It's an honor and privilege to enjoy the company of so many elite fliers in this community. I've been reading many great flight reports for a while now and I'm so trilled to take a flight in late January on a longish TPAC journey from Toronto to points in Asia and document it for you. I'm flying to join my spouse's family for their New Year celebration and also to visit several friends I haven't seen since high school. It'll be a fun, interesting journey so I'm glad you can join me for this adventure that will be documented over several episodes.
Over the past few years EVA Air has steadily opened up new flight segments in North America to Taipei and now serves IAH, JFK, LAX, SEA, SFO, YVR and YYZ so it's quite surprising that this will be the first FR with EVA from the US/Canada in Flight-Report. Let's begin our journey curbside in YYZ.
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Part 1: Toronto to Taipei (you're here).
We're dropped off curbside Terminal 1 by our friend around 10:00pm, more than 3 hours prior to departure as our friend has to make it to his night shift at work.
It's not too crowded at the curb. Before EVA joined Star Alliance it used to be at Terminal 3 where it had flights to TPE about the same time as CX (to HKG) and KE (to ICN) so it was a zoo with folks getting dropped off and a mess at the counters of all 3 airlines next to each other in the departure hall.
Present day: The sign shows EVA Air at aisle 13, its usual place. Even though the sign also show Emirates, Etihad, Sunwing and Jet Airways none have flights at this hour today, so our flight gets to enjoy the entire aisle.
You know you're almost there when you spot the smiling cardboard flight attendant.
With large immigrant communities from Vietnam and the Philippines in Toronto, BR 35 is a popular flight with many passengers connecting to MNL and SGN after it landed at TPE. BR timed the connecting flights so folks flying to MNL and SGN have only a short wait in TPE (my Vietnamese and Filipino colleagues at work almost always take this route when they visit their families back "home"); unfortunately BR 35 flies only 4 times weekly so the flights are almost always full, especially in Economy.
Turning back to our check-in process, the line for Economy Class is long, but the lines for Royal Laurel and Elite are quite short - perhaps due to the lower number of passengers, but also because this staff person in white shirt routinely directs passengers from Royal Laurel or Elite lines to one of the counters for economy class when their lines have more than 3 passengers in queue.
We are soon at the counter checking in…
…and received our boarding passes (image taken at a later time).
There used to be a security gateway to airside right by Aisle 13 but they have closed it. Now we have to make way to the middle of the terminal and go through security from there. Other than aisle 13 T1 is quite deserted at this time of the night.
Soon we came to this giant tank with floating plastic that's (in)famous for anyone going through security at gate E of YYZ Terminal 1.
A close-up of this display. I don't recall if there's any description explaining the idea of this display, but it appears to be quite popular (especially with kids).
It takes about 40 minutes to go through security. The lines are moving slowly and the agent wouldn't allow my 4 year old to keep the milk he has in his sippy cup. On the way to the gates we passed by a familiar sight mentioned frequently by Hometoyyz in his reports. Unfortunately we're just starting to get our FF program in order again so we won't be visiting any airline lounge yet.
The echo sculpture that greets all who is heading to our gate area.
There are some emptier areas but generally it's quite busy in our area with several TATL flights and as well as flights to South America.
I have some time until boarding; however with a four year old who's way past his bedtime and several carry-ons someone gotta watch over things. I can only wonder a short distance until I switch with Mrs. 3feetsnow who's thinking of visiting the duty-free shops for some omiyage.
The same smiling cardboard flight attendant at the entrance to the Plaza Premium Lounge that EVA direct its passengers to.
Some shots of the planes around ours. AC858, a 763 bound for LHR.
This is AC92, a 77W bound for SCL.
Where is our plane? Unfortunately it's blocked by the jetbridge of gate E77 so I'm not able to get a shot. After I took over from Mrs. 3feetsnow for guard and child-sitting duty I sit down and switched on my ipad and open the FR homepage. The wifi at Pearson is quite decent.
Shot of the FIDS taken on my way back from the washroom. As you can see our flight is the last one of the night. Next flight after ours is almost five hours later in the morning.
As the night wears on the waiting area becomes extremely crowded. Folks are starting to take up position on the corridors, perhaps in an attempt to jump into the queue as soon as your zone is called?
Boarding is called way past schedule. Boarding for each zone (1 to 5) is announced over the PA and it's strictly enforced - Zone 1 are the Infinity MileageLands Diamond holders, business class passengers, Star Alliance Gold members; these are followed by passengers on wheelchairs (more than a dozen on our flight) and passengers with babies/kids younger than 5; after that it'll be passengers in Elite class in Zone 2. Zone 3 started with passengers in Economy sitting towards the rear of the aircraft; passengers sitting at the middle, and the front of Economy class will be in Zone 4 and 5 respectively.
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EVA Air BR 35 Equipment: Boeing 777-35EER (B-16706, delivered February 9, 2007) Departure: 1:20am (ATD: 1:45am) Arrival: 4:21am (ATA: 6:07am) Flight time: 15:22
Our zone is called and we made our way down the jetbridge to the aircraft, where we are welcomed by two flight attendants at the door. Newspapers are offered on the jetbridge just off the airplane (not pictured). They check your boarding passes and directs you to turn right away or go past the galley to reach the aisle on the other side of the aircraft.
Quick picture of the Elite class cabin before it starts to fill up. FYI EVA's 77W's seating configuration is 1-2-1 for J, 2-4-2 for W and 3-3-3 for Y.
My row, still empty at this time. This aircraft is one of the oldest 77W in EVA's fleet and the Elite class still has the old bulky seats (I would experience the new Elite seat in my next segment). On each seat is a pillow and a blanket, note the water bottles wedged beneath the armrests. A pair of power outlets are between the seats (not shown).
The older Elite class seat comes with a 9 inch screen.
Legroom is quite acceptable with 38 inches of pitch.
Contents of the seatback: Safety card, headphones of above-average quality, slippers, amenity kit. I didn't have time to photograph the inflight magazine nor the duty-free shopping catalogue before my neighbor arrives.
In the meantime the rest of the passengers to board. As mentioned earlier it's a full flight - everyone has several pieces of hand-held luggage and the flight attendants took some time to find space in the overhead compartments for them. Several pieces of luggage ended up being very far from their owners.
The menu is then distributed. It has a nice, old-fashioned feel to it and it's printed on sturdy cardstock.
Food and drinks for this flight.
A flight attendant took to the PA system to welcome us to the flight. Besides the usual information such as the length of the flight, safety warnings etc she also mentioned our flight is code-shared with Singapore Airlines.
SQ hasn't flown to Canada for a long time. It used to fly to YVR via Seoul (terminated 2009) with a 744. Way back in 1991 it also used to fly to YYZ via Amsterdam or Vienna but when Canada cancelled the bilateral air service agreement (ASA) bewteen the two countries it forced SQ to give up the flight it started only a few months prior. In the meantime I could only dream of SQ returning to YYZ (maybe with the A350-900ULR? ^^).
Let's return to our flight. During taxi the safety video is played, I find it quite humorous.
We have to be de-iced but this time compared with my previous Asia-bound trips we don't have to wait and the process is completed quickly. We continued to taxi for a little bit and when we turned onto the runway the Captain gunned the mighty GE90s without stopping the plane at the threshold. During the climb the airplane vibrated and groaned quite a bit which is a bit unsettling, but things soon get settled down and we leveled off heading north.
I took the opportunity to visit the washroom before the service started.
It's your normal size washroom, nothing fancy but clean. A close-up of the products to clean and refresh yourself: Escents handsoap, facial mist, aroma mist and lotion.
For Marathon: diaper changing is a lady's responsibility.
Back at my seat. It's now past 2 am in Toronto and some passengers have dozed off. I'm tired but what's an FR without documenting the meals? The service starts with a refreshing towel.
I went with the roasted chicken with tyme demi sauce. The salad, appetizer and dessert is all served on one tray. For drinks I went with tomato juice and Taiwan Beer to go with my meal.
The chicken is quite good. The menu doesn't mention what's in the salad nor the appetizer but they're also pretty good, especially the appetizer with shrimp, smoked tuna and corn.
Soon everything on the tray is devoured.
The meal is concluded with a cup of hot tea.
As the cabin settled in for the remainder of the flight, here is a look at the remote. The use isn't required as the screen is the touchscreen type, but I pulled it out because when it's stowed on the side of the seat I inadvertently turned on the reading light or some other things on the remote.
At this time I noticed the lights in J cabin have been turned off and replaced by stars.
Soon the lights in the main cabin are also dimmed to allow the passengers to rest.
During the night our flight attendant periodically brought a tray with cups of water and orange/apple juice and offer to anyone she noticed is awake. She would also come around with a basket of snacks. The tuna salad bun (the "Leisure Delight" in the menu) is also offered sometime in the middle of the night. Unfortunately I have fell asleep and didn't obtain one.
About two hours before we land in TPE mood lightning is turned on to gently stir the passengers from their slumber.
We're just off the coast Jeju Island.
The breakfast service starts with another refreshing towel.
Breakfast trays are served from a cart.
I went with the western option. The omelette is not dry, which is good and I asked for orange juice and tea as drinks.
With some time left till we land I turned on the IFE. The interface is still the same from some years ago, although I would later discovered a much-improved version on a newer 777 with EVA.
Since I might not have time to finish an entire movie I browsed the TV shows section and happy to see Big Bang Theory is available. I haven't watch any from Season 9 yet but the old version IFE has only Episode 2 available.
I napped for a little bit following the TV show. Once we're near Taiwan all lights are turned on and curtains/partitions opened to prepare for landing. The curtains would be closed again after we landed to deplane following the priority order according to each cabin.
Not sure if it's due to airport congestion but we actually flew past Taoyuan to Hsin-chu before making a u-turn back north.
A short taxi after touchdown brought us to the gate. Everyone jumped into the aisle as soon as the plane stopped moving to grab their stuff from the overhead bins. We only have to wait a short while for the J cabin to be vacated and we make our way to the front of the plane. The purser and another flight attendant is standing by the front galley to thank us and bid us goodbye.
View of us getting onto the jetbridge.
It's quite a walk to reach the immigration counters. I think the common experience for many visitors to TPE immigration is that there are many counters opened for ROC citizens / residence permit holders and very few opened for "all other passports". Mrs. 3feetsnow has a ROC passport but it's expired so we have to line up for the counters for "all other passports" to use our Canadian passports.
Luckily for us the lines are not long due to the combination of: fewer flights at this early hour; most passengers from our flight are on transit to another flight therefore not passing through immigration; and we had to use the washroom so most the crowd had dissipated.
We made our way downstairs to the luggage carousel and our bags have already arrived. Do you remember that our flight is code-shared with SQ?
We then made our way past customs and onto meeting the car arranged to pick us up. We'll spend a few days in Taipei and then continue to our next destination. Stay tuned!
See more
Verdict
EVA Air
8.1/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering9.0
Toronto - YYZ
7.0/10
Efficiency6.0
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0
Taipei - TPE
7.5/10
Efficiency6.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0
Conclusion
Overall it's a solid flight by EVA. Even though the flight is full we still managed to be quite comfortable.
Cabin comfort: Good. I didn't feel the cabin is too warm nor too cold and the 38 pitch is appreciated. Aisle seat means I don't have to bother anyone if I need to use the washroom or walk the aisle to stretch. My seatmate is extremely quiet and polite.
(Addendum regarding the experience of EVA's premium economy cabin compared with other carriers) EVA is the first (or one of the first) airline to offer a premium economy cabin and it certainly is popular with travellers. More and more airlines now offer this cabin while doing away with F, or installing it as the fourth cabin. By paying a few hundred dollars more than Economy you have a seat with more width and bigger pitch; you get a separate cabin with your own washrooms (although size-wise it's identical to the ones in Economy); you received a small amenity kit and better quality headphones and you and your luggage enjoy a higher priority during embarkation/disembarkation. Everything else is the same as Economy - the choice of food and drink, plastic cutlery (thanks Jetsetpanda for pointing that out!), lack of pre-departure drinks and the same smaller screen for IFE. If I want to be really picky I can also mention the lack of individual, gooseneck-type reading lights and maybe a different seat cover design (and/or material) to differentiate it better from Economy.
Is it worth the extra dollars? Sure, but competition is heating up and the PE cabin of some carriers looks much more premium, while EVA's is looking a little more economy. The overall experience is still good, but perception is everything, right?
Crew: Very good. They're not vivacious like the SQ girls but they're friendly, professional and they walk the aisle frequently though the flight to check on passengers. All flight attendants on this flight are Taiwanese except one, who is Vietnamese.
Meal and catering: Very good. Food is not overcooked and I appreciate that an appetizer, salad, fruits and dessert is provided with the main. Water/juice and snack is offered frequently through the flight.
Entertainment: Good selection of films and shows even though the IFE is a bit outdated. EVA is updating its 777 cabins so it'll be a matter of time before we get better screens and interface. Newspapers offered and standard seatback literature. Headphones are of of above-average quality but not noise-cancelling.
On-time performance: We left 25 minutes late and arrived 1 hour and 46 minutes later than scheduled. A check with FlightAware shows this flight has seldom arrived on time in TPE. On most days the flight arrived between 5 & 6am and a few are really late (by 3+ hours). They probably should update the arrival time to better reflect the reality.
3 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
I did not remember that face on BR's cardboard FA; they must have changed their model lately.
Forty minutes to get through security in YYZ ? Seems as bad as in CDG. My experience in TPE is that the lines at immigration for non resident foreigners are usually long but rather fast.
Due to the prevailing winds direction, take-off/landings are usually on Runways 5L/5R, so it is no surprise that the aircraft flew past the airport before aligning.
I'm surprised that the plane's delay increased 1h21' on the way, although de-icing at departure was quick and there was no holding pattern at arrival. How could that be ?
Overall, this seems a very convincing hard and soft product.
You were an attentive reader before posting your first report : it is complete, including a friendly wink for me on this Taiwan bound flight ;)
Thanks for sharing, and a warm welcome among the website's contributors !
Hello Marathon! I found this site by the way of one of your FRs when I googled something about a flight in Taiwan. Your FRs to/from Taiwan and China are almost legendary and I thank you for your warm welcome!
Seems as bad as in CDG - Touché! at least there's no immigration checks when you're outbound from Toronto, otherwise it might take an hour!
- Thank you for the information about wind direction, now I know why my previous flights to Taiwan have always landed from the south even if we're coming from the north.
'm surprised that the plane's delay increased 1h21' on the way - Maybe I have to clarify. I don't think the delay is made worse on the way; rather I feel EVA scheduled the flight too short on paper so even with good winds the flight would have a hard time reaching TPE earlier than 5 am. When you factor in the additional delays caused by late arrival of the plane from TPE on the outbound flight, typical boarding issues, de-icing etc it just exacerbate the delay even more.
including a friendly wink for me on this Taiwan bound flight ;) - Haha I think you certainly left an impression in the FR community! It sounds weird but I do take more notice of signs of washrooms, playgrounds and tape measure nowadays - they all remind me of you. ;)
Please do have a read of the addendum in the summary about the cabin experience and thanks very much again for your comment!
Thanks for sharing this report with nice pictures and welcome to the site! I like YYZ placing different art pieces and makes itself stylish. BTW you boarding in Zone 1? Although it is an old Premium Economy seat, it looks comfortable since you have a good sleep on flight (and your kid not disturbing you ;) ) The catering looks decent and tasty. I assume the first one would be supper but turn out that it is a full meal! Look forward to your next report!
Hello ashleyyau, thank you for the welcome and I'm very glad to know someone like you who has the same, special connection with Taiwan and Singapore and I've enjoyed reading your FRs! (How special? you'll see that in the next segment! ^^)
I like YYZ placing different art pieces and makes itself stylish - Yes YYZ (especially Terminal 1) has come a long way in terms of decor but it's still far, far below Changi Airport.
BTW you boarding in Zone 1? - Yes due to our 4 year old we can join the tail-end of Zone 1; but this special treatment that extends to toddlers only happened in YYZ; We're in Zone 2 boarding at other airports during our trip.
you have a good sleep on flight (and your kid not disturbing you ;) ) - He's too excited (about planes and in his words it's a BOEING 777-300ER by EVA!!!) and then too tired to be much of a disturbance. We're also well-prepared with his toys, snacks and the Ipad just in case he's bored. ^^
I assume the first one would be supper but turn out that it is a full meal! - Yup I'm surprised too, but I don't mind having a full stomach even though it's 2am local time.
Please do have a read of the addendum in the summary about the cabin experience and thanks very much for your comment!
Welcome and thank you for sharing this detailed and informative FR.
BR's Premium Economy product looks compelling enough to give it a try. After all, it was one of the first carriers that championed the Y+ concept. Your nice pics give us a better sense of what this cabin entails.
Catering seems great with a good assortment of side dishes in each meal. I see a glass for drinks but the lack of metal utensils is somewhat disappointing. Other Asian carriers even use metal cutlery in Y.
Hello Jetsetpanda, I've enjoyed your many well-written FRs and thank you for the welcome! ^^
BR's Premium Economy product looks compelling enough to give it a try. After all, it was one of the first carriers that championed the Y+ concept. - Yes it's a good, solid product although competition is really heating up for this cabin class. Please do have a read of the addendum in the summary about the cabin experience.
I see a glass for drinks but the lack of metal utensils is somewhat disappointing. - Oops the glass is also plastic! (does it make BR's PE product less compelling to try?)
Oops the glass is also plastic! (does it make BR's PE product less compelling to try?) - Oh forget about it then. I can only drink wine from a glass. :P Seriously though, I have been curious about BR's Y+ for quite some time. It's just that I have never had a chance to try it. Now that CI also offers Y+ on their new 773's, it has become harder to choose which one to try first.
Well I didn't know that Eva Air flies from Toronto. There are so few asian airlines from eastern Canada. I know that chinese community is huge in Ontario but not from Vietnam and Philippines.
Eva Air was one of the first airline to introduce Premium Economy class product and I must admit that it is quite good. Too bad though about the plastic cutlery and glass.
Hello Indianocean. There are so few asian airlines from eastern Canada. -You're absolutely correct and on most of the TPAC routes the airline flying that particular route has the monopoly; maybe the Canadian market is too small to be enticing enough? It'll be a good competition if JL flies the YYZ-NRT route or CI flies the YYZ-TPE route.
Thanks for the trip report, and for the shout-out!
I love this flight, despite it's pretty-god-awful departure time. One of my first big redemption adventures was taking this flight, doing a free transit tour in Taipei, onwards to Singapore on SQ, staying a night, and then back the same way (minus the transit tour.)
Very cool to see what BR is doing in PE. It looks like a decent product, even if the seat is getting a little long in the tooth, and the catering looks good, especially given that I consider EVA's catering its weakest point.
It may lack the intimacy of the typical 20-odd seat PE cabin that seems to be the way many carriers are going, but I do like that larger 56- or 64-seat Elite cabins EVA puts in their 77Ws. I don't think they're struggling to fill it either.
Sigh.... must fight the urge to search for availability in the next two weeks...
Again, great flight report, and welcome to (contributing to) the site!
Thanks for sharing this wonderfully detailed first report! It's nice to see more and more fellow North Americans posting reports.
I had totally forgotten that EVA flew to YYZ. Thanks for the reminder. What a long flight! I've done a similar route DTW-HKG on DL before...17.5 hours!
Unfortunately we're just starting to get our FF program in order again so we won't be visiting any airline lounge yet. - It only takes a few TPACs to get status...you'll have lounge access soon enough if you go to Asia often :-) I believe AC sells day passes no? Though that might get expensive when travelling with family.
however with a four year old who's way past his bedtime and several carry-ons someone gotta watch over things - You are a brave man to be doing such thorough reports travelling with a four year old! Hats off to you sir! And to your certainly patient wife :-)
You even got the traditional homepage screenshot! Nice!
It's now past 2 am in Toronto and some passengers have dozed off. I'm tired but what's an FR without documenting the meals? - You got it! I force myself to eat and drink all the time, haha. FR has turned me into a glutton ^^
I'm not a fan of EVA's cabin design choices, those greys and greens are very drab and kind of sad looking, it especially clashes and looks particularly surreal on the Hello Kitty flight. All that pink clashes with the sad grey haha. However, I will say that the seats look very comfortable and the catering in solid. The IFE is small on these older model seats, but I see they've upgraded the actual IFE system, as can be seen on the airshow.
BTW, I like your screen name...reminds me of the Snowzilla Blizzard we got at the end of January here in DC, where we had, 3 feet of snow, LOL. For Toronto, that must be an every day thing, haha.
What a long flight! I've done a similar route DTW-HKG on DL before...17.5 hours! - I'm waiting for you to do a JFK(?)-SIN on SQ once they got their A350-900ULR up and running! ^^
I believe AC sells day passes no? Though that might get expensive when travelling with family. - I believe they do...but no kid wants to be stuck in a lounge where adults just sit and maybe eat so it's not worth the expense.
You are a brave man to be doing such thorough reports travelling with a four year old! Hats off to you sir! And to your certainly patient wife :-) - Haha thanks! No kid is going to stop me from flying, and anyway one of the first words he spoke in his life is 東京国際空港 (Tokyo international airport in Japanese - he picked it up when he's watching some videos on airlines on youtube on my Ipad) - he loves airplane and airports ever since so he's quite excited to fly. If the shopping is good the Missus could be quite patient. :P
I force myself to eat and drink all the time - Talk about the sacrifice we do to produce a detailed, comprehensive FR! ;-)
those greys and greens are very drab and kind of sad looking - I find the design quite homey looking, like a grandmother's living room - you know, comfortable, comes with solid food offering but not terribly exciting.
I like your screen name...reminds me of the Snowzilla Blizzard we got at the end of January here in DC, where we had, 3 feet of snow, LOL. For Toronto, that must be an every day thing, haha. - Thanks again! T.O. isn't quite snowy enough and every time they warned us of blizzard we would have a whimper of snow. I invented the name when I was living in YQT - that place is surely cold and snowy half of the year and 3 feet of snow would be an understatement!
I totally envy you being able to fly on BR's Premium Economy for such a LONG flight! It might have been the older seats, but they definitely do look comfortable. And I am guessing I have tried these seats quite a lot when I used to fly BR between SIN and TPE (when I was much younger, now it's always the LCCs). Thanks for your report and I look forward to more! I especially want to see BR's new product in Premium Economy.
when I was much younger, now it's always the LCCs) - But you're also flying VN & MH to TPE right? these are not quite LCCs...is there another reason besides price?
I especially want to see BR's new product in Premium Economy. - Hopefully I can get my next FR published soon, stay tuned! ^^
Flying VN and MH were definitely because of the cheaper prices. But other than those, I actually flew quite a bit on 3K (Jetstar Asia) and TZ (Scoot) between SIN and TPE, and these flights were before I got into the habit of writing flight reports!
But right now, I think I have slowly became a relatively loyal oneworld frequent flyer and thus I always spend a lot of time thinking about all the mileage implications before I book a flight.
Thanks for you report again, looking forward to more!
Thank you for posting this flight report. It really brings back my childhood memory! My very first long-haul flight, first trans pacific flight. It was with EVA Air in 1994 in their famous Evergreen Deluxe Class from Jakarta all the way to Seattle. Back then EVA still operated its flight from Terminal 1 and the airport was still called Chiang Kai Shek airport.
I agree with you that the flight attendants of BR are very nice and warm and not super precise and 'perfect' ala SQ. In fact i think i prefer BR style over robotic SQ. Evergreen Deluxe class is definitely worth the extra dollar. Now, if only CX learns from BR how to properly position their premium economy product, it would be a hit too!
Anyway, thanks once again and I look forward for more of your adventure with your 4 year old :)
Thank you for the great report! I am taking the exact same route end of October, anyone knows if they have/will update their PE with the new seats for this route?
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18 Comments
Forty minutes to get through security in YYZ ? Seems as bad as in CDG.
My experience in TPE is that the lines at immigration for non resident foreigners are usually long but rather fast.
Due to the prevailing winds direction, take-off/landings are usually on Runways 5L/5R, so it is no surprise that the aircraft flew past the airport before aligning.
I'm surprised that the plane's delay increased 1h21' on the way, although de-icing at departure was quick and there was no holding pattern at arrival. How could that be ?
Overall, this seems a very convincing hard and soft product.
You were an attentive reader before posting your first report : it is complete, including a friendly wink for me on this Taiwan bound flight ;)
Thanks for sharing, and a warm welcome among the website's contributors !
Seems as bad as in CDG
- Touché! at least there's no immigration checks when you're outbound from Toronto, otherwise it might take an hour!
- Thank you for the information about wind direction, now I know why my previous flights to Taiwan have always landed from the south even if we're coming from the north.
'm surprised that the plane's delay increased 1h21' on the way
- Maybe I have to clarify. I don't think the delay is made worse on the way; rather I feel EVA scheduled the flight too short on paper so even with good winds the flight would have a hard time reaching TPE earlier than 5 am. When you factor in the additional delays caused by late arrival of the plane from TPE on the outbound flight, typical boarding issues, de-icing etc it just exacerbate the delay even more.
including a friendly wink for me on this Taiwan bound flight ;)
- Haha I think you certainly left an impression in the FR community! It sounds weird but I do take more notice of signs of washrooms, playgrounds and tape measure nowadays - they all remind me of you. ;)
Please do have a read of the addendum in the summary about the cabin experience and thanks very much again for your comment!
I like YYZ placing different art pieces and makes itself stylish. BTW you boarding in Zone 1?
Although it is an old Premium Economy seat, it looks comfortable since you have a good sleep on flight (and your kid not disturbing you ;) )
The catering looks decent and tasty. I assume the first one would be supper but turn out that it is a full meal!
Look forward to your next report!
I like YYZ placing different art pieces and makes itself stylish
- Yes YYZ (especially Terminal 1) has come a long way in terms of decor but it's still far, far below Changi Airport.
BTW you boarding in Zone 1?
- Yes due to our 4 year old we can join the tail-end of Zone 1; but this special treatment that extends to toddlers only happened in YYZ; We're in Zone 2 boarding at other airports during our trip.
you have a good sleep on flight (and your kid not disturbing you ;) )
- He's too excited (about planes and in his words it's a BOEING 777-300ER by EVA!!!) and then too tired to be much of a disturbance. We're also well-prepared with his toys, snacks and the Ipad just in case he's bored. ^^
I assume the first one would be supper but turn out that it is a full meal!
- Yup I'm surprised too, but I don't mind having a full stomach even though it's 2am local time.
Please do have a read of the addendum in the summary about the cabin experience and thanks very much for your comment!
BR's Premium Economy product looks compelling enough to give it a try. After all, it was one of the first carriers that championed the Y+ concept. Your nice pics give us a better sense of what this cabin entails.
Catering seems great with a good assortment of side dishes in each meal. I see a glass for drinks but the lack of metal utensils is somewhat disappointing. Other Asian carriers even use metal cutlery in Y.
Looking forward to your future reports.
BR's Premium Economy product looks compelling enough to give it a try. After all, it was one of the first carriers that championed the Y+ concept.
- Yes it's a good, solid product although competition is really heating up for this cabin class. Please do have a read of the addendum in the summary about the cabin experience.
I see a glass for drinks but the lack of metal utensils is somewhat disappointing.
- Oops the glass is also plastic! (does it make BR's PE product less compelling to try?)
Thanks very much for your comment!
- Oh forget about it then. I can only drink wine from a glass. :P Seriously though, I have been curious about BR's Y+ for quite some time. It's just that I have never had a chance to try it. Now that CI also offers Y+ on their new 773's, it has become harder to choose which one to try first.
See you around.
I know that chinese community is huge in Ontario but not from Vietnam and Philippines.
Eva Air was one of the first airline to introduce Premium Economy class product and I must admit that it is quite good.
Too bad though about the plastic cutlery and glass.
Thank you for sharing
There are so few asian airlines from eastern Canada.
-You're absolutely correct and on most of the TPAC routes the airline flying that particular route has the monopoly; maybe the Canadian market is too small to be enticing enough? It'll be a good competition if JL flies the YYZ-NRT route or CI flies the YYZ-TPE route.
Thank you for commenting!
I love this flight, despite it's pretty-god-awful departure time. One of my first big redemption adventures was taking this flight, doing a free transit tour in Taipei, onwards to Singapore on SQ, staying a night, and then back the same way (minus the transit tour.)
Very cool to see what BR is doing in PE. It looks like a decent product, even if the seat is getting a little long in the tooth, and the catering looks good, especially given that I consider EVA's catering its weakest point.
It may lack the intimacy of the typical 20-odd seat PE cabin that seems to be the way many carriers are going, but I do like that larger 56- or 64-seat Elite cabins EVA puts in their 77Ws. I don't think they're struggling to fill it either.
Sigh.... must fight the urge to search for availability in the next two weeks...
Again, great flight report, and welcome to (contributing to) the site!
I had totally forgotten that EVA flew to YYZ. Thanks for the reminder. What a long flight! I've done a similar route DTW-HKG on DL before...17.5 hours!
Unfortunately we're just starting to get our FF program in order again so we won't be visiting any airline lounge yet.
- It only takes a few TPACs to get status...you'll have lounge access soon enough if you go to Asia often :-)
I believe AC sells day passes no? Though that might get expensive when travelling with family.
however with a four year old who's way past his bedtime and several carry-ons someone gotta watch over things
- You are a brave man to be doing such thorough reports travelling with a four year old! Hats off to you sir! And to your certainly patient wife :-)
You even got the traditional homepage screenshot! Nice!
It's now past 2 am in Toronto and some passengers have dozed off. I'm tired but what's an FR without documenting the meals?
- You got it! I force myself to eat and drink all the time, haha. FR has turned me into a glutton ^^
I'm not a fan of EVA's cabin design choices, those greys and greens are very drab and kind of sad looking, it especially clashes and looks particularly surreal on the Hello Kitty flight. All that pink clashes with the sad grey haha. However, I will say that the seats look very comfortable and the catering in solid. The IFE is small on these older model seats, but I see they've upgraded the actual IFE system, as can be seen on the airshow.
BTW, I like your screen name...reminds me of the Snowzilla Blizzard we got at the end of January here in DC, where we had, 3 feet of snow, LOL. For Toronto, that must be an every day thing, haha.
Looking forward to future reports.
Welcome to Flight-Report!
What a long flight! I've done a similar route DTW-HKG on DL before...17.5 hours!
- I'm waiting for you to do a JFK(?)-SIN on SQ once they got their A350-900ULR up and running! ^^
I believe AC sells day passes no? Though that might get expensive when travelling with family.
- I believe they do...but no kid wants to be stuck in a lounge where adults just sit and maybe eat so it's not worth the expense.
You are a brave man to be doing such thorough reports travelling with a four year old! Hats off to you sir! And to your certainly patient wife :-)
- Haha thanks! No kid is going to stop me from flying, and anyway one of the first words he spoke in his life is 東京国際空港 (Tokyo international airport in Japanese - he picked it up when he's watching some videos on airlines on youtube on my Ipad) - he loves airplane and airports ever since so he's quite excited to fly. If the shopping is good the Missus could be quite patient. :P
I force myself to eat and drink all the time
- Talk about the sacrifice we do to produce a detailed, comprehensive FR! ;-)
those greys and greens are very drab and kind of sad looking
- I find the design quite homey looking, like a grandmother's living room - you know, comfortable, comes with solid food offering but not terribly exciting.
I like your screen name...reminds me of the Snowzilla Blizzard we got at the end of January here in DC, where we had, 3 feet of snow, LOL. For Toronto, that must be an every day thing, haha.
- Thanks again! T.O. isn't quite snowy enough and every time they warned us of blizzard we would have a whimper of snow. I invented the name when I was living in YQT - that place is surely cold and snowy half of the year and 3 feet of snow would be an understatement!
Thanks for commenting!
when I was much younger, now it's always the LCCs)
- But you're also flying VN & MH to TPE right? these are not quite LCCs...is there another reason besides price?
I especially want to see BR's new product in Premium Economy.
- Hopefully I can get my next FR published soon, stay tuned! ^^
Thanks for the comments!
But right now, I think I have slowly became a relatively loyal oneworld frequent flyer and thus I always spend a lot of time thinking about all the mileage implications before I book a flight.
Thanks for you report again, looking forward to more!
Thank you for posting this flight report. It really brings back my childhood memory! My very first long-haul flight, first trans pacific flight. It was with EVA Air in 1994 in their famous Evergreen Deluxe Class from Jakarta all the way to Seattle. Back then EVA still operated its flight from Terminal 1 and the airport was still called Chiang Kai Shek airport.
I agree with you that the flight attendants of BR are very nice and warm and not super precise and 'perfect' ala SQ. In fact i think i prefer BR style over robotic SQ. Evergreen Deluxe class is definitely worth the extra dollar. Now, if only CX learns from BR how to properly position their premium economy product, it would be a hit too!
Anyway, thanks once again and I look forward for more of your adventure with your 4 year old :)
-Bombieflyer-
Thank you for the great report!
I am taking the exact same route end of October, anyone knows if they have/will update their PE with the new seats for this route?
Thank you
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