After flying from Newark to Brussels to Vienna, my next flight was to Bangkok on EVA Air’s 787-9, featuring their new business class product. EVA Air’s Vienna flight alternates between operating nonstop to Taipei, and operating via Bangkok.
Continue reading: Review: EVA Air 787-9 Business Class
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Olive juice? Are you serious? Might as well have asked for water from the moon rather than the Fiji.
I'd love to visit the lavatory in front of the cockpit 😉
Seriously, though, it would be great if you could share your top three business class soft products.
I heard that Safran/Zodiac is having issues getting the seats out to the customers in time
“While I try to avoid bottled water in general, it’s inevitable on plane. If I’m going to be served bottled water then Fiji is my favorite.”
If you are avoiding bottled water for environmental reasons then your favourite water should be from as near as possible, not from the other side of the world.
Well, the herringbone 777 seats you are referring to are from Zodiac and some years ago (as you can certainly remember) they had big issues with delivering their seats (the NG version of their HB seat) on time and in the right quality. At the same time one of their major competitors China Airlines has just introduced the B/E Super Diamond. That didn’t give EVA so many options to choose from...
Remind me of my EVA flight from Vancouver to Taipei a month ago. I agree with pretty much everything you said. I really enjoyed their product!
@ben As a Taiwanese who have flown EVA air more than 50 times, I can't agree with you more! We are genuinely a friendly nation and are service industry has always been an extension of that!
Love your blog!
Concur with Ed, Fiji water is, by virtue of where it’s being shipped from, among the very most carbon and resource intensive bottled waters available.
SQ does iced coffee (not on the menu), but just ask for their Illy Espresso (of which they have different flavors) served as an Iced Americano. Vietnam Airlines does iced Vietnamese Coffee, etc...
Lucky, how many coffees did you have on that flight? Its nice being served Fiji water as opposed to the Dasani crap AA serves.
I know it sounds like a super amateur question, but could you please do a short post explaining how you booked the Aeroplan itinerary? For some reason I'm familiar with so many other miles programs but have just never booked on Aeroplan, and 77,500 sure seems like an amazing deal to spend that much time in J!
Thanks!
All that to get to Greece? So I assume next you're gonna end up in New Caledonia to try Aircalin's A330neo, and then ANA's new 777 Business Class to London? This is crazy. I love it to bits
@mallthus
Agreed. Plus if you are getting to Greece, a direct flight to ATH will probably save more carbon footprint than you could by avoiding bottled water for the rest of your life, compared to flying 25K miles in biz.
I prefer the old Solyst window seats over the Vantage XL.
More leg space and in the case of the true window seats - more privacy!
Just to clarify a little bit. I liked that you tried to avoid water bottles. But I just don't think it worth mentioning in this post. It's like offices turning off lights for 1 hour on earth day, shouting "I'm saving the planet", and let them on and the AC running all night long every day.
hey lucky, could you please fly ANAs new business or first class seats. I believe they are currently on the NH 211/212 from HND to LHR
Vienna’s terminal D uses gate security, just like AMS before they opened central security not so long ago. This is because there is no separation between arriving and departing non-schenghen passengers. In theory, transfer between a schengen flight and any other flight or a transfer between a country having signed “one stop security agreement” with the EU and any other flight does not require you to clear security at an EU airport.
This is why for example you didn’t had to clear security at BRU when coming from JFK, since the US and EU have one-stop security agreements. This means that the EU considers that the security checks in the US are at the same level as security check in the EU.
The problem is that a passenger arriving from any other destination is therefore not considered “safe” to board a connecting flight until he has cleared security at the EU airport. At most airports arriving passengers will be separated from departing passengers and will only access departure gates once they cleared security.
In Vienna’s old terminal all arriving passengers arrive directly in the departure gates so there’s a need to install security at each gate to make sure that everyone that boards the plane is “safe”. For most passengers this process is very annoying...
I fly IAH-TPE on EVAs 777-300ERs quite often. I really enjoy the reverse herringbone seats and looking at this new product on the 787, I am just not that impressed. Again, this is just from your photos since I have not been on their new 787s but the 777 product is such a large, comfortable seat. Do you know if they plan on putting this product on the 777s?
@Mallthus
But the arsenic in the Fiji water is free ( as per the Washington Post report on the contretemps between Fiji and Cleveland over their advertising campaign).
IMO, it’s a ludicrous affectation as well as an environmental scandal.
Last spring we flew TPE-KIX on EVA Air's 787 and enjoyed the flight a lot, agree with the review completely.
The crew was clearly proud of their rather new aircraft and even came to ask if I've been on 787 before and if I'd like her to show all the features. They were going through the whole business class making sure everyone was comfortable with this new plane.
I know EVA Air is pretty solid airline and in this case we flew it mainly because it was the cheapest business class option from Brisbane to Osaka. Happy to fly them again.
@Tobias Schulz
By that standard pretty much any decent airline with an espresso maker offers iced coffee. I used to always order an iced soy latte on Air Canada for breakfast like that. Of course I would construct it by saying iced soy milk with a shot of espresso so as to not confuse them. Sad that with the departure of Ben Smith, soy milk is no more!
It’s a nice touch from the best Taiwanese airline to offer authentic Austrian boiled beef.
EVA air does have free wi-fi for business, but you have to preregister
Application for Complimentary EVA Wi-Fi: Registration for redemption is available starting 48 hours until 30 minutes before your scheduled departure. After completing the registration, the passenger will be given a voucher code for the free Wi-Fi.
https://www.evaair.com/en-us/booking-and-travel-planning/fare-family/special-offer/
you can also preorder your main course through their website
@Paolo I think you know exactly what olive juice is and just constantly make a scene in this blog, like a passive aggressive Debit.
My comment - "A Banana? At this time of Night?" is the official translation of the Japanese show, just Google it.
And the crab in your first course (and on the menu) is cray fish, isn't it……
@Ethan, if you look at the printed menu, they called it "River Crabs," which I'm guessing is a mis-translation of crawfish.
As someone from Louisiana, that's definitely crawfish...
Annnnnnd now we have begun the virtue signaling over bottled water. Good grief, when does it end?!
I think I prefer staggered over reverse herringbone. The "true window" seats are more private and they seem more spacious.
Last time I flew EVA (from JFK-TPE) I was a bit disappointed with the food, with the prawns dish being too gloopy. (My partner who is ethnic Chinese from Asia agreed). That said, I concur that in general, EVA does seem to put in more effort into the little touches.
@Ethan, agree, it looks like crawdads, not Crab.
or, maybe crawdad/fish is commonly called 'River Crab' in some locales?
@Lucky I think you got to realize that East Asians don't really do olives...so the concept of olive juice is pretty foreign...
I'm from Taiwan, living in the US, and I have to say I was confused for a moment when I read you asked for olive juice.
I always love your reports. I flew their 787 last December and it was brand spanking new with that intoxicating new plane smell. I have to say that I love their staggered seat more than their 777s counterparts if you can get a true window seat. The 787 cabin does feel more a little cramped than the 777 though. The seat is so much more comfortable than the 777 in my opinion. Service is always impeccable but their catering is a hit-or-miss, more miss than hit actually. Flying their 787 again in December, I can't wait. I prefer EVA to CX any day of the week even though CX flies nonstop from the West Coast to HKG.
Funny that you asked for whiskey on this flight whereas the flight where it really shines (ANA first class with Hibiki), you didn't ask for it.
Absolutely love EVA Royal Laurel. I'm eagerly anticipating the opprotunity to fly one of their dreamliners. I've flown the 77W twice and will be again in a few months but nothing on the 789. While i do really like the 77W setup once i saw they were going with more forward facing seats i really hoped for the alternating honeymoon option as i take this route with the wife mostly. The only thing i dont like much about the 77W setup is i do feel cramped in the footwell. I get a little claustrophobic at times so i'm hoping this setup is a little less like that but w/e, always happy to be in Royal Laurel. My fave business class soft product for sure.
Menu and food looked fantastic just as i've experiences. I still have two pair of pajamas - love them. The rimowa kit was for sure nicer as well.
The wine list generally is really, really solid for business class.
There’s much more to the world of wine than champagne, Ben 😉
Was this flight on the 9th by any chance? I might’ve seen you departing Vienna...
Did you try the Taiwanese Whiskey/ Serving Kavalan seems a little odd, but ......
Have flown both Eva and United business class SFO - TPE recently. Though United was the new Polaris business and I had one of the good window seats, Eva was a much better experience: great food, really responsive crew and comfortable seat and bedding - plus unusually stylish pajamas 🙂
I have three questions.
When are you flying the British Airways Club Suite?
When are you flying Virgin Atlantic's new upper class?
When are you flying ANA's shocking new business class suite?
@Ethan
I had no idea about olive juice, until I looked it up just now ( some kind of vinegar/salt concoction used in cocktails). But feel free to continue to ascribe motives to others, even with zero knowledge and couched in pop psychology terms; it seems to be your forte.
I saw a movie called "The Dude in Me" once. But it wasn't a comedy and it wasn't suitable airplane viewing.
@TimR -- "Funny that you asked for whiskey on this flight whereas the flight where it really shines (ANA first class with Hibiki), you didn’t ask for it."
What you probably missed from the drinks menu is that EVA serves Taiwan's domestic KAVALAN single-malt whiskey, whose brand has won multiple Best-in-World awards at the World Whiskies Awards, International Spirits Challenge, etc. for consecutive years!
@Quentin -- "Though United was the new Polaris business and I had one of the good window seats, Eva was a much better experience: great ..."
I do *not* think that *any* of the USA airlines is capable of competing against foreign (but especially Asian) airlines for service and, often, even with respect to onboard facilities/amenities as well (although SFO's Polaris Lounge *is* Skytrax Best-in-World for 2019)! USA airlines need to massively upgrade their staff labor/service attitudes before improvements can even begin to occur ...
@BillC, I could not agree more! Took UA because Eva flight was cancelled during the recent strike 🙂
Lots of fun to read your reviews such as details on the vodka martini and crab salad appetizer; this review reminded me of your previous "hello Kitty" a la Eva
I think you were unreasonably stretching the bounds of credibility in imagining any FA outside the US would have any idea what a dirty martini was. The rest of the world has moved on, leaving martinis firmly in the middle of last century.
Plainly your FA hasn't served too many of these anyway since the olive was not on a toothpick.
I wish you'd been a bit more adventurous and had tried one or more of their signature cocktails!
Looks like a great flight with EVA. Food looks delicious! Thank you for sharing!
How did you offset the carbon generated by taking this flight?
It would be helpful for others to also start taking responsibility for their actions. Best, Jan
EVA is amazing, one of the best all around airlines on the planet, have never had a problem with them in years of flying! Top Notch! Lets also support Democracies when & where we can, our actions matter.
i have no idea what you're yammering about it being not more spacious than RHBs cuz i've flown the new AC ones a few times (identical to AA and CI one) and i can absolutely say this BR one (something correct me here but I recall it's similar to the ones on QF 787-9 ?) looks far more open and spacious than the crammed config of the AA/AC one.
It feels rather close to QSuites in size minus the door, using the same color palette as the old TAM 77W first class.
I find the seats close to the window way too claustrophobic like a coffin and you have to squeeze passed the console to get to the aisle.
How on earth did you book a ticket on Eva? I’ve never seen miles availability on any of the *A carriers before
Agree with Ben too, EVA would be my preferred way to travel on *A. Would only pass if QR serves the same route. To me QR still has no match on both hard and soft product.
@Lucky, I believe the safety demo was performed by the Cloud Gate Dance Company. They're quite famous in Taiwan and abroad.
Lucky, you should know you can't compare cabin configuration and seat count across different aircraft models. The 77W cabin is two feet wider than the 350. And the distance between the
doors is different. That's why BR gets more seats between the doors on the 77W than it does on the 350. Reverse herringbone actually takes more space than the staggered configuration.
EVA is good, but certainly doesn't distinguish itself over other business class products to Asia for me. I think there are many airlines which would qualify in the "good" category for the business class products. There is very little to distinguish between the majority. I tend to like ANA and SQ more for their business class products. Also, I have ordered and been served iced coffee on SQ, ANA and LH.
Thank you for the very detailed report
I'll be flying EVA J from YYZ to TPE, I have used avianca lifemiles to redeem the flight. Quick question, can I select my seat in advance when the EVA award ticket is booked through lifemiles?
@Thor -- "... can I select my seat in advance when the EVA award ticket is booked through lifemiles?"
Typically you can select your seats once you have the associated EVA Booking Reference (aka Record Locator) or Ticket Number information --
1. Go to www[.]evaair[.]com (home page -- remove the [ ] and keep only the ".")
2. Choose your geographic region/preferred language if requested
3. Select the "Manage Your Trip" Tab on the home page
4. Select the "Booking Reference or Ticket Number" Button
5. Fill in the Form with your Booking Reference or Ticket Number + Last Name + First Name (Note that your Last/First Names must match exactly how it got entered during reservation -- typically exactly the same as on your Passport)
6. Click Login
7. Do your stuff -- choose your seat#, pre-order meals, etc.
Hopefully your experience will match the procedure listed above!
I have flown this plane when they first rolled it out a year ago, the metal I was on was brand spanking new with that new car smell. I liked the seat, I found it more comfortable than their reverse herringbone. The cabin felt cramped simply because it's a smaller plane than the 777s. Service was outstanding, as always but the food was still their weakest point. Flying their 787-100 in a month, I hope the catering has improved since.
@MikeyInOregon -- "Service was outstanding, as always but the food was still their weakest point." --
Since I will need to fly EVA next year instead of United (due to their Premier Status Qualification changes), I was wondering if you could be more specific about EVA's food weak points? I presume you were sitting in Business Class?
@BillC - I've flown EVA a couple times, (SEA_BKK) I have yet to have a bad meal. Everything I've ordered has tasted great and beautifully presented. I remember my first flight to TPE and they served congee and gua bao. I knew the pork bun was going to taste good, but I had never had congee. It was fantastic. FA was surprised to see that I finished it in record time and even offered to bring me a second one. LOL. I'm a bit disappointed that the gua bao is not listed on the menu this time. Can't say enough good things about EVA. Heading to CNX in a few months, I was tempted to try out Delta's "Delta One" for the long flight (SEA-ICN, then Korean Air to CNX), but I'm kinda of afraid that I might be disappointed.
@Dee G -- "... Everything I’ve ordered has tasted great and beautifully presented. ..." --
Yes! This is what EVA's great track record has been ... and hopefully will get even better, once a new Taiwan startup airline (Starlux Airlines) creates more competition for EVA when it starts to fly trans-Pacific in the future. The Founder and CEO of Starlux was formerly Chairman of EVA before a family squabble displaced him from that role, so he certainly knows how to compete against his former airline!