BOOKING INFORMATION
Flight routing
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This flight was the second leg of a multi-city ticket booked directly through EVA Air. I booked the ticket 175 days prior; it took me $1,788.31 USD in total to book one premium economy class airfare from Houston (IAH) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) with layover in Taipei (TPE) and then from Hanoi (HAN) back to Houston (IAH) with layover in Taipei (TPE). On this trip my wife and I took two one-way flights on Vietjet Air from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang (DAD) and on Jetstar from Da Nang (DAD) to Hanoi. This flight was a T class ticket.
CHECK-IN / WALK TO LOUNGE
EVA Air offers a separate check-in desk for Star Alliance Gold passengers. Premium economy class tickets entitle the passenger to check two pieces of luggage, each piece cannot exceed 28 kg (62 lb).
As we came from Houston and were only transferring in Taipei, we went through the transfer security line. Star Alliance Gold passengers have a separate line. All the lounges are located in the middle of the airport on the mezzanine floor and are easy to locate. One thing I wish this airport had is a McDonald's especially on the way home after doing numerous food tours and getting flavor burnout.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES SILVERKRIS LOUNGE TAIPEI
We got a pass in Houston to visit one of the EVA Air lounges in Taipei. Instead of using that lounge or one of the lounges we had access to through Priority Pass, we visited Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge, which we had access to again because of Star Alliance Gold status. This lounge has a wide selection of Asian hot food offerings as well as a good variety of different drinks. One of the big perks of this lounge is that it is generally pretty easy to access one of the two showers.
WALK TO THE GATE
Seems like it is always a long walk to the gates here and you'll always board on a lower level. Good shot of our plane as well as a brief moment to do some spotting on the ground.
CABIN AND SEAT
Our flight departed 36 minutes late but the plane was a nice 2 year old Boeing 777-300ER (B-16731). The seats looked better and the plane was in better condition than our previous flight. Leg room was excellent for such a short mid-morning flight.
TAIPEI SPOTTING
I threw some photos in here from my time spent looking out the window. EVA Air is very proud of their brand-new (within the last month or two) Dreamliners. I believe the on I spotted is currently only one of two that they have taken delivery of; I did note via En Voyage (their in-flight magazine) that the business class seats are entirely different than the ones seen in my plane above. The United jet is a Boeing 777-300ER that was parked over night before returning back to San Francisco. I found it interesting to see two Austrian Airlines jets being worked on in Taipei (one is a 26y/o Boeing 767-300ER that hasn't flown a commercial flight in the last month).
MENU AND MEAL
I opted for the braised fish in Chinese herb soy sauce with steamed rice. It was good. I really enjoyed the sweet Mexican chili coated popcorn that was a suprising addition to the meal as well. I could pass on everything else.
HO CHI MINH CITY SPOTTING
I enjoyed getting to see some Soviet-era Vietnamese Air Force aircraft when I touched down in Hanoi (Mil Mi-171 helicopter and another that I can't identify). The Jiangsu Jet Bombardier CRJ-200ER is a charter. That 3y/o Vietnam Airlines Boeing Dreamliner was parked overnight after arriving from London and departed later in the day to Hanoi. The Aeroflot Boeing 777-300ER is only a couple months old and was parked before returning back to Moscow, where it's based. And lastly the Vietjet Air Airbus A321-211 had been in Hue earlier in the day and was heading out to Nha Trang upon my sighting and is also only a couple months old.
ARRIVAL
The terminal in Hanoi was very nice and modern but the immigration lines were long when we arrived about on schedule around noon. Our luggage was still on the baggage carousel once we made it through and the customs process didn't require additional screening. Once outside we had arranged for a private transfer and our driver was waiting with a sign and we made it into the city to our hotel in about twenty minutes.
