EVA Air to upgrade Kaohsiung flights with A330-300 jets from May 20

Taipei, March 20 (CNA) EVA Airways (EVA Air) flights from Kaohsiung to Tokyo, Macau, and Shanghai Pudong will be upgraded to Airbus A330-300 wide-body jets starting May 20, the airline announced Friday.

In a news release, EVA Air President Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) said the move is aimed at further developing the southern Taiwan travel market and building Kaohsiung into a second operational hub.

Deploying A330-300 planes will provide 309 seats per flight, an increase of 125 over the A321-200 aircraft currently used on the routes.

Using bigger aircraft will also make travel more convenient and comfortable for passengers from southern Taiwan and attract more international visitors to Kaohsiung for tourism, concerts, and cultural events, Sun said.

According to the Taiwanese carrier, it offers a total of 56 flights a week from Kaohsiung to Tokyo Narita, Osaka, Fukuoka, Shanghai Pudong, Macau, Hong Kong, and Seoul Incheon.

Meanwhile, EVA Air said that starting April 30, the Kaohsiung-Seoul route will be operated using its Airbus A321 featuring Hello Kitty's "Pinky Jet" livery, which was previously used on a limited basis for midday flights between Kaohsiung and Hong Kong earlier last year.

China Airlines, another major Taiwanese carrier, also recently announced that its second aircraft featuring the Pokémon livery is scheduled to enter service on April 2, initially flying the Taoyuan-Tokyo Narita and Taoyuan-Seattle routes.