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Lufthansa plans to buy a triple-digit number of either Boeing 737 MAX or Airbus A320neo jetliners to replace jets in its fleet, CE Carsten Spohr said Tuesday. “We have not lost our trust in Boeing” following 2 fatal 737 MAX crashes and the grounding earlier this month of the worldwide fleet of that aircraft, Spohr said. “They’ve built wonderful aircraft over the decades, and I am sure they will fix the current issue,” Spohr said of Boeing. Lufthansa expects to make a decision on its narrow-body 737 or A320 purchases next year, Spohr said. The airline does not currently have 737 MAX planes in its fleet or on order. It is replacing Airbus A319 and Bombardier CRJ planes. Spohr said the FAA and Boeing would solve any problems, and noted that summer bookings show a strong trend, suggesting that air travel demand has not waned. <br/>

EVA Air will begin Boeing 787-9 operations to Europe from May 9 on its 4X-weekly Taipei Taoyuan-Bangkok-Vienna route, as well its 3X-weekly Taipei-Vienna nonstop service. The 787-9 will replace 777-300ERs on the routes, as it will in October on Taipei-Amsterdam services. “On the 787-9 we have 304 seats, compared to 330 seats on the 777-300ER. The difference in number of seats is marginal,” EVA GM Austria and CEE Edward Ho said. Europe is a relatively small part of EVA´s network, representing about 10% of the carrier’s business. “But it is strategically very important,” Ho said. EVA Air’s first 787-9 was delivered in October 2018, and the first 787-10 is expected in the Q2 of 2019. The airline plans to have 24 787s by 2022. <br/>