As reported late last year, EVA Airways has been looking to join an alliance and it appears they’ll eventually become a full-fledged member of Star Alliance in 2013.
Speaking with the Australian Business Traveller today, a spokesperson said:
A formal announcement between the airline and Star is expected this Thursday in Taipei, the carrier’s home base.
Curious to know the airline’s gateways from North America, I looked ‘em up and see they have daily (or better) service from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Taipei, operate four times weekly from JFK and Seattle, and three times weekly from Toronto and Vancouver.
It will be great to have another airline partner to redeem my MileagePlus miles with when traveling internationally. Now I just need to read up on some trip reports to see how they compare to the likes of Asiana and Cathay Pacific.
EVA is not really one of the premier airlines in Asia. It’s good, but not quite on the same level as Cathay Pacific for example. It’s not that different in economy based on past experience, but it seems that CX business is far better than EVA Premium Laurel. Also, the Eva frequent flyer program is very restrictive on what fares earn mileage and how you can redeem miles. Now that they’re going to be a part of Star Alliance, it would be wiser to just have it credited to United Mileage Plus. You will get many more options flying to Mainland China, but sometimes it would require quite a backtrack (Taipei is almost at the same latitude as Hong Kong). Hopefully, more people will transit through Taipei and see how awesome Taiwan is!
That’s great news! I’ve been waiting to hear when they would formally join ever since they announced their application last year. There’s been reports that EVA is overhauling their Premium Laurel seats to a herringbone configuration, but not 100% sure. Glad to have another Star Alliance option to Asia!
I’m glad that I’ll be able to fly direct to Taipei now!
Guess that might be the end of codeshares on AA…
Great news! Soon there will be three hubs for *A in northeast Asia- Seoul, Tokyo and Taipei!!!
@Harold, you forgot Air China in PEK, its not the best but not unforgettable either for *A
Do you know if we will be able to transfer miles from Eva’s Evergreen club to another airline within the Star Alliance group?
@Dana: No, I don’t believe you can outright transfer miles to another Star carrier (though you will be able to redeem them for Star Alliance flights).