Shortly after delivery, EVA Air too flew its newest freighter from Paine Field to Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), where it was welcomed as Taiwan’s first Boeing 777 freighter with a water cannon ceremony provided with two fire trucks.

EVA plans to put its new Boeing 777 freighter in service on routes between Asia and North America in late November. The airline’s freighter destinations in Asia include Shanghai Pudong, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Osaka, Singapore, Bangkok, Penang and Hanoi.

Its air cargo gateways in North America are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth and Atlanta. EVA now provides airfreight services on 62 routes, including five dedicated cargo gateways, with 35 weekly freighter flights. Shippers and freight forwarders can reserve space and track shipments from their smart phones with the EVA Cargo App.

EVA is equipping its Boeing 777 freighters with GE90-115B Turbofan Engines, the same as those used to power its 34 Boeing 777-300ER passenger planes. By using the same engine, EVA will not only reduce maintenance costs but also promote maintenance management efficiencies for its turbofan engines.

Both the 777 and 747-400 freighters accommodate the same-sized pallets and containers, providing the advantages of resource sharing and smoothing the cargo-loading process during EVA’s transition to the newer aircraft. The addition of 777F to the fleet also gives flight crew the flexibility to fly both passenger and cargo models after they have completed EVA’s demanding pilot-training program.

EVA ordered five 777 freighters from the Boeing Company in July 2015 and will take delivery of the additional four by September 2019. As it adds the new freighters, it will successively retire its five remaining 747-400 freighters by the end of 2019. EVA is now operating a fleet of 79 aircraft, including the new freighter.