EVA Air takes delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Boeing, Air Lease Corporation (ALC, and EVA Air today (October 2) celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first 787-9 Dreamliner (B-17881, msn 39295), via a lease from ALC, at Boeing’s South Carolina Delivery Center.

EVA Air plans to debut the long-range and super-efficient airplane in November on international routes.

Built with lightweight composite materials and powered by advanced GEnx engines from General Electric (GE) Aviation, the 787 Dreamliner family lowers operating costs by more than 20 percent compared to previous airplanes, and nearly 10 percent compared to today’s competing jets.

Today’s delivery marks the first of 24 Dreamliners for the Taipei-based airline. In 2015, EVA Air announced a landmark order for 18 787-10 airplanes along with plans to operate four 787-9s and two 787-10s on lease from ALC. This remains the largest commercial airplane purchase in Taiwan’s history.

A member of Star Alliance, EVA Air serves international routes with approximately 565 weekly flights. Onboard the airline’s new 787 Dreamliner, passengers can experience EVA Air’s new Royal Laurel business class seats (above) designed by Designworks, a BMW Group company. At 23 inches wide, the new seats feature privacy panels, full lie-flat capabilities as well as enhanced in-flight entertainment systems. EVA Air also partnered with Teague, to redesign its economy class seats, which are produced by Recaro (below).

To improve the operational efficiency of its 787s, EVA Air plans to use a variety of Boeing Global Services tools, including Maintenance Performance Toolbox, Airplane Health Management and the electronic flight bag product.

The airline will also use Component Services, where Boeing and its partners own, manage and maintain a global pool of high-value rotable parts, components and line-replaceable units (LRU) for convenient access.

Images: Boeing and EVA Air.

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