As the number of U.S. travelers to several Asian countries continues to grow, a number of airlines have been launching new flights to cities that previously did not have the traffic to justify a direct route.

South Korean low-cost airlines Parata Air and Air Premia have both recently set their sights on new flights from Seoul to cities like Los Angeles for the former and Washington for the latter in 2026.

Taiwan-based China Airlines has recently started running a new flight to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei.

New Eva Air flight between Taipei and Washington to launch in July 2026, run four times a week

The latest news of a new direct route linking Asia and the U.S. comes from fellow Taiwanese player Eva Airways (stylized as Eva Air). This week, the Taipei-based carrier confirmed that it will launch a new 16-hour flight to Washington Dulles International (IAD) in July 2026, Focus Taiwan reported.

The route is currently slated to run four times a week on a 278-seat Boeing 787-9 and brings Eva Air’s total North American destinations to 10.

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“When launching a new flight service, the company considers factors such as fleet size and effectiveness,” Eva Air President Clay Sun said at a local press event covered by Taipei Times. “We are using Boeing 787s for flights to Washington before we receive Airbus 350-1000s.”

Sun further explained that many of the carrier’s North American destinations end up serving as gateways for Taiwanese travelers going elsewhere in the U.S. as well as American and Canadian travelers going further into Asia.

Taiwan in general has also been in the midst of a tourist boom from the U.S. and Europe that is expected to last into the coming years. Eva Air is also taking this into account with a route whose success in terms of uptake could go either way.

Eva Airways will now fly to 10 North American destinations.

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Eva Air president explains rationale behind new Washington Dulles flight

Sun said that Washington and its suburbs are home to approximately 14,000 Taiwanese residents and 320,000 members of the wider Southeast Asia diaspora that they expect to serve as their main customer base.

The Boeing 787 is equipped for 26 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 224 economy class seats.

As the majority of Eva Air’s North American flights go to West Coast cities, this route stands out for its length and distance: 6,834 nautical miles or 12,657 kilometers between the two cities.

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Eva Air’s route between Taipei and Houston has a slightly longer geographical distance at 7,939 nautical miles, but due to the location of the winds, the Washington route will take longer.

Along with Houston and soon Washington Dulles, the airline’s North American destinations include Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and San Francisco, as well as a new Dallas flight that began in October 2025.

While the airline has not yet released many details around the route including exact dates and pricing, rates on Eva Air’s longest North American routes start at between $900 and $1,200 USD in one direction, outside of popular booking periods and last-minute purchases.

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