EVA Air and its regional subsidiary UNI Air are adding three new gateways to their far-reaching network of destinations in China, giving business and leisure travelers faster, easier access to resource, trade and culturally rich regions of the vast nation.  EVA will introduce regularly scheduled flights to Zhengzhou on 10 Dec., 2010 and UNI Air will start flying to Ningbo on 20 Dec., 2010.  EVA is initiating service to Jinan on 18 Dec., 2010 with weekly charters. EVA is starting with two flights a week to Zhengzhou and one regular weekly charter to Jinan via Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport .  UNI’s weekly service to Ningbo is from Taichung in Taiwan’s thriving west central region.  EVA will deploy Airbus 330-200s on its Zhengzhou and Jinan routes, configured for 24 passengers in the Premium Laurel Class business cabin and 228 in Economy,” EVA Air informs.The capital of Henan province, Zhengzhou is a burgeoning economic center south of Beijing, located on the southern bank of the Yellow River.  It’s also an ancient city and known for its Lu Cai or Shandong Cuisine, one of China’s eight distinctive geographic food styles.  Home to more than 400 Taiwan-owned factories, Zhengzhou’s economic and cultural resources attract a steady stream of business and leisure travelers.  EVA’s projections are that 20 percent of its passengers on the new route will be businessmen and 80 percent group travelers.Jinan is the capital of Shandong Province, known as the city of springs.  It’s also south of Beijing on the Yellow River. The seaport city of Ningbo is south of both Shanghai and Hangzhou Bay on the East China Sea.  A political, economic, technological and educational center, Ningbo was an important destination on the Silk Road 2,000 years ago and established as a Portuguese community before Macau.

EVA is the first Taiwan-based airline to fly to Jinan.  The regular charter service will be transformed into scheduled flights as market demand and the load factor grow. The launch of Zhengzhou, Jinan and Ningbo services give EVA and UNI a combined total of 17 destinations in China linked to Taiwan by 27 routes with 77 weekly flights.   Adding the service code-shared with Air China, Shenzhen Air and Shandong Air, EVA and UNI come close to doubling frequency and bring the weekly to 119 flights.From gateways worldwide and easy one-stop connections in Taipei, Taiwan, EVA offers more flights to more destinations in China and throughout Asia than any other airline.  The carrier serves an international network with destinations throughout Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America.