- Introduction: The 25,000 Mile Journey To Greece
- Review: Aer Lingus A321LR Business Class
- Review: Aer Lingus Arrivals Lounge Dublin Airport
- Review: Platinum Services Dublin Airport
- Flying Around Europe With TAPered Expectations
- Review: TAP Air Portugal A321LR Business Class
- Review: United 787-10 Polaris Business Class
- Review: Diamond Lounge Brussels Airport
- Review: EVA Air 787-9 Business Class
- Review: Waldorf Astoria Bangkok
- Review: Thai Airways Business Lounge Bangkok Airport
- Review: Turkish Airlines Lounge Bangkok Airport
- Review: Miracle First Class Lounge Bangkok Airport
- Review: Thai Airways A350 Business Class
- My EasyJet Flight Cost How Much?!?
- Review: Santa Marina, Luxury Collection, Mykonos
- Review: British Airways A320 Business Class
- Review: British Airways 777 First Class
- Review: Delta Air Lines 737 First Class
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.
This was all part of the same Aeroplan award ticket, costing a total of 77,500 miles one-way.
I had quite a long layover in Vienna, as I arrived around 1PM, while my connection was at 6:35PM. So I spent much of the day working in the Austrian Business Lounge, which I’ve reviewed before.
My flight to Bangkok was departing from gate D23, so I headed there around 5PM, plenty early for my flight. One thing I didn’t initially realize is that there are further security checkpoints at these individual gates (I’m not sure why, because I had already gone through security?), and in this case the line was really long.
Fortunately business class and elite passengers can cut the line, though it is a bit awkward. There’s a sign at the front indicating that premium passengers can just come up, but given the lack of a separate queue, it sure looks like you’re cutting.
Vienna Airport terminal
Once through security I had a seat in the sterile gate area until boarding started. Boarding was scheduled to start at 5:50PM, though ended up starting at 6:05PM.
I couldn’t wait to try EVA’s new 787-9 business class. I’ve always been a huge fan of their service, though up until now have only flown their 777-300ER, featuring reverse herringbone seats in business class.
EVA Air 62
Vienna (VIE) – Bangkok (BKK)
Wednesday, August 7
Depart: 6:35PM
Arrive: 10:00AM (+1 day)
Duration: 10hr25min
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Seat: 7K (Royal Laurel Business Class)
I boarded through the second set of doors, and was escorted left into the business class cabin. EVA Air’s business class soft product really feels more like first class than business class, and it’s one of my favorite in the world.
EVA Air has staggered seats on their 787-9s, very similar to what you’ll find on Qantas’ 787-9s (though the finishes make them look very different). The cabin is quite intimate with just 26 seats, spread across seven rows in a 1-2-1 configuration.
EVA Air 787-9 business class cabin
EVA Air business class cabin 787-9
I’m not sure what EVA Air’s motivation was for installing these staggered business class seats, rather than the reverse herringbone seats they have on their 777s. I’d say quality-wise the seats are roughly comparable.
This configuration isn’t more efficient, as they had just 26 seats between doors one and two, while you can get 30 reverse herringbone business class seats in that space.
So I’m not sure if the airline genuinely thinks this is a better hard product, if the seats are cheaper to install, or what. Regardless, it’s kind of surprising to see them install a new type of seat that isn’t necessarily better, since it creates product inconsistency.
All that being said, these are the best kind of staggered seats out there, and this type of product is growing on me.
In the center section the seats are always equally apart from one another (so it’s not like the “honeymoon” seats you’ll find in some staggered configurations).
EVA Air 787 business class seats
For the individual seats by the windows, they alternate between being closer to the aisle and being closer to the window.
I was in seat 7K, which was a “true” window seat. These seats are so great because you can easily look out of the window, and also because you have some distance from the aisle, so you get extra privacy.
EVA Air 787 business class seat
EVA Air 787 business class seat
These seats are an efficient use of space because the footwell for the seat is underneath the seat in front, which is why in one row the seat is closer to the aisle, and in the next row the seat is closer to the window.
EVA Air 787 business class seat
The reason that these my favorite kind of staggered seats out there is because of the features around the seat. For one, the seat has a privacy shield that can be extended, so that you really won’t see anyone else seated near you.
EVA Air business class seat panel
On the console next to the seat were the seat controls, headphone jacks, and 110v and USB outlets.
EVA Air business class seat controls
Next to that was the entertainment controller (though the personal television is also a touchscreen, so I never used this controller).
EVA Air business class entertainment controls
Then behind the seat and to the left was an enclosed storage compartment, along with a mirror.
EVA Air business class seat storage
Also to the side of the seat were some basic seat controls.
EVA Air business class seat controls
The tray table folded out from the aisle side of the seat, and was large.
EVA Air business class tray table
The footwell was a good size, and didn’t feel too restrictive.
EVA Air business class footwell 787
My one criticism of the seat is that there were no individual air nozzles, which seems to be all too common on Asian airlines.
Already waiting at my seat upon boarding was a pair of headphones. They were pretty good quality, though not to the level of Bose or Bang & Olufsen.
EVA Air business class headphones
Also waiting at my seat was a bottle of Fiji water. 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.
EVA Air business class Fiji bottled water
EVA Air’s business class soft product is spectacular, and the nonstop service procession started from the moment I boarded. As soon as I settled in a flight attendant came by my seat to introduce herself by name, familiarize me with the seat, and inform us of our flight time.
She then offered me a pre-departure drink of choice. I asked for some champagne, which was served with a special Boeing 787 napkin, a chocolate, and a warm towel on a tray. Often it’s the little touches that make a difference, and that’s an area where EVA Air stands out, like the little chocolate, and the fact that the towel was served on a tray.
EVA Air business class pre-departure drink & chocolate
A few moments later the flight attendant brought me an amenity kit, which came in a special bag.
EVA Air business class amenity kit
The amenity kit was from Salvatore Ferragamo, and was awesome. However, I still prefer the Rimowa amenity kits they have on flights from Taipei (at least last I checked).
EVA Air business class amenity kit contents
Next I was offered pajamas and slippers, designed by Jason Wu.
EVA Air business class slippers & pajamas
Both felt high quality.
EVA Air business class pajamas
EVA Air business class slippers
I was then presented with the menu and wine list for the flight, with the flight attendant explaining that dinner would be served after takeoff, and that breakfast would be served before landing.
EVA Air business class menu & wine list
While the cabin was initially only about half full based on the seatmap, it ended up going out nearly full. So the crew was very busy providing this amazing service to all business class passengers.
About 10 minutes after boarding the purser, Nicole, came by my seat to introduce herself. Five minutes later a flight attendant came by my seat to take my meal order. She took both my dinner and breakfast order, asked what I wanted to drink, asked if I wanted to be woken up for breakfast, if I wanted still or sparkling water, etc.
The one funny thing is that I decided to order a vodka martini, since I saw it listed on the menu. Since EVA Air does so well with their soft product, I figured I would try it out, and I wondered just how much it could be customized. Maybe I was pushing my luck, but…
“Could I have a vodka martini, but could you make it dirty?”
*Confused look*
“Could I have olive juice in the martini??”
“Orange juice?”
“No, olive juice.”
*Confused look*
“Never mind, I will just take it as is.”
In fairness, I was probably pushing my luck there…
At 6:30PM the main cabin door closed, and at 6:35PM the captain announced that we’d push back within 10 minutes. He said that our flight time was 9hr40min, and that we’d be cruising at 35,000 to 39,000 feet.
At 6:35PM the safety video was screened. Their current safety video is a bit… extra?
At 6:45PM we started our taxi, and there some interesting traffic on the way out, like a Lauda A320, and an Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet.
Lauda A320 Vienna Airport
Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet Vienna Airport
We had a very short taxi, and by 6:50PM were cleared for takeoff on runway 29.
Taxiing Vienna Airport
Taking off from Vienna
As we climbed out I browsed the entertainment selection. While the system was easy to use and responsive, the English selections were fairly limited. There were just under 50 movies, and then a fairly limited number of TV shows.
EVA Air entertainment selection
EVA Air entertainment selection
EVA Air entertainment selection
I do have to say that I thought some of the entertainment options had rather… unusual names? I’m guessing this might be a case of “lost in translation.”
EVA Air entertainment selection
EVA Air entertainment selection
While the entertainment selection isn’t amazing, EVA Air does have Wi-Fi on their 787-9s, which is pretty good.
EVA Air 787-9 Wi-Fi
Unfortunately, EVA Air charges based on data usage rather than time for Wi-Fi, but the pricing isn’t that bad:
- Buy 30MB for $4.95
- Buy 100MB for $14.95
- Buy 300MB for $29.95
EVA Air 787-9 Wi-Fi pricing
I decided to purchase the 300MB pass, which lasted me the entire flight.
EVA Air 787-9 Wi-Fi pricing
About 10 minutes after takeoff I decided to visit the lavatory, and on the way back snapped a picture of the cabin. Oddly EVA Air pilots never seem to turn off the seatbelt sign, but rather it’s just on by default. Then when it gets bumpy they just make an announcement telling you to take your seat.
EVA Air 787-9 cabin
Business class had three lavatories — two behind the cabin, and one in front near the cockpit. They were pretty standard for the 787, though did have a few amenities.
EVA Air 787 lavatory
EVA Air 787 lavatory amenities
Soon after takeoff, the dinner service began. The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows:
As far as I’m concerned, EVA Air has the best drink selection of any airline in business class. Veuve La Grande Dame 2006, Fiji, San Pellegrino, iced coffee, and cappuccino? Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.
About 30 minutes after takeoff tablecloths were distributed, and five minutes later drinks and canapés were served.
My martini, unfortunately, was not amazing. I’m not sure how exactly I was supposed to reach the olives at the bottom of the glass? The canapé consisted of ham and horseradish on rye bread, and gorgonzola and olive.
EVA Air business class dinner — amuse bouche
About 50 minutes after takeoff the full table setting was brought out, which I thought was beautiful, including the little tray with a bread basket, butter, and olive oil.
EVA Air business class dinner — table setting
At this point, I also switched to the fabulous 2006 La Grande Dame.
EVA Air business class Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2006
About five minutes later I was served the appetizer, consisting of crab meat and avocado salad timbale with chive oil. It was excellent.
EVA Air business class dinner — appetizer
10 minutes later I was served a caramelized pea soup, which I also enjoyed.
EVA Air business class dinner — soup
Next up was a salad which had a bit too much dressing for my liking, but was otherwise flavorful.
EVA Air business class dinner — salad
The main course was served about 75 minutes after takeoff. For this, I ordered the stir-fried prawn with cashew nuts, which was exceptional.
EVA Air business class dinner — main course
Lastly, I was offered a selection of cheese and fruit. I had a Mozart tartlet and a cheese plate.
EVA Air business class dinner — cheese plate & dessert
The entire meal service was done about two hours into the flight, and was really great. EVA Air is simply impeccable, from the service to the quantity of the food, to the quality of the food, to the drink selection. This is without a doubt one of my top three business class soft products out there.
At the conclusion of the meal, I was ready to get some rest, and the flight attendant provided me with turndown service, which consisted of placing a mattress pad on the seat.
EVA Air business class bed
EVA Air has excellent bedding, including a plush pillow and a very thick blanket. The blanket is comfortable, but the downside is that it’s also warm, and since EVA keeps their cabins warm, that can be slightly problematic.
EVA Air business class bedding
EVA Air 787-9 business class bed
By the time I was ready for bed we had about 7hr20min remaining to Bangkok, and were flying near Turkey.
Airshow enroute to Bangkok
I loved EVA Air’s mood lighting, including the “stars” they have on the ceiling.
EVA Air mood lighting
I got a solid three hours of sleep, and woke up with just over four hours remaining to Bangkok.
Airshow enroute to Bangkok
Upon waking up I ordered a cappuccino… mmmm. EVA Air makes some excellent cappuccinos.
EVA Air business class cappuccino
I then ordered an iced coffee. Other than Austrian, EVA Air is the only other airline I know of to have iced coffee, and I absolutely love that they do.
EVA Air business class iced coffee
I’d note that between meals service was definitely more reactive than proactive. However, that might be my design, in order to minimize disruptions in the cabin. When I pushed the call button, flight attendants appeared within seconds.
I spent some time on my laptop working, and before I knew it was just over two hours from landing in Bangkok, at which point the cabin lights were turned on for the pre-landing service.
Moving map enroute to Bangkok
First I was offered a warm towel, and then about 1hr45min before landing the starter was served.
The starter consisted of fresh fruit, muesli, and yogurt with granola, and I was also offered a selection from the breadbasket. Unlike the dinner service, food was served on a tray, rather than directly on the tray table.
EVA Air business class breakfast
I had a regular cup of coffee to go along with breakfast.
EVA Air business class coffee
For the main course, I ordered the poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, which I enjoyed.
EVA Air business class main course
As we approached Bangkok I decided to watch a show called “Vogue: My Sponsored Life,” which was interesting enough.
EVA Air entertainment selection
At 9AM Bangkok time the captain announced that we’d be descending in five minutes, and would land at 9:35AM. A few minutes later the purser passed through the cabin to thank each passenger for flying with EVA, and to offer them some candy.
I selected one piece of candy off her tray, though she said “take more, you have to try them all,” and then she grabbed a bunch and put them next to my seat. LOL.
EVA Air pre-landing candy
We had a smooth descent, and touched down at 9:45AM after some vectoring.
EVA Air map enroute to Bangkok
View approaching Bangkok
View approaching Bangkok
We had a 10 minute taxi to our arrival gate.
Thai Airways 777 Bangkok Airport
The immigration lines were insane (as is the case too often in Bangkok), though fortunately, I had access to the fast track lane, which saved me a bunch of time.
EVA Air 787 business class bottom line
EVA Air business class is spectacular, especially when it comes to the soft product. EVA has great service, incredible amenities, top-notch food and drinks, Wi-Fi, good bedding, and more. This is without a doubt one of my five all-time favorite business class products out there.
I was at first skeptical of EVA Air introducing staggered seats on their 787-9s rather than the reverse herringbone seats they have on their 777-300ERs, though these seats have definitely grown on me. While I wouldn’t say that I prefer the seats, I think I might feel equally favorable towards these staggered seats and reverse herringbone seats.
If you’ve flown EVA Air business class, what was your experience like?
@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...
@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!
@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...
@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.
@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?
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.
@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...
@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!
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?
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.
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.
@Lucky, I believe the safety demo was performed by the Cloud Gate Dance Company. They're quite famous in Taiwan and abroad.
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.
How on earth did you book a ticket on Eva? I’ve never seen miles availability on any of the *A carriers before
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.
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.
@Ben
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.
The fruit looked so good. All of the food in general actually.
Kelcy
Looks like a great flight with EVA. Food looks delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Comments being censored? hmmmm…….
Flying Thai to Bangkok huh? ^.^
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!
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
@BillC, I could not agree more! Took UA because Eva flight was cancelled during the recent strike :)
@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...
@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 ...
Olive juice you too...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDkJw7JfhEg
@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!
I saw a movie called "The Dude in Me" once. But it wasn't a comedy and it wasn't suitable airplane viewing.
@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 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?
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 :)
Did you try the Taiwanese Whiskey/ Serving Kavalan seems a little odd, but ......
Was this flight on the 9th by any chance? I might’ve seen you departing Vienna...
The wine list generally is really, really solid for business class.
There’s much more to the world of wine than champagne, Ben ;)
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...
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.
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.
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...
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.
@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.
What the hell is olive juice?
@Ethan, agree, it looks like crawdads, not Crab.
or, maybe crawdad/fish is commonly called 'River Crab' in some locales?
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.
Annnnnnd now we have begun the virtue signaling over bottled water. Good grief, when does it end?!
@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...
Nice whisky selection for business class.
@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……
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
It’s a nice touch from the best Taiwanese airline to offer authentic Austrian boiled beef.
@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!
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...
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.
@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.
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?
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...
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...
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
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.
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!
@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.
Is it just me, or does that "crab" meat look like Shrimp?
LOL
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
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!
Lucky, how many coffees did you have on that flight? Its nice being served Fiji water as opposed to the Dasani crap AA serves.
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...
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.
@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!
ANA also has iced coffee on the menu, at least in F
I do love a good Dirty Martini.
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!
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...
“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.
I heard that Safran/Zodiac is having issues getting the seats out to the customers in time
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.
Olive juice? Are you serious? Might as well have asked for water from the moon rather than the Fiji.