Eva Air Elite Class

[Flywithd]

Heaps more pics on my blog

I was always excited about flying Eva Air especially the Hello Kitty jet that operated from Los Angeles to Taipei and immediately booked the flight for my journey home from the states. What I didn't realise was that Hello Kitty jet only operated on certain days and to my luck it was scheduled to operate the day after my flight. I was in the departure terminal and made my way towards the dedicated Eva Airlines check in counters to which there were no queues and was processed very efficiently by ground crew.

I was booked in economy and asked for the bulkhead which was notoriously guarded and only available when asked at the airport to which my agent asked her supervisor to release seat 45C for me. I decided to ask her how much an upgrade to Elite class was to which she said was $430US which had me hand over my credit card as she tore up my economy boarding pass and handed me a new boarding pass with seat 26D.

The charriot to Taipei.

I made my way through security and to my luck I went in before a massive group of Chinese mainlanders occupied nearly half the hallway behind me. Security clearance took roughly 25 minutes and before I knew it I was inside the new departure terminal which was very impressive and beautiful.

About to board.

It was near boarding time so I made my way towards gate 154 where people began queueing as ground staff checked boarding passes and policed the priority lanes as I was directed into the zone 1 lane. Boarding commenced a few minutes after as I made my way down the aerobridge and onto the twin aisle boeing past Royal Laurel and into Elite class.


I made my way towards row 26, stored my luggage and made myself at home as I watched passengers board and make their way further down south. The seats were comfortable to sit on and had heaps of padding which was desirable for this 13 hour flight.

Twin window seats.

Seeing that passengers were trickling onto the plane I hopped into 26A to snap a few pics of the wing and engine before returning back into my seat and continued to people watch and wonder who would be sitting next to me.

Inseat power and life vests.

Today I was flying the old Elite class which featured in seat power but no USB outlet. When reclined, the seat had a really short legrest which made it really awkward and hard to get into a comfortable position to sleep in comparason with Cathay Pacific's premium seat. The legroom was spacious and sufficient to spread out although theres the IFE box located under seats D&F which restricts legroom.

 

[Flywithd]

As I sat in my seat Zoe began handing out water bottles just before doors closed. I think that having a bottle of water inflight is one of the best things to esnure comfort as well as hydration. I had the seat beside me free to which I like to spread out my items. In the seat pocket were slippers and an amenity kit which contained a lipbalm, body lotion and dental kit which was in a pencil case by Thann.

An announcement in Mandarin and English was announced before one in Vietnamese which caught me by surprise to which I realised that there were many Vietnamese passengers on board which brought a smile to my face, the only airline that spoke Vietnamese that I've flown on was Vietnam airlines. I guess there was a large supply and demand on this route so it's the little things that make a big diffrence.

Amenity kit contents. I really like the Thann lipbalm and products which has a very relaxing smell.

The water bottle.

Heaps of in seat prints which was stored in a plastic pocket.

A video of Taiwan was shown on screen as the twin aisle jet pushed back and taxied out towards the runway, this was goodbye and good night to Los Angeles while Cabin lights were dimmed before we got clearance for take off as the engines ensured we penetrated the sky in a powerful manner.

The seat belt sign was switched off as Zoe handed out the menu for the flight which also featured Vietnamese. Another flight attendant named Hang followed to ensure she spoke with Vietnamese passengers who were connecting in Taiwan enroute to Vietnam and ensure them she and another Vietnamese colleague were onboard and ready to assist if needed.

The curtians separating all classes were drawn as the crew prepared the nescessities for the flight. Nuts and a serviette was handed out while crew stocked up the magazine rack on the wall behind row 27. Eva air was charming and my love for this airline was really growing as we began to cross the pacific ocean towards Taiwan, the service was superior and way more attentive than any other Asian airline I've experienced . I studied the menu and locked in my decision to go with the Chinese style items.

When walking in the economy cabin I noticed that Eva air also had slippers for passengers in economy which made me think highly of this airline, I do enjoy flying with Asian airlines as service and crew are always willing to go the extra mile and the attention to detail is impeccable. The cabin lights was turned up as meal service began as I sat and waited for Zoe until she arrived at my row and hand me an Evergreen special coughtail before placing down my meal tray. The meal tray was piping hot and substantial for a night flight which was also served in plastic ware. The meal had an extra side dish in comparason with economy which was tasty.

Pork and funghi salad and stewed beef with daikon, the quality and taste was perfect which went well with the rice.

Trays were cleared not long after service and I decided to stretch and head to the bathroom before the rush before sleep. There are two restrooms for Elite class and were kept spotless throughout the flight although crew didn't really police the restrooms as passengers from economy used them from time to time which was really inconveninet as we began to approach Taiwan.

 

[Flywithd]

As I exited the restroom a show of lights began as the mood lighting was switched on in beautiful hues of pink, purple and orange which lasted for roughly five minutes. The mood lighting would randomly come on during the duration of the flight which was entertaining and annoying when it stopped.

I really, really love moodlighting.

As I sat in my seat Zoe went by and did a water run so I handed her a order form for inflght duty free to which she handed it over to the flight attendant who was looking after purchases. Even though I didn't get a chance to fly on Kitty a plane model would do for now.

Zoe walked by and saw I was playing with the figurine so a conversation sparked up between us which she concluded by searching the plane high and low for some memorabilia which turned out to be playing cards, childrens toys and a postcard of Eva's flagship 777.

I suddenly awoken from my nap and went for a walk towards the back of the plane where I could smell breakfast in the oven. It came to me and I suddnely realised that Eva employs an all female crew, and a matter of fact that my crew on board were all beautiful women. The purser looked flawless as her large cartoon eyes stared a me while she asked me if I wanted anything to which i paused and asked for water, I wanted water to which she giggled as she handed over a bottle.

Zoe came down soon after and handed me a pink Kitty pen to which she said "I tried my best to find you a Kitty gift" and suggested I head back to my seat as breakfast was about to be served.

A shot from R8 as we enter Asia.

As I return to my seat and begin to tidy up my stuff Zoe walks by and delivers my meal tray before serving the cabin which was a nice gesture as I was starving. I went with the Asian option which was chicken congee and fish floss. The congee was tasty and delicious which had perfect flavour and wasnt too bland or salty. The side dishes were tasty although dinner's sides had more quality and was more filling.

Trays were cleared for the last time as we got closer to Taiwan, twelve hours of flight time had passed and there was less than an hour to go as the plane came alive. Passengers were shuffling around the cabin and queues for the restroom began. I'd already flipped through three of the magazines in the seat pocket and moved my attention to the magazines at the back of the cabin which was stocked when the seatbelt was turned off.

The ever so familiar descent announcement came on as cabin crew opened the curtains which separated cabins while other crew ensured all seats were in the upright position. An announcement in Vietnamese came over suggesting any passengers who were confused and needed help connecting at the airport to alert staff. Zoe made her way dwon from the front with a basket of Eva branded candy which she suggested I tried both of them. One was a zesty lemon and other was a herbal minty candy.

We glided and smoothly touched down into Taiwan and taxied towards our gate. It was a while before the jetbridge connected to the doors so crew once again drew the curtains so passengers could de board by class. Before I could say thank you to Zoe the whole Elite cabin was busy as passengers stood and congested the aisles. Zoe was blocking economy class so I turned around and our eyes caught to whuch she gave a smile and little nod as a sweet farewell as I made my way towards the Garden lounge.

I enjoyed my flight with Eva Air as crew and the expereince ensured I would continue to fly with them when possible. I beleive the crew can make or break a flight and in this instance they made the flight a enjoyable one as 13 hours seemed to fly by ever so fast.

 

[samh004]

Sounds like a really good flight, although those seats don't look too appealing, perhaps I've become spoiled

 

[boomy]

The service on Eva is one of the best in the air. They just seem to get it right with paying attention to the little things that other airlines often miss.

 

[UP4014]

Nice report, always good with some photos. (disappointed not to see one of Zoe!)

Have never flown Eva but good to read they look after all the passengers.

Matt

 

[yohy?!]

the food looks very good, generous amount too

 

[Flywithd]

Eva air really surprised me during the flight, as they are fairly new they seem to know what they're doing to ensure they are playing the right game with the other asian airlines.

It was a really good flight as well as crew were fantastic as they would always smile when they walked past you and always checked up on you!

The food was tasty for what it was and food portion was filling! The tray was massive when Zoe put it in front of me as I'm use to the small trays on other airlines.

It's sad to experience all that to then return on western airlines and being able to see the differences.

 

[get me outta here]

Thanks for the TR, brings back fond memories. I did get 2 Hello Kitty flights and ended up with a few little mementoes. The lounges in TPE have some good food too, but I found the one for elite travellers terribly over cooled.

Eva air really surprised me during the flight, as they are fairly new they seem to know what they're doing to ensure they are playing the right game with the other asian airlines.

It was a really good flight as well as crew were fantastic as they would always smile when they walked past you and always checked up on you!

The food was tasty for what it was and food portion was filling! The tray was massive when Zoe put it in front of me as I'm use to the small trays on other airlines.

It's sad to experience all that to then return on western airlines and being able to see the differences.

 

[yohy?!]

which aircraft type were you on? had a look at seat guru and it seems like elite pitch should be 38" across most types that have it, does that sound right? It looks a bit tighter in the photos.

 

[Flywithd]

Thanks for the TR, brings back fond memories. I did get 2 Hello Kitty flights and ended up with a few little mementoes. The lounges in TPE have some good food too, but I found the one for elite travellers terribly over cooled.

Did you purposely book the Kitty flights or was it just random luck that you were on them? It was a weird lounge experience at TPE as the Garden and Infinity are opposite each other although I got directed into the Garden and enquired about the Infinity to be told that I could only access the Garden. I moved into the Infinity lounge afterwards and the dragon didn't batter an eyelid.

The food in the lounge was good quality as well as they had a wide variety which I enjoyed especially the ice cream, dumplings and the fridge stocked with random drinks!

which aircraft type were you on? had a look at seat guru and it seems like elite pitch should be 38" across most types that have it, does that sound right? It looks a bit tighter in the photos.

I was on their old configured 773. The 38" pitch seat back to in front was about spot on although the seat width is only 19.5 across which is slightly more than what CX are offering. The BR Elite seat was comfy when in the upright position but things changed when trying to sleep. I found the best way to sleep was just to have the seat reclined with leg rest in neutral position.

 

[get me outta here]

It was random as I was on a USDM to GUM extravaganza.

I wanted to change to an earlier flt TPE -HKG but they wouldn't let me change and sweetly genuinely thought that another 4 hours in the lounge more than be made up by travelling on the Hello Kitty plane.

Yep, good food, but the temp was about 5C in the lounge. And, the kitchen staff use the guest loos where one can see that food handlers are not washing their hands for more than 3 seconds - you know the 'rinse will be adequate' style. I quietly mentioned to the lounge manager that a bit of retraining may be in order as after all a breakout of something nasty would not be too good for their reputation.

Did you purposely book the Kitty flights or was it just random luck that you were on them? It was a weird lounge experience at TPE as the Garden and Infinity are opposite each other although I got directed into the Garden and enquired about the Infinity to be told that I could only access the Garden. I moved into the Infinity lounge afterwards and the dragon didn't batter an eyelid.

The food in the lounge was good quality as well as they had a wide variety which I enjoyed especially the ice cream, dumplings and the fridge stocked with random drinks!

 

[Flywithd]

Nice report, always good with some photos. (disappointed not to see one of Zoe!)

Have never flown Eva but good to read they look after all the passengers.

Matt

Heres Zoe. She was a real stunner, I remember when she knelt down and placed my breakfast tray with a gorgeous smile, she had this shimmery lipstick on that made her resemble an angel with the mood lighting behind her. I forgot to mention her crew ranking was Purser so the attention and care from here was top notch

 

[Flywithd]

It was random as I was on a USDM to GUM extravaganza.

I wanted to change to an earlier flt TPE -HKG but they wouldn't let me change and sweetly genuinely thought that another 4 hours in the lounge more than be made up by travelling on the Hello Kitty plane.

Yep, good food, but the temp was about 5C in the lounge. And, the kitchen staff use the guest loos where one can see that food handlers are not washing their hands for more than 3 seconds - you know the 'rinse will be adequate' style. I quietly mentioned to the lounge manager that a bit of retraining may be in order as after all a breakout of something nasty would not be too good for their reputation.

I didn't see any staff using the loo's which was good but I would of done the same thing in that case. I adore the shower suites in their lounge though, It was like a water fountain with so many water outlets.

I had 4 hours between my flights as well so I walked around the terminal which was interesting with the different and unique gate designs. A favourite of mine was the express line for transit as it was a massive queue. A flash of the zone one boarding pass or *A card and it was straight to the front