I recently flew from Toronto to Taipei, Taiwan, by Eva Air on Business Class. This was the first leg of my four-nation, seven-city, 11-flight, almost 45,000 -kilometer vacation travel that lasted three weeks. I will be filing reports on my other flight experiences as well.
I was primarily visiting Australia and Papua New Guinea and used my Aeroplan Miles to book this flight. Because I wanted to take the Singapore Airlines Business Class long-haul flight, the Toronto-Taipei-Singapore-Sydney route was one of the best available.
Besides, taxes for Toronto-Taipei route was also very low - just over 50 Canadian dollars.
Second Trip with Eva Air
This moving map was recorded from Eva Air's entertainment system.
This is my second trip by Eva Air on the Toronto-Taipei route. In fact, this route by Eva Air was my first ever business class trip, so I was eagerly looking forward to this trip to see how Eva Air's services have changed within the last three years.
I have decided not to check in when I fly business class because it is not really worth. After all, the seat is already reserved and there is no scarcity for overhead bin space.
At the Airport
The Eva Air check-in counter was at the far-left corner of the Pearson Airport and there were staff who to show us the appropriate lanes for economy, business, Eva Air privileged class passengers etc. etc.
Sure enough, checking in was swift and after a brief stay at the Plaza Premium Lounge in the international section, I walked to the boarding gate.
As a business class passenger, I was in Zone 1 and two flight attendants welcomed me warmly to the aircraft.
Pampering Begins
As soon as I was seated, I was offered a choice of juice, water or sparkling wine and I went for the latter. It was Eva Air signature champagne Veuve Clickquot La Grande Dame 2006 edition. I don't have to say elegant the champagne was. It also came with a small slab of Godiva chocolate.
I also got the Rimova amenity kit. Almost the size of the headphone set box, the contents of this mini 'suitcase' was an improvement than from the last time three years ago.
A little later an attendant came by me to ask whether I want a medium or large-sized pajamas. I went for the medium-sized pyjama. Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the pajamas given during the 2014 flight but the 2017 version, made by the London-based designer Apujan, is much better with half button top.
A few minutes later, I got the menu.
Eva Air allows its business class passengers to pre-order meals online and I had used that opportunity to order their signature stir -fried lobster with seasonal vegetables and egg fried rice.
A few minutes later, I got the drinks menu, which was also pretty extensive. The attendant also wanted to know whether I wanted to be waken up during meal times.
The aircraft, a Boeing 777 was now taxing and one issue I noticed was that the attendants were very rigid about following the carrier's safety regulations: nothing heavy on the ledges; the TV panel should be in its base position etc., etc.
The flight took off on time.
The Eva Air Dining Experience
As expected, the flight attendants let loose Eva Air's dining experience about 30 minutes into the flight.
First came the drinks and the Prelude. I opted for the Royal Salute 21-year-old Single Malt Scotch and for the Prelude we had goose liver on pumpernickel, cheddar cheese with mango chutney on whole wheat toast, and assorted breads.
Then came another, really warm, hot towel, followed by the tablecloths. Then came the items 'from the bakery', followed by Hors d'oeuvre which was pan seared tuna and marinated herb shrimp with cranberry confit.
It was followed by the main dish.
The lobster was fresh, and did not give the taste of one frozen for too long. The fried rice was also tasty.
To water it down, I chose the 1837 Black Tea, apparently considered one of the luxurious tea brands in the world. The tea was intense with a host of fruity flavours.
About 90 minutes after the arrival of the first drink, the dinner experience was complete and I was a happy guy. Everything, from the tablecloth to the cutlery, was elegant and elegantly presented. The food was great.
The passengers began to doze off, work or watch movies.
I decided to work and kept myself hydrated with lots of green tea.
In between, I kept drinking green tea and later got a snack of stir-fried noodle with chicken in black pepper sauce. It was a fantastic snack to sate my hunger caused by the intense writing and the pressurized cabin.
BreakfastAs we approached Taipei, I had black tea, followed by a breakfast of Chinese plain porridge that came with assorted pickles and omelet.
Other Comments:
The Entertainment SystemThe Eva Air Entertainment System consists of movies, TV shows, games, duty-free shop, connectivity and, of course, the flight map.
There was a large number of movies - from English to Asian movies. In English the list ranged from the Wonder Woman to the Big Sick.
In the TV section, there were multiple episodes from a number of sitcoms, most of which I had not heard of; for example, Famous in Love, Ballers and Genius. There were also documentaries, such as the one about surfers going to icy Iceland or travel stories on Taiwan and Japan.
It was not the best entertainment system, and I had trouble getting the wired remote control sync with the big monitor, but one cannot complain either. In any case, I spent most of my time reading and working.
The SeatEva Air spares no effort in providing a very comfortable seat for the almost sixteen-hour flight. As expected the seat can be reclined to anything between 90 and a full 180-degrees. The cushion and the pillow made the small nap I had very cozy.
The Pyjamas - An Improvement
The 2013 version was a v-neck top; and both parts were of purple colour. This time I got a half-button top with a black top and a grey on black bottom. The texture was also an improvement.
All in all, the flight was a memorable experience. I also flew by Eva Air from Taipei to Singapore on business class and the review will follow shortly.
Watch the Movie of this journey.
