Eva Air has always been received high marks within industry, with its Royal Laurel business class among the best in the industry. Coupled with the fact my parents are both Taiwanese, I was excited to try world’s newest five star airline and see whether Eva Air could live up to its newly minted rating.
I ended up redeeming 93,000 ANA miles and $270, which allowed me to book a round trip ticket in business class on Eva Air from Paris to Manila, with a stopover in Taipei on the return flight next year.
I transferred 93,000 American Express points to ANA, which was earned with a single credit card sign up offer.
The ticket normally would have cost around $3500.
After an amazing ten day cruise around the Mediterranean with my family, it was time for me to head back to Asia. I arrived at Paris Airport around 90 minutes before departure and quickly breezed through the empty lines and checked in.
I quickly stopped by the recently opened Star Alliance lounge, which featured a large dining area and a separate quiet work area.
The lounge was packed as quite a few morning flights were leaving and had your typical cold spread of cereal and breads, with a few hot items. I decided to grab some French toast, which was delicious.
After a quick breakfast, I headed off to the boarding area. The flight was already boarding and I could see huge line forming outside the main gate. Fortunately, Eva Air has a completely separate gate for business class passengers and elite members.
I strolled through the empty gate and was welcomed by the flight attendant and shown to my window seat.
Eva Air is quite famous for its Hello Kitty Jets which features Hello Kitty themed livery, toiletries, slippers, and even meals.
Sadly, I was scheduled to fly on a regular Eva Air plane, but if you’re curious to get a glimpse of what the cabin typically looks like, here’s a full trip report of a short haul Hello Kitty flight in business class I took a couple years ago.
Unlike most airlines, all business class seats on the Eva Air 777 have direct aisle access with seats placed at an angle to maximize space.
The seats looked quite sleek and looked a bit like Cathay Pacific’s first class seat, but more compact.
Underneath there was a small amount of storage space available with plenty of legroom to stretch your legs.
On my seat was a set of pajamas and slippers. There also was a hard shelled Rimowa amenity kit, a first among airlines for business class passengers.
After a 45 minute delay, we took off and our patience was rewarded with a beautiful view of the French countryside.
As it was my first time flying long haul with Eva Air, I was quite curious to see what kind of champagne would be served. I was shocked the flight attendant came with a bottle of Krug, which is normally served for first class passengers on airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. The retail price for a bottle is usually around $250.
I cracked a huge smile and knew that this was going to be a good flight! While sipping on the honey nectar of the gods and eating my shrimp and salmon tartare canape, the flight attendant came back and took my lunch order.
The menus are printed in faux-gold and silver with the country of Taiwan in the middle surrounded by various native species. Its covers were beautifully designed by Grammy award nominated cover designer Xiao Qing-Yang.
Soon my food was ready and my table was made, with a similarly beautifully designed table cloth. First came the pan fried shrimp with fennel salad. The shrimp was a little dry, but still the dish was well presented and delicious.
I was then served parsnip soup with a few pieces of bacon along with a mixed salad with a yogurt dressing.
For my main course I had a few choices, but ended up trying the roasted guinea fowl with condiments.
Having never had the pleasure of trying this French delicacy, the fowl tasted pretty similar to a lean piece of chicken. The cherry tomatoes were perfectly cooked and I loved how the warm tomatoes burst into my mouth.
For desert I was served various pieces of fruit and a pair of Laduree macaroons.
Overall, the meal was fantastic and definitely a step above what is typically offered in business class. The meal service was efficient and the meals served with a smile. Throughout my meal, flight attendants rolled down the aisle with drinking carts, refilling up my now constantly empty glass with more Krug.
The sun was beginning to set and the cabin lights were dimmed as most passengers, including myself, began to fall into a food coma.
I decided to change into my pajamas and get a few hours of sleep. There are three bathrooms onboard for business class passengers and were quite spacious compared to the cramped bathrooms found in the back of the plane. Interestingly enough, the entire bathroom was covered in mirrors.
Mirrorception
They were all well stocked and cleaned through the flight, with actual small towels to dry your hand and various products from HARNN.
After changing into my comfy pajamas, a flight attendant came by and offered to hang my clothes for the remaining duration of the flight, which was an unexpected nice touch.
All business class seats on this flight are convertible to lay flat seat beds with a quick touch of the button. The seats are well designed with a cocoon like shell surrounding the seat to maximize privacy.
One minor flaw I found was the seat to be a bit uncomfortable on the back due to small gap in the middle of the seat. Eva Air does somewhat advertise a turn down service in which small mattress padding is provided, but it wasn’t provided on this flight. They did provide with a heavy blanket and a pillow to rest on. Nevertheless, I quickly fell asleep and woke up refreshed after 5 hours.
We were now in the middle of Asia and the sky was pitch black. The ceiling was lit up with a hundred stars and flight attendants were taking orders for a mid-flight meal snack.
I decided to order the sautéed beef noodles, which were on par to what you’d find at a local Taiwanese restaurant.
I also embraced my Asian side and also tried the onboard ramen, which were topped off with some green pak choy.
Ramen and Krug, not your typical food and drink combination
Afterwards, I watched a few movies and TV shows on the seat’s 15 inch retractable LCD TV. The provided noise cancellation headphones were more than enough to drown out any engine noise.
On the left side of the seat, the seat has a sleekly designed LED reading light, along with the standard power plug and remote control. Interestingly enough, there is also an USB and video input port.
Time flew by and soon the sun was rising up from the skyline and breakfast was served.
I chose a traditional Taiwanese breakfast meal, which was delicious and was quite similar to the ones that my mom cooked for me while growing up.
This was followed by another plate of fruit.
Soon after, we began our descent to Taipei as the sun shined through the clouds.
It was a rainy day in Taiwan but in the distance I saw a fabled Hello Kitty jet at the adjacent gate. Perhaps next time I’ll be lucky enough to experience it firsthand!
Overall my first flight on Eva’s Air Royal Laurel was absolutely fantastic. The soft product is amazing and the crew really went above and beyond to make me feel at home; not to mention the free flowing Krug, which is unheard of for business class. The semi enclosed lie flat seat was well designed and the direct aisle access makes it much more convenient to get up and walk around. This was a true five star experience.
I’d honestly fly Eva Air business class over some international first class products, such as United. If every business class product was like Eva’s, it’s hard to justify spending a significant amount of money or miles to fly first class.
Up Next: Eva Air’s Futuristic Space Like Infinity Lounge
