EVA Air announced today that the delivery ceremony of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will be held at Boeing South Carolina in Charleston on October 02, 2018. The new aircraft is configured for 304 passengers in two cabins, 26 in Royal Laurel Class business and 278 in Economy, and introduces brand-new seats and a new look throughout. It is the first of this model in Taiwan’s airline industry.

“The introduction of Boeing 787 Dreamliners is essential to our continuous pursuit of service excellence,” said EVA President Clay Sun. “We have adopted a more modern, globalized design concept and combined it with Boeing’s latest aviation technologies to create a luxurious cabin environment and provide all our passengers with an even more comfortable flying experience.”

From luxury cars to a top-class airline cabin

EVA chose Designworks, a BMW Group company, to synchronize the airline’s international brand image and the Dreamliner’s unique craftsmanship into the design of this latest generation of Royal Laurel Class seats. The design team stepped away from conventional aircraft design and used core concepts of space and brand to create tailor-made business class seats seamlessly integrated into a bespoke cabin environment. The team used mature, muted colors to enhance the feeling of a comfortable, spacious environment.

EVA’s new Royal Laurel Class business cabin seats are 23 in. (58.4 cm) wide and recline into flat-bed positions that can stretch out to as much as 76 in. (193 cm) long, enabling passengers to lie down, get comfortable and sleep on long-haul flights.

“We wanted EVA’s business class experience to be fresh and memorable for passengers and to make service, design and brand all work together,” said Design Director Johannes Lampela from Designworks’ LA Studio. “Our goal was to take a proven seat platform and make it unique to EVA. From privacy, service, interaction, stowage and amenities, we explored the holistic passenger experience.”

EVA created more comfortable personal spaces by equipping its redesigned Royal Laurel Class seats with adjustable privacy panels and generous built-in storage cabinets. The airline upgraded the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) systems with 18 in. HD touchscreen monitors, the latest noise-canceling headphones, extra-large fold-out tables for dining or work, auxiliary outlets and USB ports for recharging personal devices or accessing files from Media Player, Photo Viewer and PDF Reader. With these features and the warm, friendly service it is known for, EVA offers passengers a cozy in-flight space where they can work and rest.

Technology and fashion meet economy

EVA called on the Boeing Company’s long-time working partner, Teague, to completely redesign Economy Class on its new 787 Dreamliners. It selected a color palette that complements shades used in Royal Laurel Class and has created a cabin that is exquisitely elegant.

EVA selected ergonomically designed economy class seats from RECARO, the well-known German Automotive Seating company. It equipped seats with sophisticated leather headrests that adjust as much as 6 in. from the top of the seatback to the highest position. It added customized neck supports with functions, allowing passengers the flexibility to adjust the angle in six directions. It also upgraded the IFE with 12 in. HD touchscreen monitors at every seat, giving passengers more comfort and satisfying entertainment needs 30,000 feet in the air.

In addition to this first Boeing 787-9, EVA expects to take delivery of three more of this model and followed by its first Boeing 787-10 in the second quarter of next year. EVA plans to be operating a total of 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners by 2022. As soon as EVA gets its first Boeing 787-9, it will finalize preparations for putting the plane in service and work with Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to get it certified.

EVA estimates that it will launch the new Dreamliner on its maiden flight by the end of October 2018. It will fly the aircraft on its Taipei – Hong Kong route until its second Dreamliner is ready to deploy and it can extend the plane’s services to Japan. EVA will steadily expand Dreamliner service to more routes in its network as it adds more of the aircraft to its fleet.