Following confirmation of its tie-up with Continental Airlines, Taiwan's EVA has now turned its attention to finding a European partner. The two front runners are believed to be existing Continental partner, Air France, or Virgin Atlantic.
"Air France is a good alliance for us, and could be for EVA. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is in the middle of Europe," says Continental president Greg Brenneman.
EVA's transpacific flights will carry both airlines' designator codes, as will Continental flights to 22 US destinations, mostly from its Newark hub, and from Cleveland and Houston. The deal does not involve any shareholdings. EVA executive vice-president Daniel Wu says that EVA expects the alliance to help raise revenue by 5%.
EVA competitor China Airlines (CAL) already has a codeshare agreement with Continental on flights from Taipei to San Francisco and Houston, and from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Brenneman plays down the dual nature of the agreement, calling the codeshare with CAL a "small alliance", and saying that it will not be extended.
CAL, meanwhile, is turning its attention to American Airlines, preparing codeshares from Taipei to San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as onward flights to Dallas, Chicago, Miami, and New York. This agreement should be finalised in September.
Source: Flight International
