In this blog post, I will do an EVA Air Business class review from my most recent flight going from Vancouver to Taipei and then to Ho Chi Minh.
Back story before the EVA Air Business Class review
The way my girlfriend and I travel is usually backpacker style. We aren’t very fancy and we tend to joke that we are peasant travellers. Despite that fact, we manage to scrounge up enough Aeroplan miles to book an epic Aeroplan mini-RTW business class starting in Canada and going to Asia, Africa, Europe, and ending back in North America. You can read this blog post on how I did that booking.
Strangely enough, I’ve been on a First Class long haul flight before going on my first long haul business class flight. It is also my girlfriend’s first ever business class flight in her whole life. In one of my previous blog post, I already ranked EVA Air as my #2 favourite airlines of all times. So I was both excited to fly on an EVA Air long haul business class flight AND because it’s also my girlfriend’s first experience flying business class.
Sufficient to say, I was beyond excited to go on this trip after booking this flight!
The day of the flight
Several hours before we were going to head to the Vancouver International Airport for the flight, Karen and I were feeling very anxious.
So many thoughts were running in our head about leaving our comfortable home to go venture off in a far away travel destination. We were about to leave on a 3 weeks trip going to Asia, Africa, Europe, then back home to Canada.
Overall, I just found it really weird that I was feeling very anxious, especially since I’ve travelled for over a year before and have visited 78 countries at the time of writing this blog post.
When Karen’s brother dropped us off at the YVR airport, our anxiety began diminishing. Going to the airport feels like home to me. Travel is one of my life’s passion and now that we’re only a few hours away from flying. Positive emotions started coming to me and Karen and myself started feeling more at ease as we head towards the security gate.
After going through immigration, our first stop is the Plaza Premium Lounge in the YVR Airport
Usually, I use the priority pass card to go to use airport lounges. However, one of the perks of flying in business class is that airlines will give you a voucher to go to a lounge. For our flight in EVA Air, we were given vouchers to enter the Plaza Premium lounge in the YVR airport.
The food in the Plaza Premium lounge was amazing, especially the lamb. However, we purposely didn’t overstuffed ourselves because we knew we were going to eat a ton of food once we board the plane.
EVA Air from YVR to Taipei
Priority boarding
Karen was shocked how easy the priority boarding was. She’s used to us lining up and trying to get in the plane as fast as possible so we don’t run out of overhead room to store our luggage. In business class, we simply went in without any stress and took our time storing our luggage in our own overhead luggage storage space.
Food and amenities
The food in the plane was fantastic. Except for the first appetizer they gave us which was weird. The rest was simply delicious. I personally really liked the bread they gave us, it was warm and fluffy and melted the butter I put in it. On each meal, we were served an appetizer, a main course (which we usually had three items to choose from – we chose the fish entree) and a dessert. The same goes for breakfast where we would typically be served a fruit platter, followed by an entree and then a dessert.
The amenities were really nice also. I personally liked the pajamas they gave us but the kit was a nice touch also.
Sleeping in the plane
Sleeping in planes is never easy. Even if you fly business class, sleeping is still difficult. The biggest benefit to sleeping in the EVA Air business class is that you can lay down flat. This saves your spine from having hours being compressed by the seat. You can also fully straighten your leg which prevents your hamstrings from getting tight and prevent lower back pain.
Washrooms
The washrooms in EVA Air Business Class was very spacious. I liked having a table in the washroom for my to change in and out of the pajamas and to take off (or put on) my contact lenses. Because it was in business class, they regularly cleaned the washroom also so it’s not so disgusting like in economy with pee all over the floor with so many passengers using the toilet.
Customer service
I would say that the customer service from YVR to Taipei is good. My only problem with the service is that it felt like professional politeness instead of an authentic service. It still beats the service they provide you in Singapore Airlines which, from my experience, felt really cold despite being professional.
Waiting in the EVA Air Infinity Lounge in Taipei
After a long 12-hour flight, we arrived in Taipei and hanged out in the EVA Air Infinity Lounge. It was a brutal 4 hour wait in the lounge with not much to do. The lounge was very crowded as tons of passengers flood in to get a place to sit and eat some food.
My favourite part of the lounge was the ability to use their showers. I took a nice long shower in there which killed some time while feeling a little bit refreshed after the long flight.
EVA Air from Taipei to Ho Chi Minh
Entertainment
I didn’t mention this earlier but the entertainment on both the EVA Air flights was great. They had a big selection of new movies to choose from; though, the long haul flight actually had slightly more movies than the short haul one.
I ended up watching three movies during the trip. They were: Spiderman Into The Spiderverse, Aquaman (entertaining despite the terrible acting), and The Mule.
Food
As usual, the food on the flight was great. I was just really full because I kept eating on both flights and from the lounge access. I definitely gained some weight upon reaching Nha Trang in Vietnam from all the over eating.
Customer service
I would say that the customer service for the short haul flight was actually a lot better! Maybe because the flight attendants were exhausted from the long haul flight that’s why they weren’t as authentic as the short haul flight. However, I definitely noticed the difference in the level of service with the superior one being in the flight between Taipei and Ho Chi Minh.
Conclusion to the EVA Air Business Class review
The EVA Air Business Class flight was really good. I definitely see the value in redeeming my points and miles on Business Class on long haul flights because it keeps you healthier than if you fly on economy. EVA Air also didn’t disappoint as the food, seats, and entertainment was just great.
I also liked that you can lay flat on the seats when it’s time to go to sleep. I’ve flown on other business class flights before such as TAM Airlines and you don’t usually get to fully lay flat during your flights.
Will I fly on EVA Air Business Class again? Yes, I definitely would! I’m quite happy with flying on EVA Air and they’re my definite go-to airline when redeeming flights going into Asia from Canada. As for my girlfriend, I think flying on business class finally convinced her to be more pro-active with earning points and miles after experiencing its benefits from our current trip! This will make it easier for me to convince her to sign up for credit cards to earn those valuable frequent flyer miles so we can fly on more epic business class flights like this EVA Air one.
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