B747 service to Nagoya to begin June 2005; FAA issues Regional
Commitment to Safety Award
Evergreen International Airlines has announced plans to
inaugurate a five times weekly B747 freighter service between the
United States and Japan. The announcement follows a decision
by the US Department of Transportation to award Evergreen authority
to provide scheduled all-cargo service between the United States
and Nagoya, Japan.
Evergreen's Chairman & Founder, Delford M. Smith, said that
the airline plans to inaugurate cargo flights between Columbus (OH)
and Nagoya beginning in June 2005. Columbus will serve as a gateway
to over sixty destinations in the US and Canada.
Evergreen's flights will serve Nagoya's new Chubu International
Airport, which will open on February 17, 2005. The city of Nagoya
is located halfway between Tokyo and Osaka, in the Chubu region,
which is recognized as the center of manufacturing in Japan.
The Chubu region contains many leading industries, including
automobile and motorcycle manufacturing, ceramics, apparel and
fashion, petrochemicals, and electronics.
Evergreen has served the Transpacific market for over three
decades. Tim Wahlberg, President of Evergreen International
Airlines, stated, “We have a customer base in Asia that has
been supporting us since the 1980s and they are the driving force
behind Evergreen’s expansion into Japan.” Asian sales
offices include Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul and Singapore.
"Evergreen is excited about this opportunity to expand its
scheduled flights to include Japan, and to provide its customers
with time-definite services to Nagoya's new, efficient, and
centrally located airport,” added Ranjit Seth, Senior Vice
President of Sales. “Our service to Japan will be an
important part of Evergreen's plans for expanded services between
the United States and Asia."
The company has also announced that, for the first time, the
Federal Aviation Administration has awarded the Regional Commitment
to Safety Award to an airline. The FAA presented Evergreen
International Airlines with the award December 2, 2004 for its
participation in and contribution to identifying and correcting
issues with the Central Air Data Computer (CADC) system on the
Boeing 747 Freighter Aircraft. Evergreen worked in
partnership with the FAA, Honeywell, and InAir Aviation on
completing a maintenance program improvement of the CADC.
Larry Bird of the FAA conducted a ceremony held at the Evergreen
Aviation Museum, at which the FAA’s Mike Kelly presented Tom
Pitzer of Evergreen, Mark Merino of Honeywell, and Greg Mathias of
InAir with the awards.
This award is a reflection of Evergreen’s longstanding
commitment to its safety program, proven by the company’s
insurance claims experience. The airline’s fleet has logged
nearly 86,000 miles of flight hours on rotor- and fixed-wing
aircraft since 2003, with zero flight claims and a zero percent
loss ratio.
“Evergreen has flown continuously since 1975 and is proud
to continue its longstanding history and good rapport with the FAA,
having its reputation based on quality, safe, and reliable
services,” said Ed Connolly, president of Evergreen
International Airlines. “We commend Evergreen’s
dedicated, world-class maintenance group for continuously striving
to maintain the highest safety standards.”