Review of EVA Air flight Singapore → Taipei in Business

BOOKING INFORMATION

This flight was the third leg of a multi-city ticket on EVA Air booked through United award travel. United provides MileagePlus Premier members and MileagePlus Chase Cardmembers with exclusive awards; I am unsure if I took advantage of this or not at the time of booking (292 days in advance of the flight); however, I know it took me 180k and $48.01 in total to book one business class airfare from Houston (IAH) to Denpasar Bali (DPS) with layover in Taipei (TPE) and then from Singapore (SIN) back to Houston (IAH) with layover in Taipei (TPE). Separately, I took a Scoot flight from Denpasar Bali (DPS) to Singapore (SIN).

Booking a business class ticket on EVA Air for a Star Alliance Gold member with Priorty Pass Select and United Club membership offers a few lounge options at SIN. This was my first departure ever from Singapore.

check-in / Walk to lounge

We (my wife and I) had arrived just over three hours before scheduled flight time. Our driver found it very easy to locate the door that led right to EVA Air's ticketing counter. The business class ticket counter accepted my 27.4kg (60lb) checked bag without issue but labeled it heavy. As the flight was in Asia, the maximum weight for my class of service was 40kg (88lb). We also received passes to the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Lounge as well as a map of how to reach it. The airport was very easy to navigate and comfortable.

SilverKris Lounge (Terminal 3) - Business class Section

The lounge was incredibly spacious, quiet, and wasn't very busy at the time of our access. The immediately apparent flaw was that electrical and USB charging outlets were nearly non-existent. The bathroom offered showers that would've been easy to snag if I needed one. There were also other amenities for shaving or just freshening up in the men's bathroom. The food and beverage options were pretty good. Lots of drinks to choose from and a variety of Asian and Indian foods were elegantly presented.

walk to the gate

The walk to the plane was a long distance but made easier by a number of people-mover walkways. There were a ton of seats available at the gate still, including two whole rows right at the entrance gate itself. I drew the dreaded SSSS boarding pass and so my ticket was checked prior to Zone 1 being called but I boarded after a number of others as my additional security screening to some time.

Our plane was registered as B-16727; serial number was 43291. It was assembled in Everett, Washington and delivered to EVA Air in June of 2016, so it was about 29 months old when we flew it. 

cABIN AND sEAT

On this flight, Royal Laurel Class was the highest level of service which also includes Economy. EVA's reverse herringbone 1-2-1 business class layout offered seating for 39 of the Boeing 777-300 ER's 333 seats (23 seats in the first section and another 16 in the second section). I found the seating layout on SeatGuru that matched the seating layout provided from EVA to be labeled as Boeing 777-300ER (77A/77W) V2. I anticipated, flying with my wife on this our fourth flight after having been married a couple days before (this is our honeymoon trip), that sitting together (Seats 3D and 3G), both with direct aisle access, not too close to the restroom or galleys would be our best bet to have the most relaxing flight. Scheduled flight time was 4 hours 30 minutes. I did not purchase Wi-Fi or any other upgrades or amenities. Outside of this being my honeymoon flight, there was nothing special about this flight for the crew or airline; so this was not a Hello Kitty livery (I did fly one of the the Hello Kitty planes to Bali however), this was not a new route, or anything else out of the ordinary.

The amenities for this flight only included slippers, a pillow and blanket. We were provided with a Fiji water bottle. 

mENU AND mEAL

Twenty-one days prior to the scheduled departure, I was able to select from the menu offerings for dinner service. There were six menu items to select from for dinner service, of which three would not be available on the in flight menu card. The three menu items available on the flight were Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Shiitake Mushroom Brown Sauce Served with Mixed Vegetables and Lyonnaise Potatoes, Curry Chicken in South Asian Style Served with Green Beans and Turmeric Rice, and Prawn and Pork Noodle Soup. The three other exclusive options were Pan Roasted Salmon with Tomato Yusu Butter Sauce Served with Mixed Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Creamy Mushroom Sauce Served with Mixed Vegetables and Potatoes with Beluga Lentil, and Roasted Chicken with Herb Almond Pesto Sauce Served with Mixed Vegetables and Pumpkin with Quinoa. Both my wife and I selected the Curry Chicken in South Asian Style Served with Green Beans and Tumeric Rice for dinner. I didn't drink on this flight but as champagne seems to be the gold standard of comparison, the flight offered Delamotte 2007 Blanc de Blancs Champagne Grand Cru. On other EVA Air flights days before and hours afterwards, the long-haul flights featured Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame and Collet Brut Rose for the Hello Kitty flight I took.