequent flyer points or miles to upgrade across all member airlines.

“Star Alliance is also continuing to find new ways to enhance the business travel experience - from its growing network of branded airport lounges and the opening of the state-of-the-art Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport, to the ongoing roll-out of Gold Track priority lanes that allow travellers to move through airport security more smoothly.”

"With ANA flying to Australia later this year and with Turkish Airlines planning to fly to Australia as soon as possible, subject to fleet availability and other operational considerations, Star Alliance will be an even better option for Australian business travellers."

Currently 10 Star Alliance member airlines operate services to Australia, including: Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, Asiana Airlines, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, THAI and United. A number of offline members are also active in the market, including, Austrian, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines and SWISS.

Mark Schwab, CEO Star Alliance commented that the Best Airline Alliance Award was testament to the dedication of Star Alliance member airlines in Australia.

“We are delighted to win this important award. With more airlines serving this market than any other alliance we offer our customers a significant choice of flights and transfer connections. It shows that by working together, even without a domestic presence in Australia, our member carriers can deliver genuine benefits to the country’s international business travellers.”

Australian Business Traveller Awards were judged by a panel of business travel experts, with honours presented across 33 categories, including first class suites and business class seats, airport lounges, frequent flyer programs, inflight food and wine and travel technology.

About Australian Business Traveller:

Launched in 2010, Australian Business Traveller (www.AusBT.com.au) is the Asia-Pacific region’s leading website for business travellers and frequent flyers. With over 500,000 unique monthly visitors and 1.6 million page views, Australian Business Traveller also ranks as Australia’s largest independent travel website.

About Star Alliance:

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,330 airports in 192 countries.

TAIWAN: EVA Air President Pilots B777

No mere paint job, new aircraft liveries tell a tale. They’re the public-facing reflection of an airline’s identity and aspirations. That’s the case with EVA Air, the expansive Taiwanese carrier. It just took delivery of its 22nd Boeing 777-300ER at Paine Field, Everett, Washington State.

“We just did some adjustment,” says EVA President Austin Cheng. The new paint scheme is less cluttered, less busy than the old one. Gone are the big, bold letters on the side of the fuselage advertising that the aircraft is, indeed, a 777-300ER. Vanished are the orange swooshes. “We made it simpler,” says Cheng. The straight horizon line (the line bisecting the bottom of the aircraft from the top) is absent on this big Boeing leased from Air Lease Corporation. That line’s been replaced by more of an aerodynamic curve.

It will take a while for the new paint scheme to start showing up on the rest of the EVA fleet.

Along with the rollout of a new exterior scheme comes an interior change: new boarding music composed by renowned Asian composer Ricky Ho. Sweeping and soulful, the music mirrors the distinct white compass on the vertical stabilizer (vertical tail) of the aircraft. The idea is to prep passengers with a visual image of a worldwide airline before reinforcing the message with music as they enter the cabin. That cabin was recently revamped to include an upgraded three-class layout.

The passenger part of EVA’s overall package earned the carrier a seven-star ranking from this website, the highest you can get.

If the style is sleek, the substance of no-longer-under-the-radar EVA Air is focused squarely on safety. In this category too the airline earned seven stars.

Safety starts at the top, in the left seat of a B777 occupied by EVA Air Chairman K.W. Chang. And he’s not in the pilot-in-command’s seat for a marketing photo-op. He’s a rated B777 captain, the person who flies B-16725 (the aircraft’s registration number) on to Taipei after all the pre-flight ceremonies.

“Most chairmen are financial people,” smiles Chang. “Everybody talks about safety, but we really understand it.”

Chang is a true believer in CRM—cockpit resource management. CRM, when it works right, helps ensure the crew flies the airplane in a coordinated, mutually supportive fashion. Concrete communication is key here, a sometimes culture-defying interaction that allows a junior co-pilot to tell a senior captain, when they’re about to a mistake. Up front, behind those locked cockpit doors CRM is king—at least on the airlines that understand its importance. “We want to make sure everybody understands CRM,” says Chang, “the principles behind it, not just the letter of the law.”

The challenge, of course, is ensuring as EVA grows those principles remain strong. By the end of 2016 the airline plans to have added seven more 777-300ERs and six more A321-200s, the latter for shorter-range regional flights. By that time the green and white fleet will sport more than 80 aircraft.

One way Chang intends to scale up safety as the airline expands is by keeping the principle that pilots should fly no more than one aircraft type. That way, the chairman says, “They become specialists on the aircraft.”

Chang should know. This decidedly un-desk-bound airline executive doesn’t confine his time in the left-hand seat to ferry flights. He’s not a captain in name only. He pilots regularly-scheduled passenger flights “probably two or three times per month.”

It’s an uncommon approach to the airline business that makes considerable common sense.

EVA Air has also committed to be 24 Boeing 787-10s

TAIWAN: EVA Elite Premium Economy, Economy Rank in World’s Top-10 Best AirlineRatings.com experts evaluate airlines’ inflight services

EVA Air Elite Class and Economy service rank among the top-10 “best for economy plus and economy class travel for 2015” in AirlineRatings.com evaluations of the world’s leading airlines. CNN reported this year’s ratings in a Business Traveller report on 8 October, 2015. Travelers can learn more about EVA Air and its commitment to quality service and safety at www.evaair.com.

AirlineRatings.com editors, who collectively have more than 150 years of airline industry experience and knowledge, are recognized worldwide as experts. The website uses a seven-star system based on strict criteria to rate full-service carrier products. EVA secured its position among the world’s top-10 best in both categories with its product excellence. Generous seat pitch, meals, seat-back in-flight entertainment, positive passenger reviews, amenity kits, provision of blankets and pillows, safety and a history of excellence enabled EVA to rise to the top.

“EVA Air was first with a premium economy product, launching it in December 1992 and steadily improving and upgrading it since then,” said AirlineRatings.com spokesperson Sharon Petersen. “Providing meals on par with those in business class, personalized service, a comfortable, spacious seat and a business class-standard amenity kit and pillow, EVA knows how to do premium economy.”

The ratings site found that EVA’s Economy Class reflects an equally high commitment to service and in-flight product quality.


“EVA looks after its economy passengers with an excellent in-flight menu and presentation standard. A wide selection of on-demand in-flight entertainment is available through seat-back screens. The airline is also one of only a handful to keep seat pitch at an average 32-33 inches in economy while most other airlines are dropping it to 31-32. EVA is a true full-service premium airline,” Petersen added.

“Earning high rankings from editors who are as knowledgeable of the airline industry and respected worldwide as the AirlineRatings.com team is truly an honor,” said EVA Air Chairman K.W. Chang. “This recognition tells us that our commitment to quality service and safety is noticed. It also reconfirms our goal to become the world’s best airline.”

AirlineRatings.com ranked EVA Air among the world’s top-10 airlines, identifying it as an airline of choice for business and leisure travel in 2015, and honored the airline with a coveted Excellence Award as the Best Long-Haul Airline Asia/Pacific. EVA has earned a global reputation for excellent service and a spotless safety record. SKYTRAX ranked it as one of the “World’s Top-10 Best Airlines” and the number one airline for “Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness” in 2015.

Star Alliance Launches New Social Media Campaign in China

Star Alliance has launched a social media campaign in China, targeted at international frequent flyers in this market, as well as their friends, colleagues and family members. Using the slogan “you make the difference”, the Alliance is encouraging the traveller’s “circle of friends” to show their appreciation for their dedication to work and travel. In addition, the campaign aims to educate and engage the Chinese international frequent flyers and also increase their brand awareness and affiliation to Star Alliance.

The campaign will run through December 7th, 2015 and is accessible via the Alliance’s WeChat social media channel in China. In addition, it is also being promoted in the communication channels of Star Alliance member airlines, such as for example their respective Chinese social media platforms or frequent flyer eNewsletters.

Friends, colleagues and family members of international frequent flyers are invited to send thank you messages, expressing their appreciation for the traveller’s devotion to work and travel. These messages can be sent through the online campaign platform in WeChat. The international frequent flyer who receives the message has the chance to win Star Alliance Gold Status, to make their travels more comfortable. A total of 10 Star Alliance Frequent Flyer programmes are participating in this promotion and will be giving away one Gold Status each: Aeroplan® (Air Canada), PhoenixMiles (Air China), ANA Mileage Club® (ANA), Asiana Club® (Asiana Airlines), Infinity MileageLands® (EVA Air), KrisFlyer (Singapore Airlines), MileagePlus® (United), Miles & More (Austrian, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS), Miles&Smiles (Turkish Airlines), Royal Orchid Plus (THAI).

The friend, colleague or family member who sent the message of appreciation has the chance to win two Star Alliance Round-the-World tickets.

These exclusive prizes underline the Star Alliance brand value and allow the winners to experience the Star Alliance global airline alliance benefits.

As a prelude to the current campaign, Star Alliance launched its new Elite Gathering Community on WeChat in China last month. This group brings together global business travelers, providing a platform for them to share their insights and valuable tips about travelling throughout the world.

Star Alliance is present in both WeChat and Weibo in China and in addition to the daily posts related to international travel, the Alliance also runs smaller promotions through these channels.

In total 20 member carriers serve the Chinese markets. Member carriers Air China and Shenzhen Airlines have both been adding international services this year. Air China for example recently launched flights from Beijing to Minsk, Budapest and Montreal and will be serving Johannesburg from the end of October. This is in addition to increasing services to, for example, Australia and the USA. Shenzhen Airlines this year started non-stop flights from Shenzhen to Osaka. It total, the Star Alliance member airlines offer around 270 daily flights international flights from China, connecting to 79 destinations in 42 countries.

According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), China is on track to become the world’s primary business travel market. Driven by domestic and international outbound business travel, China continues to close the gap on the U.S. as the largest business travel economy in the world.

The campaign can accessed at http://x.spayz.cn/e1 or by using the QR code below. The video accompanying the campaign can be viewed via the Star Alliance youtube channel at:www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX37IN9u05I (available in Chinese only).

USA: Air Lease Corporation Announces Delivery Of First Of Four New Boeing 777-300ERs On Long Term Lease With EVA Air

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) announced the delivery of the first of four new B777-300ER widebody aircraft on long term lease with EVA Air (Taiwan). The additional three aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2016 and 2017, and all four are from ALC’s order book with Boeing.

“ALC is delighted to deliver this first of four new 777-300ERs to EVA Air, which also happens to be the fleet debut of the airline’s new aircraft livery,” said Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Lease Corporation. “We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with EVA as they continue to grow their long haul fleet network.”

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL)

ALC is a leading aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. ALC and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline customers worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. For more information, visit ALC’s website at www.airleasecorp.com.

About EVA Airways Corporation (EVA Air)

EVA Air, a premier international airline based in Taiwan, was established in 1989 and has been a Star Alliance member since June 2013. EVA Air is a modern network airline operating scheduled international passenger flights and cargo services to Asia, North America, Europe, and Oceania. For more information, visit EVA Air’s website at www.evaair.com.