Review of EVA Air flight from San Francisco to Taipei in Business

This series will cover a recent trip to Shanghai. As always, the non-stop options on UA/MU are prohibitively priced. That leaves a multitude of one-stop options via NRT/HND/ICN/TPE with better pricing, but variable flight quality (long layover, overnight stopover). I opted for BR, which along with CI was the cheapest option outside of PR. At the time of this trip, there was up to 8 daily flights connecting SFO and TPE (UA 2x, BR 3x, CI 2x, and JX 1x) so there is no shortage of metal to fill as the 2nd busiest international route ex-SFO after LHR.

There are several flight permutations with BR’s 3x daily B77W service SFO-TPE. BR7 has the best flight time with a midday departure, but requires an overnight stopover in TPE. BR17 and BR27 depart at 00:50 and 01:15, respectively. I opted for the “earlier” flight since from the seat maps at time of booking was less full. The routing for this trip is:

This report will cover the flight from San Francisco to Taipei-Taoyuan and a look at the Air France Lounge at SFO.

booking

At the time of booking, there were only window seats left in the rear mini-J cabin. I opted for 11K to be in the back for privacy and to have less traffic pass my seat on boarding. The flight would go out 100% full in J.

BR’s webpage is of decent quality and navigating services online is reasonably straight forward with the ability to see on-board features in advance (menu, IFE content, request Wi-Fi voucher, select seats/meals, etc.). BR offers free Wi-Fi vouchers based on the fare class booked for long-haul flights. The process is straightforward and the code is delivered by e-mail. I'll go into the actual Wi-Fi experience later.

Pre-flight

I booked a ride and was deposited outside SFO’s international terminal at 22:20.

Heading inside, BR's check-in counters were located at Aisle 5. The check-in for BR17 and BR27 opens at 21:20, but the lines were still really long for economy an hour into the process.

The priority line was empty and I was immediately waved up by an agent from one of the 4 counters dedicated to Priority passengers and BR Diamonds.

The agent efficiently checked me in and tagged my bag. She handed me my boarding passes along with a lounge invitation card and directed me towards the direction of the security checkpoint for Concourse A. Turning the corner, I was met with a line that stretched all the way across the departures hall to the Concourse G security checkpoint. The airport was clearly not designed to handle these late-night surges when a sea of TPACs depart. Luckily, I was able to snake over and join a shorter ~30 person TSA PreCheck line.

It still took ~10 minutes to clear security and I was deposited at the entrance to Concourse A.

A quick look at the FIDS tonight at SFO.

TPE as mentioned in the background has the 2nd most passenger traffic out of SFO and there are 6 flights piggy backing each other across to Taoyuan leaving within an hour of each other (UA's flight doesn't show up since it is leaving from Concourse G). BR is one of the few *A carriers that does not use Concourse G (along with CM, AV, AI, etc.). This likely works out well for them since they have access to lounges for their passengers on the late night departures, versus NH who can only give meal vouchers since the Polaris Lounge closes at 23:00 and NH107 doesn’t depart until 01:45.

The lounges (sans BA and EK) are accessed through a small door to the left after exiting security.

BR sends passengers to both the AF Lounge and the Golden Gate Lounge. It wasn’t clear what the criteria were, but I suspect all J passengers are sent to the AF Lounge and any other lounge eligible passengers are sent to the Golden Gate Lounge.

Air France Lounge

The AF Lounge is on the main level and doesn’t require an elevator to access. Approaching the door, an agent came out to greet me and scanned my boarding pass welcoming me in.

The lounge was moderately full since PR uses the lounge as well so I wasn’t able to fully photograph it for consideration of others. It is L shaped with good apron views, although little to see at night. Seating areas along the windows featured a good diversity of options for solo or group travelers. In the center is the buffet, which had a good selection of hot and cold items. Food presentation looked excellent as one would expect from an AF product. The lounge wraps around, where there are some bar seating areas with a bar at the terminus which was always populated so couldn’t photograph.

I settled into a nook near the entrance. The décor is nicely appointed and there are abundance of outlets positioned throughout (with USB-A and USB-C ports).

My offering.

While sitting there working, staff even walked around offering food from trays so I obligingly took a crème puff.

By the time I left the lounge at 23:45, it was at about 75% capacity so seating options can be more limited depending on your time of arrival.

Pre-flight

I did a loop of the terminal to see what was around, but spotting is very challenging in Concourse A.

The only gate with correctly positioned windows was A8 that had this CI A359 that would be operating CI15. 

The B77W operating BR27 was next door to us at Gate A5 with the CM B737 heading down to PTY behind it.

Our B77W is less photogenic. Our flight tonight will be operated by B-16730, a 2016 built B77W with BR's 77A configuration featuring a 39J 56W 238Y still with 3-3-3.

A look down at the gate area at midnight, wheelchairs are being queued so boarding is eminent.

flight

Boarding started at 00:12 with Zone 1. The greeting at 1L was friendly by the purser who directed me through the galley and to the right.

A look at the forward J cabin, which has 23 seats across 6 rows on this 77A configuration.

And reaching the rear J cabin, which has 16 seats across 4 rows.

My seat, 11K, which is just in front of the W cabin bulkhead so has good privacy and is far enough away from the galleys/lavatories. The only traffic past this seat is the FAs moving between cabins. The B77W cabins still have the old Sicma seats unlike the B787s, but it is still a very good product. Pre-placed on the seat were pillow, duvet, slippers, and headsets.

The very large pillow and duvet, which we will take a look at later.

The Jason Wu branded slippers.

On the side table, a Valrhona chocolate and poem were waiting.

Immediately after settling in, the FA for my row came to introduce herself and asked me what I would like to drink for pre-departure beverage. The options were sparkling wine, water, or juices (apple, orange, tomato). She returned promptly with my drink and scented towel.

A look down the row. You really need to crane your neck to see someone else so despite the age of these cabins, they feel more private than the newer Vantage XL seats that have much lower vertical profiles.

Seat pitch is of course excellent.

Everything you need to access is just off your shoulder with universal AC outlet, 2x USB-A ports, headphone jack, reading light, and IFE remote. The storage is large enough for a laptop, but I  prefer a closed design to help keep small items from falling out.

The seat controls.

In addition to the storage on the side table, there is also open storage under the tray table. The lower level fits shoes and the upper level can store other small items. The lights in these storage compartments are not manually adjustable, but they do turn off automatically when the seat is in bed mode.

The IFE screen is certainly not HD, but of acceptable size/resolution. As is the case with a lot of reverse herringbone seats, it needs to be folded for take-off/landing. This design is better in my opinion since you have more space when sleeping versus the built-in monitors found on Super Diamond seats.

The tray table pops out from under the side table and is bifold in design.

The foot well is very large in all dimensions and unless you are >185cm, it is not very restrictive.

Literature is located in this little pocket, but is limited to safety card, air sickness bag, and Sky Shop catalog. The in-flight magazine can only be accessed digitally.

There is a pop-up arm-rest on the aisle side of the seat that can also provide more privacy when sleeping.

No individual air vents on their B77Ws, but my opinion is that the cabin was kept sufficiently cool.

After settling in, I went up to use the lavatory to change into my pajamas since this was a late night departure and didn't want to wait in a queue after the meal. Returning to my seat, the FAs had left menus and the Giorgio Armani amenity kit in a dust bag on the side table.

The amenity kit for flights departing from outstations is a black soft case. Inside the case are also a matching coin purse and key chain. The rest of the contents are: eye mask, ear plugs, dental kit, comb with mirror, and a set of Malin+Goetz products (facial mist, lip balm, and lotion).

Let's take a look at the menu. Since our flight departs after midnight, we will have Supper service instead of Dinner. The difference is the removal of the soup course, salad course, and cheese course in order to speed up the service and offer a lighter meal before sleep. BR only allows passengers to pick the main course, but with the quality of their catering I have no complaints with the lack of choice for the starter.

BR enables meal selection starting from 21 days prior to departure enabling the selection of additional entrees beyond what is catered. For our late night departure, we have a supper and breakfast service to select. For supper, there are 5 additional options in addition to the 3 mains available on the menu bringing the total choices to 8. For breakfast, there are no additional options, with only the 3 mains available on the menu.

BR's beverage options have "deteriorated" over time, but still remain one of the best J offerings in the sky.

The front doors closed at 00:45 and the cabin was prepared for departure. I like the artwork featuring Taiwanese culture.

The FA came up the aisle kneeling at each passenger taking orders. She confirmed both of my pre-ordered meals and asked what I wanted to drink before each meal as well as if she should wake me up for meal services.

The purser then came through the cabin welcoming each passenger and offering pajamas. She also welcomed me onboard and informed me that we would have a 13h flight time tonight.

We started our pushback at 00:55 and the secret agent themed safety video played.

The GE90s came roaring to life and we started our taxi out past a HA A321neo at 01:00.

We came to a stop at the end of Concourse A and idled for a long time, which started to get suspicious. At 01:15, the pilot came on and said he apologizes but “we still don’t know when we will take off…” I pulled up Flightradar and saw this complete mess. The ongoing closure of Runway 28L meant an ~30 plane queue to depart not to mention the pauses to allow for arriving aircraft.

Luckily the IFE was available gate-to-gate to help kill the time and we ended up taking off at 01:58 over an hour after leaving the gate. Based on the queue to leave, we likely were able to jump several spots.

Our projected route for the flight tonight expecting a flight time of 12h 58m to complete the ~10,000km trek across the Pacific.

After leveling off, the moodlighting changed to signal the start of meal service as the cabin lights were slowly turned on.

The large sturdy tray table, but it can't be pivoted so you have to carefully squeeze out if you need to leave during meal service.

Crew sprung into action at 02:14 (15:14 TPE time), just 15 minutes after taking off to lay the linens.

Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle to start.

That was followed by the amuse bouche: Roasted Duck with Apricot and Crostini with Cherry Tomato and Mozzarella Cheese.

Service had to be suspended for ~20 minutes due to heavy turbulence leaving the California coast. Eventually, the drinks were refilled and the table was set. BR does consistent branding with Isigny Sainte-Mère and A l'Olivier products offered even from outstations.

The hors d'oeuvre was served: Balik Salmon with Lemon Saffron Cream Sauce and Seared Scallop.

Warm breads were offered from a basket.

My pre-ordered main was brought out: Stir Fried Lobster with XO Sauce Served with Quinoa Rice.

The meal concluded with dessert: Mango Coconut Cake and Fruit.  I accompanied this with a cup of Pu'er tea and Hennessy XO cognac.

Service concluded with another scented towel, which I forgot to take a picture of. It was immediately followed by distribution of Evian water and a toothpick.

The cabin as the meal service concluded, most opted to sleep directly after take-off, but I opted to stay up to adjust to the time change since it was only 17:00 in Taipei.

Turndown service was offered by the crew after the meal.

The mattress topper is thin, but sleeping on a cotton sheet is still more comfortable than nothing.

The seat in flat bed mode. The duvet is excellent quality and remains one of the best I've had. As mentioned, the cabin temperature was kept cool and I never felt too warm under the duvet.

Another Hennessy XO cognac as I settle in for sleep.

After 5 hours of deep sleep, I woke up as we were approaching the southern point of Kamchatka Krai.

Pressing the call button, a FA was at my side in less than 5 seconds. I ordered the instant noodles and a cup of oolong tea. Linens are laid even for mid-flight snack service. In addition to the items on the menu, there was also a small bar area set up near 2L with drinks and packaged snacks.

The instant noodles were served with half an egg and a quarter of bok choy.

BR's IFE is called Star Gallery and looks fancier than it is. The interface is easy enough to navigate and the screen is responsive to touch. You can access the in-flight menu, Voyager 3D moving map, and other items through it. There is an expected bias towards Asian content with limited Western options. Pickier people will have plenty to criticize on content, but I found enough to last me through this trip, but would be short of options if traveling twice within the same entertainment cycle.

The "newer" cabins have IFE remotes with screens.

Every time I set foot in the lavatories, they were spotless. The FAs cleaned them after almost every passenger. The lavatories are well stocked with Acqua Colonia products (hand soap, facial mist, lotion, and aroma mist) as well as a tray with dental kits, mouth wash, and ear plugs.

Orchids in the lavatory.

After my noodles and watching TV, I napped for another 2-3 hours waking up as we were crossing over Honshu.

Nothing to see from the window with full cloud coverage over Japan.

BR's B77Ws are fitted with Panasonic Wi-Fi, which was easily accessed through the portal.

A number of Wi-Fi plans are available in addition to 30 minutes of complimentary access. The prices are quite steep reaching ~$40 for a full flight plan.

As mentioned previously, BR also offers free Wi-Fi vouchers to passengers based on fare class purchased. Despite the gesture, the quantities of data offered are quite low.

Almost every time I tried to connect to the Wi-Fi on both my laptop and phone, I was met with the following screen so the coverage is very poor. I was never able to use the service other than the final ~1h of the flight and just used the complimentary 30 minutes to check some e-mails before touching down in Taoyuan.

About 2h to arrival (04:00 TPE, 13:00 SFO) as we were crossing over Kyushu, the mood lighting turned back on to signal the start of the second meal service.

Breakfast service started with the linens being laid and being offered a hot scented towel.

As pre-ordered, my Illy espresso was promptly brought out afterwards.

The breakfast tray for Western meals as delivered, which starts with a fruit plate.

Another FA came by with a tray offering a selection of yogurts, cereals, milk, and granola.

As mentioned during the first meal, BR offers consistent product branding even from outstations with both Isigny Ste Mère butter and Bonne Maman strawberry preserve offered.

Breads and pastries were offered from a basket, I opted for some croissants.

The main was then brought out: French Toast with Cinnamon Butter and Apple Blackberry Compote.

The sun continues to rise with great views over our GE90 as I ate my breakfast and we crossed the Ryukyu Islands on our approach into TPE from the north.

As my tray table was cleared, the FA asked me if I wanted anything else. I asked for another espresso, which was promptly brought out along with a scented towel.

Taiwan is big on their customs information and we were forced to watch ~10 minutes of clips on arrival procedures and customs regulations.

As the cabin was prepared for landing, the purser came through offering candies from a tray and thanked passengers for flying with BR. She asked me if I was terminating in TPE or connecting. Upon learning that I was connecting, she apologized for the delay and informed me that gate agents would be available to help connecting passengers.

Our descent into Taoyuan as we slowly crossed through the clouds until the ocean was visible.

We had a soft landing at 06:10 (about an hour late) on Runway 23R on a drizzly day in Taiwan, which meant a long taxi around the airport was in store to reach the C gates of T2.

Lots of aircraft at remote stands in front of the T3 construction site.

Crossing by the Novotel and CI crew hotel.

After completing our loop around the airport, we get to see some visitors (NH and BA) in town for some maintenance at the Evergreen hangers.

BR B7X in Star Alliance livery.

BR B78X.

BR A333.

BR A321.

BR B77W in old livery being towed out to a remote stand.

We pull in to our gate at 06:21 next to our sister.

As soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off, the FAs came up and curtained off the J cabin to ensure we could deplane ahead of W.

A friendly goodbye from our crew as we head into the drab jet bridges of TPE.

A look back at B-16730 leaving the jet bridge.

Transit in TPE is simple, there was an agent at the end of the jet bridge directing arriving passengers to the left and transiting passengers to the right. All transiting passengers were just asked to show their onward boarding passes before being let back into the gate area. One final chance to admire our plane from the gate area despite the blue glass of TPE.

After navigating the crowds in the gate area since our plane was set to make a quick turnaround to head down to SGN, we head up the stairs back up to the main level of the airport. 

I will leave off this series here as I begin my transit in Taoyuan. Thanks for stopping by!

flight details

EVA Air, BR17
Equipment: Boeing B777-300ER [B-16730, delivered September 2016]
Departure: 00:50 (ATD: 01:58)
Arrival: 05:15 (ATA: 06:10)
Flight time: 13:12