Taipei, 18 August -- EVA Air today officially announced the launch of its EVA Air Cargo Center, Europe - a dedicated unit in Brussels which will be solely responsible for cargo operations and business in Europe.

EVA Air has been flying cargo to Brussels since 1997.  During this period, the airport's facilities and the professionalism of its cargo staff has greatly impressed cargo market.

Brussels' excellent location at the heart of Europe was another key factor in EVA Air's choice of the city as its cargo hub.

Well-established as a centre for logistic and cargo activity, Brussels offers convenient connections with Belgium's neighbours France, Germany and the Netherlands, and further afield to Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Northern Europe.

EVA Air's current cargo service network in Europe includes 12 weekly flights with freighters to London (three flights), Brussels (six flights, of which two are routed via Milan), Sharjah (three flights with onward services to Frankfurt operated by EVA Air's alliance partner Lufthansa). EVA also operates 13 direct flights each week to combined passenger/cargo destinations Paris, London, Amsterdam and Vienna.

The EVA Air Cargo Center, Europe will take advantage of Brussels' excellent location and sophisticated trucking transit system. The carrier will concentrate on increasing frequency to Brussels, with plans to introduce one extra flight this October. In the meantime, EVA Air will introduce another cargo flight to London this month to provide 14 flights per week to Europe with a capacity of 4,700 tons per month.

EVA Air will integrate its related airport hardware facilities and distribution, booking software systems as well as setting up an extensive trucking network to connect to additional major European cities. This will increase the operational efficiency of the EVA Cargo Center, Europe while meeting the requirements of different markets, with the integrated regional service network providing an enhanced service with lower operational costs.

EVA Air Cargo Center, Europe has contracted local ground handler Aviapartner to unload shipments within six to eight hours of each aircraft's arrival, according to the airline's Standard Operation Procedure.  Shipments will then be released or transferred to other cities by truck.

This process will save significant amounts of time in comparison with other European airports, which require longer operating time due to cargo congestion. In addition, EVA Air's trucking partner, Jan De Rijk, operates the most extensive service network in Europe and ensures regular, on-time dispatch. Jan De Rijk also offers a flexible chartered service to specially-designated destinations at times convenient for the client.

When tracing cargo shipments, most carriers can only provide information on its flights and find it difficult to provide details on the departure and arrival of trucks. In contrast, EVA Air and Jan De Rijk have developed a joint Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system. Shippers or forwarders can easily trace the progress of goods through EVA’s reservation system including the onward truck’s departure and arrival time.

As an established cargo hub, Brussels offers the benefit of localised cargo related businesses, including carriers, ground handling, customs, trucks and forwarders - enabling quick and easy communication between all involved in the cargo process. Brussels Customs are also co-operating with the European Union to develop the New Computerized Transit System (NCTS), which will make the clearance of Transit Document 1(T1) required by each shipment more efficient and accurate. The system will increase the efficiency of customs clearance for transferring to other European countries.

EVA Air's fleet now has 44 aircraft with 14 freighters including 10 MD-11 freighters and 4 B747-400 freighters. It is expected to have another MD-11 converted to a freighter by October. EVA Air also has 10 B747-400 combi aircraft.