EVA Air forecasts high airfares to continue into 2025

Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) Amid booming post-pandemic travel demand across the globe, airfares will not go back to their previous lower levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic and high airfares will continue into 2025, Taipei-based EVA Airways (EVA Air) said Monday.

At an investor conference, EVA Air President Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said the trend toward higher fares has been driven by robust air passenger travel around the globe combined with inflationary pressures and service capacity restraints, and will likely continue into next year.

Sun predicted EVA Air will see 20.4 percent growth in the Northeast Asian passenger market this year, well above its average growth for the rest of the world, and he expected the Asia-Pacific market to see even stronger growth in 2025.

In the first 10 months of 2024, the airline saw overall passenger revenue growth of 8.4 percent year-on-year, while passenger numbers jumped nearly 20 percent and capacity (measured by available seat kilometers) rose 9.7 percent.

Of EVA Air's passenger revenue by region, the United States market accounted for 44 percent of it, followed by Northeast Asia at 19 percent and Europe at 15 percent.

Given the expected growth in passenger demand in 2025, the airline is working on new passenger and cargo charter flights to Japan's Hakodate during the Lunar New Year holiday in January and on the addition of flights to Aomori and Matsuyama for the cherry blossom season.

EVA Air also intends to add flights to Kobe during the April-October period to provide more capacity for travelers headed to the 2025 Osaka World Expo, Sun said.

The airline has also decided to add Dallas to its other eight destinations in North America, and it expects to fly five weekly flights to the Texas city starting on Nov. 3, 2025, Sun said.

At a time when many high-tech companies are moving their headquarters from Silicon Valley to Texas, Dallas is a good fit for EVA Air to complete its network for transit passengers proceeding to Central and South America, Sun said.

EVA Air is also upbeat about the prospects of its air cargo business, according to Sun, citing the growth of artificial intelligence applications and strong demand from the e-commerce sector.

In the first three quarters of 2024, the airline posted earnings per share of NT$3.98, the highest ever for the nine-month period, he said.