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.”

FMI: www.evergreenaviation.com, www.sprucegoose.org