EVA Air to buy 20 planes to meet China demand: Report

TAIPEI: Taiwan's international carrier EVA Airways plans to buy 20 passenger planes to meet robust demand from China, local media cited company president Chang Kuo-wei as saying Sunday.

The remarks came after the airline added three mainland cities -- Zhengzhou, Jinan and Ningbo -- to boost its total weekly flights to China to 77, covering 17 destinations.

"Our capabilities are still unable to meet the strong demand for the flight services between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland," Chang told reporters, according to the state-funded Central News Agency.

"Looking ahead, EVA Air is considering purchasing more narrow-bodied passenger planes, like A321 to replace the existing MD planes," he said, without giving a timeframe.

The company now operates 56 aircraft, including eight McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighters and six MD-90s.

Taiwan and China launched direct charter flights in 2008 and scheduled flights in 2009, reflecting warming ties since Taiwan's Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008.

Previously flights had to go via a third point, usually Hong Kong or Macau, adding to journey times and costs.

But Beijing still considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the island has governed itself since 1949 at the end of a civil war.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011