EVA Air exercises options for additional Airbus jets

EVA Air has boosted its Airbus orderbook, after exercising options for six more A350-1000s and three A321neos. The deal, disclosed in a stock exchange filing on 12 March, is valued at around $3.1b in list prices. It adds to EVA Air’s existing orderbook of 18 A350s and 15 A321neos, which it first announced in November 2023 and confirmed in January 2024. The new aircraft are expected to replace the Taiwanese carrier’s fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs and A321ceos. The order means all of Taiwan’s major carriers are A350 operators: China Airlines and Starlux operate the smaller -900, with the latter also holding orders for the -1000.In the filing, EVA Air did not provide a delivery timeline for the new aircraft. The fleet update comes as EVA Air disclosed its full-year results for 2024, where it recorded a 31% increase in its operating profit to NT$38.7b ($1.17b). This came on the back of a 10.3% increase in revenue to NT$221b, outpacing a 6% rise in costs to NT$167b. Separately, the airline has signed a codeshare agreement with Air Macau, covering flights between Taiwan and Macau. EVA Air operates 21 weekly flights from Taipei and Kaohsiung to Macau, while Air Macau has more than 40 weekly flights from Macau to Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung. <br/>