With the island nation welcoming just under nine million international visitors in 2025, the demand for Taiwan travel is currently at a high unseen in almost a decade.
The capital city of Taipei is currently going through a burst of luxury hotel development while airlines are also eying the city for their network expansion plans. Taiwanese flag carrier EVA Air ran, on June 26, the inaugural flight between Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Taiwan Taoyuan International (TPE) in Taipei.
The route, which will now run four times a week on the airline’s premium Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner plane, had been years in planning and brings the airline’s total North American destinations to 10. It is also proving to be highly popular as, according to numbers released by Eva Air, over 90% of the seats on flights throughout July have already been booked.
EVA Air runs high-profile new route between Washington and Taipei
The inaugural flight was, upon arrival to Dulles, greeted by a water salute that in aviation is a tradition customary when a flight is run for the first time or for other reasons recognized as an important milestone like the retirement of a long-serving captain or a new plane model that is introduced to a fleet.
The route was envisioned both to serve the Taiwanese diaspora based in Washington flying between the two countries and U.S.-based tourists using it to get to Taiwan or go on to other destinations in East and Southeast Asia.
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“We see immense market potential in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area,” EVA Air President Clay Sun said in a statement on the new route. “This new route will seamlessly enhance EVA Air’s network across the eastern United States, delivering premium service to both business and leisure travelers alike.”
At just over 7,800 miles and 17 hours when heading westbound, the flight is also historic as the longest nonstop route that is now operating from Dulles (it pushes out Air China’s route between Washington and Beijing by approximately 40 minutes).
The Boeing 787-9 aircraft has been configured with business, premium economy and economy cabins with the latter starting at $1,080 round-trip. The 26 business class flatbeds that EVA Air calls “Royal Laurel”are laid out in a one-two-one formation.
EVA Air
“New nonstop service between Taipei and the Washington D.C. region will strengthen trade, tourism and cultural exchange”
The flight from Taipei to Washington will depart at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays to arrive at 10:30 p.m. local time while the route back to Taipei will leave 1:50 a.m. on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to arrive the following day at 4:05 a.m.
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“Expanding Washington, D.C.’s connectivity with Asia has been a strategic priority for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority,” Paul Bobson, vice president for Airline Business Development of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said in a separate statement.  “This new nonstop service between Taipei and the Washington D.C. region will strengthen trade, tourism, and cultural exchange.”
The airline’s other North American destinations include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver.
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