Taiwan's EVA Air is frequently overshadowed by state-owned carrier China Airlines, but the Taoyuan International Airport-based EVA Air has been flying for 30-plus years. The airline's fleet of 87 aircraft flies to 68 destinations across four continents. But with flying still in the doldrums in North Asia, what's the latest with the EVA Air fleet?

Different databases will tell you different things. We are going straight to the source - EVA Air. Information in this article reflects data published by EVA Air on June 1, 2021.

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Eva Air flies eight different aircraft types

EVA's 87 aircraft include eight different types. The core of the airline's fleet is the Airbus A321-200 for local flying and Boeing 777-300ER for long-range flying. But also in the mix are 10 Dreamliners, a dozen Airbus A330s, a pair of ATR 72-600s and five Boeing 777 Freighters. What's missing? EVA Air's popular and widely recognized Boeing 747s are no more,  the last retiring in 2019.

The workhorse of EVA Air's short-haul fleet is the A321-200. The airline has 24 of them with an average age of just 6.6 years. The airline uses the plane on short-haul regional flights around Asia. The plane seats 184 passengers, including eight in the small business class cabin.

Because regional flying around Asia is on the skids right now, the bulk of EVA's A321s are parked. With countries around North Asia unlikely to relax entry restrictions anytime soon, the planes may be stuck on the apron for some time yet. While EVA Air does have some planes on order, the airline already has its full contingent of A321s.

Eva Air 787
Most of EVA's widebodies are still in use. Photo: EVA Air

Nearly all of EVA's big planes are still flying

Stepping up a couple of plane sizes, the long-haul staple of EVA's fleet is the Boeing 777-300ER. EVA has 34 of them. The 777-300ERs have an average age of 8.3 years. Interestingly most remain in service. In fact, most of EVA's widebody fleet is in the air. That can be explained by EVA's still extensive long-haul network.

As of June 1, EVA Air still flew to Amsterdam, London, Vienna, Paris, Brisbane, Anchorage, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto, and Houston.

But it's not passengers propping up these flights. EVA is doing a roaring trade flying freight around the world. Several of these destinations are exclusively freight destinations. The freight business is a crucial reason why so many of EVA's 777-300ERs are in the air.

EVA Air 787-10
The Dreamliner is key to EVA's future plans. Photo: EVA Air

EVA Air banking on the Dreamliner

EVA Air also has Dreamliners and Airbus A330s in its stable. The A330s comprise nine A330-300s and three A330-200s. The A330-200s are starting to age (average age is 15.7 years). There are also 10 Dreamliners, comprising four Boeing 787-9s and six 787-10s.

EVA appears to be banking on the Dreamliner in its future plans. There is an order outstanding for a further 11. The Dreamliners will likely replace the older A330s and 777-300ERs as the fleet modernizes and adjusts capacity as flying begins to return to normal.

EVA Air has five dedicated Boeing 777 Freighters and a further three on order. Interestingly, they also have a pair of ATR72-600s. Strictly speaking, the ATRs are operated by UNI Air, a subsidiary based in Zhongshan. But EVA Air counts them in its fleet so we are too. The livery looks quite alike, but not exactly the same as the mainline EVA Air product.