Booking The Trip: A (slightly crazier) Southeast Asian Path to India
Review: P.F Changs LAX (Priority Pass Restaurant)
Review: EVA Air 777-300ER Premium Economy Class Los Angeles to Taipei
Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Taipei Terminal 2 Zone A
Review: UNI Air A321-200 Economy Class Taipei to Seoul Incheon
Review: The Millenium Seoul Hilton
Trip Photos: A Day and a Half in Seoul
Review: Korean Air First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon
Review: Korean Air 777-300ER Kosmos Suites First Class Seoul Incheon to Bangkok
Review: Le Meridien Suvarnabhumi Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa
Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Bangkok
Review: Miracle Business Class Lounge Concourse G Bangkok
Review: Malaysia Airlines 737-800 Business Class Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur
Review: Malaysia Airlines Satellite Golden Business Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur
Review: Kuala Lumpur A330-300 Business Class Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai
Review: SpiceJet 737-900ER SpiceMax Pune to Goa
Review: Air India A321-200 Economy Class Goa to Mumbai
Review: Air India A320Neo Economy Class Mumbai to Bengaluru
Review: Air India A319-100 Economy Class Bengaluru to Mumbai
Review: GVK International Business Class Lounge West Wing Mumbai
Review: Singapore Airlines 777-300ER Business Class Mumbai to Singapore
Review: Crowne Plaza Hotel Singapore
Trip Photos: 8 hours in Singapore
Review: Singapore Airlines A380-800 NEW Business Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge Hong Kong
Review: United Club Lounge Hong Kong
Review: Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge Hong Kong
Review: Hong Kong Airlines Club Bauhinia Lounge Hong Kong
Review: EVA Air A330-300 Premium Laurel Class Hong Kong to Taipei
Review: EVA Air 777-300ER Premium Economy Class Taipei to Los Angeles
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Los Angeles to Taipei
YOUTUBE: UNI Air: Taipei to Seoul Incheon
YOUTUBE: Korean Air: Seoul Incheon to Bangkok
YOUTUBE: Malaysian Airlines: Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur
YOUTUBE: Malaysian Airlines: Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: SpiceJet: Pune to Goa
YOUTUBE: Air India: Goa to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: Air India: Mumbai to Bengaluru
YOUTUBE: Air India: Bengaluru to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Mumbai to Singapore
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Hong Kong
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Hong Kong to Taipei
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Taipei to Los Angeles
After a wild adventure through the SilverKris Lounge, the United Club, The Royal Orchid Lounge, and the Hong Kong Airlines Bauhinia Lounge, it was finally time to fly my flight to Taipei
Here’s a look at my beautiful plane taking me to Taipei this evening.
Boarding started with zone 1 which was Premium Laurel Class and Star Alliance Gold members.
I turned right into the Royal Laurel cabin which had 5 rows of seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. My seat was 10K, the back-most window seat on the right side. These business class seats are the same seats you’ll get on United’s 757s and 787s (until they are reconfigured), KLM, etc.
The seat cushion was alright and seatback padding was decent. This aircraft was retrofitted fairly recently so I’d say the seat will become more used and a bit softer as time goes on. Still, this is a really solid seat to have for a 1.5-hour flight without a doubt.
Unfortunately, there were no individual air nozzles, which is something I really wish to see in a flight. However, the cabin temperature was alright so thankfully that wasn’t a problem.
Here you can see 5 rows of seating. The cabin was actually quite empty. I’d say around half the seats were taken and that’s it.
The middle seats are more angled towards each other compared to the window side seats.
A short while after sitting, The in-flight cabin manager Debra came to introduce herself and she was absolutely phenomenal. I was so sad this was such a short flight as I would’ve loved to have her on a 12+ hour flight.
She asked what she should call me and I said Rohit is good, and she said Mr.Rohit it is! For pre-departure beverages, she offered me a choice of water, sparkling wine, and orange juice and I just went with water for the time being. It also came with a scented towel.
The rain in Hong Kong also made for some great views.
Ok, let me show you the seat features.
Over your left shoulder is a reading lamp and you can turn it on/off and adjust the brightness by turning the light itself clockwise and counterclockwise.
At roughly thigh-level is a fairly intuitive set of seat controls.
To the lower left side of the seat is where there was a water bottle kept there for the flight. The life vest is also down here.
In between both seats is a central console for use. Thankfully. I didn’t have a neighbor so I had the whole console just to myself.
To the right of the TV screen, was a coat hook.
The food cubby was fairly narrow, but if the seats are anything like United, then the bulkhead seats (row 6) should have a bigger footwell.
By your right side was a USB port, a headphone jack, and an HD TV remote.
And quite possibly the worst positioned cup holder. Oh I have this large central console right in front of me I could place my drink right there, but no let me place it in this cup holder way over my shoulder and far behind my seat and do a full 180 turn when I have to get it……….said no one ever.
On the other hand, there was a decent amount of storage space there.
Beneath the central console were two power ports, but both were for me today as I had no neighbor which was great.
A few minutes later, Debra came around with the wine and beverage menu.
Keep in mind my flight was operating during the strike, so as a matter of fact, I almost didn’t have a flight back to Los Angeles because both my flights were originally among the canceled flights. My flights were reinstated literally 3 days before flying.
So with the strike in place, there’s only one food option per Premium Laurel Flight, so there was no menu. I guess the drinks menu was still in full swing. Debra apologized a lot for the lack of choices and asked to confirm I was ok with the Seafood spaghetti which was the only choice there was. I was fine with it. Though I’d note if anyone vegetarian travels with EVA, make sure to book a vegetarian meal in advance. This isn’t like Etihad where the menu on each flight guarantees at least one vegetarian option. Often times, none of the menu items with EVA will be vegetarian.
The menu was quite decently stocked with drink choices for the hour.5 flight.
Just before pushing back, another crew member came around with newspapers.
Eventually we began our pushback and engine start.
After waiting for an Air China to leave, it was our turn to takeoff.
The views were awesome during our climb.
About 5 minutes after takeoff, the seat belt signs were turned off. At this point, Debra came to my seat and asked if I was finishing in Taipei or transiting and I said transiting to LA and also said to let her know if I needed anything. She was a phenomenal purser.
Another crew member came to set my table and the rest of the crew got to work very quickly. Given this was a 1.5-hour flight, timing was of the essence.
I really like EVA’s table cloths as they look really pretty.
Less than 10 minutes later, the crew brought around the meal tray. Recall there was only one choice on this flight due to the strike, so I had the seafood spaghetti. Everything was served on one tray.
The main course was ok. The spaghetti and shrimp were alright but the fish was way overcooked, the sauce was bland, ad the vegetables were decent. It wasn’t bad overall, it just wasn’t anything memorable.
The garlic bread was warm, soft, and had crispy edges which is exactly what I like.
There was butter in the shape of a nice star which I also enjoyed.
For dessert there was a sort of apple crumble cake with an orange peel on top. Remember, no menu, so I’m just basing this all off taste and what I see. The cake was pretty nice. It was soft, and the crumble had a nice sweet crunch to it which is what I like.
The fruits were fine and refreshing.
With my main course, I had sparkling water as usual.
The green tea that I had asked for “after the meal” came during the meal and towards the start too.
Trays were cleared quickly.
Overall, the meal wasn’t bad, but it could’ve been better. The main course wasn’t incredibly flavorful but it was ok. All other aspects of the meal and service was perfectly fine.
Another round of hot towels were given right after the meal.
And this is me, sitting under a cool towel, taking in the smell, and just thinking to myself, can this flight please last longer. 🙁
Now Debra came around with 4 different kinds of candy and offered me one and the conversation went like this:
Debra: “Would you like some candy?”
Me: “Sure, of course, I’ll take this one.”
Debra: “No! Take more!”
Me: “Ok I’ll take one of each then.”
Debra: “No! More!” *Puts a handful of candies on the central console*
What an awesome person to have on this flight.
Eventually we began our descent into Taipei.
We had a smooth touchdown onto runway 23L and a short taxi to our parking spot. Unfortunately, there was no gate as night time was peak departure time for US/Europe bound flights, so all the gates were loaded.
Here’s my plane though.
Overall, this was definitely one of my best short-haul flights. Debra and the crew played a big role in that. All the crew members taking care of me were great, but Debra was just next-level awesome and I can’t say enough. So there was definitely great service. The seat is unbeatable on a 1.5-hour flight. And let alone I had no neighbor as well which was great. The food was ok, but I’ll leave that due to the strike so probably not an everyday thing to expect from EVA. EVA is one of those airlines where if it presents itself on a particular route, I probably would pick them over any other airline in most cases and would happily fly again. And they are star alliance which helps too!