A number of East Asian countries each have two competing full-service airlines, including Japan, with All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, and South Korea, with Korean Air and Asiana. Taiwan is also one such territory, home to both EVA Air and China Airlines. How do these two carriers compare in terms of route network, fleet, and inflight service?

Route network

According to its website, EVA Air flies to over 30 destinations around Asia, and a total of 15 long-haul destinations, which include London (LHR), Vancouver (YVR), and Houston (IAH).

Image: EVA Air

In addition to its primary hub at Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), the carrier also operates a limited number of international routes from the island's second-busiest airport, Kaohsiung International Airport (KHH). As a Star Alliance member, EVA Air passengers can easily connect to services operated by the likes of Lufthansa, Thai Airways, and United Airlines.

China Airlines flies to a similar array of worldwide destinations as EVA Air, albeit with fewer routes to North America, balanced by a stronger presence in Australia and New Zealand. The SkyTeam member is also the only carrier of the two to fly to Delhi (DEL), and from July 18th, Prague (PRG) will also be added to the list.

Fleet

Coincidentally, both airlines have a similarly-sized fleet - EVA Air has a total of 89 aircraft, compared to China Airlines' 90. However, when looking solely at passenger aircraft, EVA Air comes out on top with 78 aircraft, ahead of China Airlines which has 68.

Photo: TimeDepot.Twn | Shutterstock

According to data from ch-aviation.com, the airlines' passenger fleets are currently made up of the following aircraft:

The average aircraft ages are also remarkably close - 8.9 years old for EVA Air and 8.5 years old for China Airlines. In terms of future fleet growth, EVA Air currently has just 14 widebody aircraft on order - nine Boeing 787-9s and five 787-10s. China Airlines is awaiting delivery of 24 Dreamliners, in addition to 19 Airbus A321neos.

China Airlines also has a fleet of 16 Boeing 747-400Fs, one of which, registered as B-18715 was involved in three incidents in less than two months last year:

EVA Air's fleet has not been without incident either. Earlier this year, two of the airline's aircraft got too close for comfort - with the winglets of an Airbus A321 cutting into the nose of a Boeing 777-300ER during taxiing. While nobody was injured in the incident, the aircraft sustained significant damage:

Inflight service

Both EVA Air and China Airlines pride themselves on their service and catering options, with the airlines receiving 5-star and 4-star ratings, respectively, from Skytrax.

Photo: Michael Rosebrock | Shutterstock

Back in 1991, EVA Air made history when it became the first airline in the world to introduce a premium economy cabin. Today, the carrier is far from alone, with many long-haul carriers offering a premium economy cabin, including China Airlines. Both airlines' modern-day premium economy offerings are among the best in the skies, and their business class cabins are highly rated too.

Conclusion

Both EVA Air and China Airlines operate similar route networks, and offer industry-leading inflight service on modern aircraft. However, with its 5-star Skytrax rating and stronger presence in Europe and North America, in addition to a wider variety of connection opportunities offered by Star Alliance partners, EVA Air may take the crown.

Photo: Omid Behzadpour I Shutterstock

That said, Taiwan's two major carriers will have to stay on top of their game in the face of increased competition from newcomers such as Starlux Airlines. With its fleet of modern Airbus aircraft, Starlux recently launched flights to Los Angeles (LAX).

Have you flown on EVA Air and China Airlines? How would you rate your experience on both airlines? Let us know by commenting below.

Source: ch-aviation.com