TAIWAN ILHA FORMOSA
Taiwan is an island situated off the china coast separated by the mainland by the 160 km Taiwan Strait. The island has an area of 36008 km2 (comparable to the size of Belgium) and populated by 23100000 souls.
Through the winds of history, Taiwan (which is derived from the vernacular Sirayan language), did not have a smooth sail. At the origin a number of tribes populated the island (the Middag kingdom), the great discoveries of the 1600s brought the Dutch which founded the city of Tainan (as Fort Zeelandia) and the Spanish occupied the north of the island (Keelung). The foreign occupiers were overthrown in a series of war and the Tungning kingdom was established followed by the Qing dynasty rule.A series of wars with the French (1894-95) and Japanese resulted in handing the island to Japan (treaty of Shimonoseki). The Japanese rule (until the end of ww2), would be a ruthless one, holding the Taiwanese and the Aborigines as z-class citizens. While occupying the island, the Japanese did develop the industry, the infrastructure (railways), the sanitation and even the schooling systems. The industrial development would perfectly suit the ambitious expansion of the Nippon Empire in ww2 (and create the bases of the economic expansion of modern Taiwan). The surrender of the Japanese army in Taiwan to the ROC army led by Chen Yi will not bring peace to the island. On the contrary, Chen’s administration of the island grew extremely unpopular resulting in clashes and many thousand deaths. The collapse of the Kuomintang in mainland China and the subsequent evacuation of the army, business and intellectual elites to the small island coupled with exogenous factors (cold war) would lead to the reign of “White terror” that would only match the Stalinist terror state. This state of terror lasted until 1987 , when the martial law was lifted .In the mean time , the country has become prosperous with the help of its industrious people, Japanese investments and US aid subsidies ( as a bulwark against communist China) . From 1987 and onwards, the island made significant progress in joining the ever growing number of democratic countries in the world trying to deflect the diplomatic and military tensions with the PRC and working simultaneously to evolve from a-cult-of-the-personality /monolithic society to a more pluralistic one (the increase use of Taiwanese Hokkien after being restricted for a long time). Famous Taiwanese I know are Bai Xianyong the famous writer of Crystal boys ( a fascinating account of Gay Taiwan under the shadow of CKS in the early seventies) , Jerry Wang co-founder of yahoo, and Ang lee the director of such gems as the wedding banquet, sense and sensibility, crouching tiger hidden dragon, and Brokeback mountain. Last but not least, their satirical animated show @nma.tv.
The story of EVA Air through its timetable is the reflection of the deep changes that occurred on the island in the late eighties. As soon as “the white terror” ended, the country entered into a whirlwind of changes involving all aspects of the Taiwanese society especially in the economic and financial areas. In this sweeping changes, the government decided to liberalize air travel through the deregulation of the market. They were endogenous forces that sparked this decision the most important being the unprecedented growth of Taiwanese economy , the easing of restrictions on overseas travel (South Korea did it for the Seoul Olympic games) coupled with the fact that China Airlines , the incumbent airline could not meet the demands of Taiwanese for travel abroad. However, the liberalization of the skies came with some severe requirements such as: Global experience, financial capital requirements and aircrafts should be owned rather then leased. Eva Airways corporation was founded in March 1989 as an affiliate of Evergreen Marine one of the largest (if not the largest) shipping companies and as mandated by law placed a huge orders for Boeing and MDD aircrafts:
B747-400 = 4 + 4 (options) B767-300ER = 2+2 (options) and MDD 11 = 6 + 8(options) .
On July 1 1991, EVA Air inaugurated its first flight out of Taipei to Seoul and Bangkok and soon expanded to include in addition to the aforementioned cities: Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Limpur and Penang. First European service was launched (11/11/1991) to Vienna the capital of the Habsburg empire where interline agreements with OS and LH would provide Taiwanese passengers access to major European airports. Flights were operated with B767-300ER( B16601,B16602 and B16688) EVA Air took delivery of the frames that were first destined to Monarch but did not require them due to the dismal state of the UK charter market (remember 1991 , operation desert storm and the slump in the economy and travel that followed …)
Note to the readers, the comparison, from year to year, is based on the summer timetable of said company except when otherwise noted. Should EVA Air inaugurate new destinations during a winter timetable period (NOV-MAR), or delete destinations, this would appear as gain/loss for the next summer season.
1992-“Fly EVA AIR and feel the difference”
The summer timetable of the company shows a small network of 30599 km spread over 10 segments. Destinations numbered 9 with Vienna being the only European destinations.
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| EVA AIR 1992 NETWORK |
Average frequency per segment was 4.5 flights per week and average segment length was 3060 kms. All flights were operated by B767-300ER.Scheduled charter services to Male were initiated.
"EVA Air Boeing 767-300ER MRD-1" by M Radzi Desa - http://www.airliners.net/photo/EVA-Air/Boeing-767-3T7-ER/0777791/L/. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.
At this stage of our article EVA AIR , an airline, its history through its timetable, it is important to pause and to reflect on the diplomatic conundrum.
The extremely delicate subject of ROC’s status had a pernicious effect on the establishing of air links between Taiwan and the rest of the world. The UN resolution recognizing the PRC as the sole legitimate government of China did not help either. As a prerequisite for the establishment of diplomatic ties with the PRC, countries had to cut their diplomatic ties with Taiwan and their national airlines could not fly to both Taiwan and the PRC. Faced with that, major foreign national airlines soon established subsidiaries to serve TPE. We remember the most famous of them: Japan Asia Airways, an off shot of JAL, Swissair Asia served Zurich, KLM Asia linked Amsterdam with Taipei, Condor (LH subsidiary) linked the shores of the Main river with Taipei. British Asia Airlines was the link to the United Kingdom and even an even an Australia Asia airlines was established to link the Island to Australia last but not least Air France Asie was establisjed to linnk the city of Lights with Taipei. To heighten this “Kafkaesque” situation, Taiwanese airlines were flying to Haneda airport instead of Narita in order not to offend the sensitivities of PRC airlines. The lack of formal agreement between the 2 entities forced Taiwanese wishing to visit mainland China to resort to tortuous routings via Hong Kong , Macau and even Seoul.
1993-94 winter timetable
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| EVA AIR 1993/94 WINTER TIMETABLE. KS COLLECTION |
As it is expected, the company expanded vastly its operations helped by the delivery of its B747-400.
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| Postcard from the KS collection |
The introduction of the best version of the B747 series allowed BR to introduce North American destinations: EWR (06/93), SEA (06/93), SFO, LAX (12/92) and HNL. The European network was expanded to include CDG (via DXB) and LGW (via VIE) (04/92). A mini “hub” was established in KHH linking the latter with BKK, SGN and SIN. An Interesting 3-leg route was operated TPE-BNE-SYD-TPE during this period. 3 holidays destinations were linked to TPE : MLE, HKT and HNL. Seoul was dropped as a result of political sensitivities with PRC.
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| EVA AIR SUMMER 1995 INTERCONTINENTAL NETWORK |
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| EVA AIR SUMMER 1995 REGIONAL & AUSTRALIA NETWORK |
1994 Summer Timetable
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| EVA AIR 1994 SUMMER TIMETABLE. KS COLLECTION |
The new year saw a consolidation of the network. London was served through both VIE and BKK and BNE was dropped, and TPE-KUL was extended to SIN. Deliveries of the B767-200 and first MD 11
.jpg#/media/File:B-16625_B767-25E_EVA_Aws_SIN_01JAN99_(6695329783).jpg)
"B-16625 B767-25E EVA Aws SIN 01JAN99 (6695329783)" by Ken Fielding/http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
"EVA Air McDonnell Douglas MD-11 Gilliand" by Michel Gilliand - http://www.airliners.net/photo/EVA-Air/McDonnell-Douglas-MD-11/1404458/L/. Licensed under GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons.
1995 Summer Timetable
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| EVA AIR 1995 SUMMER TIMETABLE. KS COLLECTION |
1995 marks a milestone in the history of the company when EVA Air Cargo is established as a business Unit with its own dedicated planes. The company will refit its MD11 and B747-4000 fleet into dedicated cargo carriers. Cargo will constitute a significant portion of the revenues of the company and its growth from 1995 to 1999 will outpace the growth from revenues from passenger’s operations as illustrated in the tables below.
The 2010/11 winter timetable of EVA AIR cargo shows a network length of 135981 kms, with 144 weekly flights . Worth noting is that Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Anchorage, JFK, Frankfurt, Brussels, Penang , Delhi, Xiamen, Houston , Nanjing, Chonqing are only Air cargo destinations
1996 Summer Timetable
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| EVA AIR 1996 SUMMER TIMETABLE. KS COLLECTION |
The summer timetable brings a lot of novelty. Both EWR and JFK airports are served through ANC instead SEA, BNE-MEL is dropped in favor of SYD-MEL, CDG-DXB-TPE is replaced by a CDG-VIE-BKK-TPE, MFM is served from both KHH and TPE whereas DPS is new addition to KHH’s mini-hub, MNL is dropped as well as CGK-DPS. But the biggest surprise comes in the introduction of 3 weekly flights between LAX and PTY (opened in Dec 1995). Panama is one of the few countries that maintains diplomatic relations with TAIWAN (going as far as the Qing dynasty in 1909), and who say PANAMA says Panama Canal, and who knows Evergreen Maritime group can easily connect the dots. The Taiwanese government launched in the mid-nineties a vast campaign for investing in PANAMA and in particular in the Canal’s free zone. The campaign results were mitigated .Taiwanese business had the challenge of both the cultural barrier and though working laws. The summer timetable includes some domestic operations , particularly the TPE-KHH sector which is served by 156 weekly flights (38 BR, 14 code share with Makung, and 104 by Makung only), Tainan-TPE with 42 weekly flights operated by Makung metal and under a code share and 14 weekly flights between Kinmen and Tainan although operated by Great China Airlines metal (DHC8), flight code is of BR.
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| EVA AIR SUMMER 1996 REGIONAL , AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND NETWORK |
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| EVA AIR SUMMER 1996 NETWORK : USA-HAWAII-PANAMA |
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| EVA AIR 1996 SUMMER TIMETABLE : EUROPE |
1997 Summer Timetable
1998 Summer Timetable
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| EVA AIR 1998 SUMMER TIMETABLE. KS COLLECTION |
The year witnessed the birth of UNI AIR.
Was born Makung International Airlines until May 1996, Great China Airlines and Taiwan Airways were merged with UNI AIR in 1998 (1/7/1998).This gave the upper hand to BR in the domestic Taiwanese market . A the time of the merger UNI AIR had the following fleet : 7MD90-30, 5 BAE 146-300 and 2 HS738, Taiwan Airways : 1 DO228, 5BN Islanders and 3 BN Trislanders and Great China Airlines : 13 DHC8-300, 1 MD90 The company expanded during the years to include some regional destinations. UNI AR was instrumental in developing the cross strait flights after the liberalization of the 3 links policy, as well as regional flights operating on behalf of BR and using UNI AIR planes when the traffic did not demand the use of BR’s larger planes . In summer 2000, the company operated 145 domestic weekly flights (excl flights to MFK) , spread on 18 sectors . Network length was 3594 km and the number of destinations 11. The company operates DHC 8-300 aircraft (56 seats) and MD90-30 in a dual F/C class layout. Orders are placed for the ATR72-600 and Airbus A321. The year was also fecund in changes in routes : CDG-VIE tag on was terminated and CDG was served from DXB, EWR was served as an extension of SEA eliminating the cumbersome stop in ANC, DPS-KHH ( replaced by a DPS-TPE sector) and MEL-SYD-TPE went into the dust bin, bonjour again to KHH-MFM, KIX the 2nd destination in Japan was opened and a surprise route was opened in the form of KHH-LAX ( the route operated from June 1998 to Jan 1999 , and the company carried 31468 passengers with average LF above 60%)
1999 Summer Timetable
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| EVA AIR 1999 SUMMER TIMETABLE. KS COLLECTION |
Consolidation of the network with the elimination of AKL, the KHH mini-hub was reduced to a bare minimum KHH-MFM escaped the slaughter. The opening of the 100$M Atlantic port terminal in Panama will spell the end for the LAX-PTY route.
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| EVA AIR SUMMER 1999 REGIONAL & AUSTRALIA NETWORK |
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| EVA AIR 1999 SUMMER TIMETABLE : EUROPE |
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| EVA AIR SUMMER 1999 NETWORK : USA-HAWAII-PANAMA |
STATISTICS
EVA AIR & the USA Market
The market show an average increase from 1992 to 1999 of 10.45%. BR was capable since 1995 to grab around 40% (on average) of the market share during the period studied. The company was capable of offering outstanding on board service and a pristine safety record that its immediate competitor (CI) could not match.
EVA AIR PROFITABILITY 1991-99
In less than 5 years and after some heavy losses ($84m in 1993, $36M in 1994), the company was able to post its first positive results $11.3M Earnings Before Taxes in 1996. The low fuel prices, the strong TWD coupled with a robust economy (GDP +4.7% in 1998) conspired to achieve an outstanding results in 1999 ($43M+ 324% over 1998), the year the company entered the TAISDAQ. Worth noting is the increase in yields especially the cargo yields that helped fueled the profits of the company
EVA AIR FLEET TIMELINE 1991-99
As the company expanded, the fleet followed through with a meager 3 frames in 1991, the fleet grew to 31 in 1999. The arrival of the B747-400 in the fleet in late 1992 (first 2 frames delivered on Nov 2 and 10, 1992) allowed the company to launch its Transpacific and European services. The B747-400 came with 2 versions a all passengers and a mixed passenger –cargo version. Introduced in early 1994 (1st aircraft delivered on January 13, 1994) , the B767-200 were used on the thinner routes of the company such as TPE-SGN, TPE-KHH-SGN. The MD11 was first delivered on August 18, 1994 and the fleet grew to 8 albeit many were converted to freighters as the company expanded its freight operations The MD11 was the best suited aircraft becoming the darling of many cargo companies (Fed Ex, Lufthansa etc…) . The MD 11 operated on various routes: KUL-TPE, CGK-TPE, KHH-SUB, TPE-BKK-VIE, TPE-SEA, KIX-TPE among other routes. The company was the first airline in the world to introduce a 4-class service aboard its 747 and gave BR a serious advantage over flag carrier China Airlines .
You can found Part 2 here Evai AIr 2000-2010
GALLERY OF TIMETABLE COVER IMAGES
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| From the Arthur Na collection |
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| From the Arthur Na collection |
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| From the Arthur Na collection |
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| From the Arthur Na collection |
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| From the Arthur Na collection |
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| From the Arthur Na collection |
List of abbreviations used in this post :
Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.
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