Review: EVA Airways Business Class 777 New York to Taipei

Background and Booking

Last month, I flew on EVA Airways Business Class for the first time. They call the Business Class product, Royal Laurel Class, and I flew from New York (JFK) to Taipei (TPE). I was super excited that it was going to be my longest flight at a scheduled 17 hours and 15 minutes. Plus, I’d never flown on EVA before, and have heard good things. I flew on this flight and then connected to a Taipei (TPE) to Seoul (ICN) flight on Asiana Airlines.

I booked this flight 11.5 months in advance with ANA Mileage Club and it took 3 days to transfer the points. Because of the transfer delay, the original flights that I wanted were already booked, so I had to get crafty. Finding EVA Airways Business Class award space via partners is generally quite difficult, and your best bet is a little less than a year in advance when the calendars open up. During my search it seemed that 2 seats would be open in advance, but checking for next year, I am seeing mostly 1 seats, if any.

I ended up making it work to where I would fly business class from JFK-TPE-ICN-TPE-SFO, with 5 nights in Seoul and a 4-night stopover in Taipei. The award ticket in all was 95,000 ANA Mileage Club Miles plus about $300 in taxes. I thought it was an amazing deal, but the non-instant transfer did cause me a lot of anxiety. ANA just hiked up their award charts, so as of April 18, 2024, my routing is now 130,000 miles. While still a good deal, the 3-day transfer time could mean you miss out on award space, so it’s a risk to consider.

Schedule Change

Exactly 4 days before departure, I got an email that my flight had changed from departing at 1:05 AM to departing at 3:40 AM. Yowza, I was quite surprised and was not looking forward to leaving at such an odd hour. I was curious if I could change to a different flight, but when I called ANA they said there would have to be award space to change, and there were no alternatives in business class. Looks like we were leaving at 3:40 AM!

Flight Details

EVA Airways Flight 31
New York (JFK) to Taipei (TPE)
Date: March 2024
Departure: 3:40 AM
Arrival: 8:55 AM (+1 day)
Scheduled Duration: 17 hours 15 minutes
Actual Duration: 17 hours 24 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Cabin: Royal Laurel (Business Class)
Seat: 3A

At the Airport

I arrived at JFK’s Terminal 1 at 11:20 PM in case we happened to leave at our original departure time of 1:05 AM. I was a bit worried if I could even check in my bag as normally counters are open 4 hours before flight departure, which in this case, wouldn’t open until 11:40 PM. But, to my delight, they were all open, and a few other passengers were already there. I was quickly helped and handed my boarding pass. I inquired about why there was such a delay and the agent told me it was due to military airspace restrictions. It seemed odd to me, but there’s a first for everything!

I was going to try to use the VIP One Lounge that offers fast-track security, but when I arrived at 11:30 PM, they were already turning off the computers and shutting down, despite the hours of operations saying that it opens until midnight. Sad! The staff said that it’s been so quiet the past few days past 11 PM, that they just closed up shop early. Interesting.

So, I had to go through the normal TSA checkpoint, and while they had a PreCheck line, it funneled into normal lines, so it was super confusing, and I had to tell the TSA agent once I got to the front of the line that I have PreCheck. He asked to see my boarding pass, and then I was able to go through with my shoes on.

Lounge Access

Flying EVA Air in business class at JFK gets you access to the Lufthansa Business Lounge, which I reviewed here. To my surprise, they extended the hours of the Lufthansa Lounge until 3 AM to accommodate our flight’s delay, which was greatly appreciated as most things in the airport were closing up at midnight. I found the lounge to be a bit below average for an international business-class lounge. The food was not particularly appetizing, and the lounge itself was on the more basic side. My parents were flying EVA out of Los Angeles and they got to visit the United Polaris Lounge which is super nice and has restaurant-style dining, so I would prefer a lounge like that!

Boarding & EVA Airways Business Class Cabin on the Boeing 777

On my boarding pass, it stated that boarding was to start at 3:10 AM, which was only 30 minutes before our scheduled departure at 3:40 AM. I found that to be a bit tight to fully board a 777, but it turned out that they were super efficient and it was ample time. I got to the gate around 3 am, and they had already started the initial boarding process.

There were two boarding jetbridges, one for business class passengers, and one for economy class passengers. We boarded from the front doors, so I turned right after boarding the aircraft to my seat in 3A.

The plane was set in a typical 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration for business class. The cabin felt a bit on the dated side, but there was nothing inherently wrong with that. The EVA Air’s Boeing 777-300ER I was on had a business class cabin with 39 seats spread across two cabins. The forward cabin has 23 seats, while the rear cabin has a total of 16 seats.

After boarding, a flight attendant immediately came to offer a welcome beverage of champagne, water, or orange juice. I preordered my meal, so they confirmed it and also asked if I wanted to eat after takeoff or have it held for me at a later time. Since I was so tired, I decided to have it held so I could get some rest.

Boarding occurred very quickly and I shouldn’t have doubted them, as they did close the boarding doors at 3:40 AM. The pilots came to announce that the flight would be 16 hours and 45 minutes in the air. My longest flight yet! We left the gate shortly after and took off at 4:06 AM.

EVA Air Business Class Amenities

Shortly after boarding, the flight attendants came down the aisle to pass out pajamas by Jason Wu, which was a nice touch. The pajamas came with a hoodie and long loungewear pants, which were of pretty good quality to take home and add to your pajama collection.

Waiting at each seat upon boarding were slippers and noise-canceling headsets. The noise-canceling headsets were called Thunder by EVA Air and they worked pretty well.

After reaching cruising altitude, the flight attendants handed out a soft case Giorgio Armani amenity kit. On my flight leaving TPE, I got a hard case, which was nice to collect both kits.

The amenity kit had MALIN+GOETZ facial mist, lip balm, and body lotion. It also had a dental kit, earplugs, a comb, an eye mask, and socks. Plus, there was a keychain and a smaller zippered bag that one might use as a coin purse or something.

And of course, they had a pillow and duvet. The duvet was quite nice and thick like a comforter which I enjoyed, but I would have preferred the pillow to be thicker and provide more support.

Also, a cute touch was a poem bookmark provided, and the one I got on this flight was on “Sky High Zen”. It also came with a small chocolate. It felt like a nice turndown service at a luxury hotel.

EVA Airways Business Class Seat Features on the Boeing 777

To the left of my seat towards the window, there was a reading light, USB outlets, an AC power outlet, an open storage compartment, a controller for the TV, and a headphone jack. Controls for the seat were located below the remote and they were fairly easy to use.

There was a triangular-shaped counter, and the tray table also swung out from underneath the counter.

Additionally, there was a storage compartment underneath the tray table/counter area, and this is where you could store the headphones and/or shoes.

In terms of the lie flat, it felt pretty comfortable and the flight attendants provided a mattress pad which helps the comfort. The “cubby” where your feet go in is a bit on the tighter side, but I was still able to sleep straight or on my side. I was surprised that I slept for a total of 10 hours or so on the flight. If I had any complaint, it would be that the pillow didn’t provide enough support and was too thin, but at least the duvet was nice and thick. 

Also, while there were no individual air vents that one could control above the seat, the cabin was kept to a nice cool and crisp temperature and I was able to sleep quite easily.

Overall, while the seat isn’t the newest around and could use a refresh, it was perfectly comfortable for this long flight. Plus, I was able to sleep most of the flight which is very hard for me to do!

The Flight + “Dinner” Meal Service

I found the secret agent safety video to be kind of fun, and not at all what I was imagining.

After reaching cruising altitude, water bottles were passed out, and the meal service commenced. Many passengers like myself decided to sleep and delay our meal service, so I put on my eye mask and went to catch some shut-eye. I was surprised that I slept for a good 6 hours.

When I woke up, I requested my main “dinner” meal service, and it was a bit odd that since I preordered my meal, they never actually gave me a food menu. I only received the drink menu. It must have been a one-off, as for my return flight, I did preorder and I still got a food menu.

It was interesting timing, as other passengers were getting their “mid-flight snack/meal” while I was having my main. I was able to see the food menu on the IFE Screen and noticed that there were a few “snacks” for a mid-flight meal. Since I delayed my main meal, I didn’t really get a chance to experience the mid-flight meal, but I saw instant noodles, and a burger, among other small dishes. I wish they perhaps had more options, or a more formal offering, as for a 17-hour flight, there is a large gap between the first meal service after takeoff, and breakfast before landing. If I had taken my main meal right after takeoff, I probably would have been quite hungry before breakfast was served.

First, the appetizer came out with a fruit + meat skewer, plus a flatbread with cheese. Apologies for my descriptions being lackluster as I did not have a menu to reference.

Next up, was a tuna plate with some vegetables and bread.

Then it was time for my main, which I knew the name for it since I pre-ordered it online! It was a Wok Fried Lobster with Ginger and Scallion Sauce and Stir Fried Noddles. This dish was delicious, and honestly, probably the best meal I’ve had on an airplane!

I’d highly recommend you pre-order your meal online, which you can do 21 days before your flight (and no later than 24 hours). Onboard, you’ll have 3 dinner options to choose from, but with the pre-order, my flight had 5 more.

The meal options on board were:

• Sea Cucumber, Chicken, and Black Mushroom Noodle Soup Served with Traditional Delicatessens
• Roasted Sesame Chicken with Brown Sauce and Steamed Rice
• Grilled U.S. Prime Beef Filet with Morel Sauce and Potato Puree

The meal options you could pre-order were:

• Texas Style Brisket BBQ Served with Roasted Jalapeno Creamed Corn
• Grilled U.S. Prime Beef Filet with Port Wine Sauce and Skordalia
• Cantonese Style Fried Prawns with Special Sauce and Steamed Rice
• Wok Fried Lobster with Ginger and Scallion Sauce and Stir-Fried Noodles
• Seared Chilean Seabass with Fennel and Almond Served with Roasted Jalapeno Creamed Corn

Then after my delicious main entree, it was time for dessert. It was a Chocolate Mousse Cake, with some fruit. While I enjoyed the fruit, I’m not a huge fan of mousse and would have preferred more of a cake texture.

Drink Selection

EVA Airways Business Class has quite a nice drink selection. For flights to Munich, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle, N.V. is the champagne served in business class, which is quite fancy as it is served in many first-class flights and lounges and retails for approximately $200 a bottle.

Other Wine Options Included:

• 2017 Chateau Chantegrive Cuvee Caroline, Graves, Bordeaux, France
• 2021 Jean Biecher & Fils Geuwurztraminer, Alsace, France
• 2014/2015 Crozes-Hermitage, Domaine de Thalabert, Paul Jaboulet Aine, Rhone, France
• 2018/2021 Boxing Bay Shiraz Cabernet, Kangaroo Island, Australia

There are tons of other options for drinks on the flight, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I wasn’t feeling alcohol on this flight, so I stuck to teas and I tried the Amber Dream mocktail which was fun.

Breakfast Service and Snacks

Snacks were available in the galley between the two business-class cabins if you wanted something to munch on.

After watching some movies, I went back to sleep and I slept until we had 3 hours left of the flight. The breakfast service started about 2.5 hours before landing.

You could pre-order your breakfast before the flight just like dinner, but there were no special options for pre-order. The options both online and on-board for my flight were:

• Chinese Plain Congee Served with Cold Delicatessens, Egg Pancake with Basil, and Egg Tofu with Savory Crisbean
• Porcini Mushroom Cream Omelette Served with Applewood Smoked Bacon and Potatoes
• Brioche French Toast with Fruit Syrup, Seed Granola and Carmelized Apple

I pre-ordered the Congee, and it was delicious! It came with toppings like pork floss, pickles, and more. And, I loved the tofu side dish and the egg pancake. Yum!

I also got a Matcha Latte and it was rich and soothing! A fruit plate was provided after I finished my congee, but I got a very blurry photo of it, so I left it out of the post.

Overall, I loved my breakfast on this flight!

Service

I found the service to be quite efficient and attentive. If you pushed the call button, they would be at your seat within 30 seconds. They also kept the lavatories pretty much spotless throughout the flight. I’ve been so used to American carriers’ service levels that I sometimes forget how much more polished Asian carriers are. The service was five-star level worthy, and they made sure during meal services to always ask if you would like a refill on your beverage, or anything else.

In-Flight Entertainment

There are movies, music, TV shows, and games on the IFE system. They also have duty-free shopping available on the system as well. While the TV Screen is on the older side, the resolution was still clear, and it seems that the handset was updated very recently and was crisp and responsive.

Since I slept for a good majority of the flight, I only completed watching the new Wonka movie, and part of the new Hunger Games: Ballad of the Songbirds & Snakes. There wasn’t a ton of selection, but if you haven’t flown EVA in a while, I’m sure you would find something. Also, the categories didn’t necessarily make a lot of sense, and I found some hidden movies within each category so definitely comb through each of them!

Wi-Fi

Business class passengers on paid tickets do receive a Wi-Fi voucher. However, since I was on an award ticket, I did not receive one. Wi-Fi is available from Panasonic, and all passengers can have a complimentary 30-minute session. After that, it would be $4.95 for a 30 MB “Lite Messaging Plan” that would be for texting only, $14.95 for the “Standard Plan 100 MB”, $29.95 for the “Business Plan 300 MB”, and $39.95 for the “Ultimate Plan” which is for streaming.

Considering how long the flight is from New York to Taipei, it is not unfairly priced, as my last 8-hour flight from New York to London on United wanted $37 for Wi-Fi.

That being said, I tried logging on to the free 30-minute session halfway through the flight and it wasn’t working, so I tried again 3 hours before landing, and it was able to connect. However, the speeds were quite slow which was unfortunate, but I was able to get a few iMessage texts sent out and use Instagram.

Lavatories

There are a total of 3 lavatories for the whole business class, with 2 in the front and 1 in between the two cabins. Since I was in Row 3 towards the front, I exclusively used the 2 in the front. The one on the left side near the cockpit was larger and had a much bigger sink, so I preferred that one. In terms of cleanliness, it was always quite spotless when I visited so the cabin crew did a great job.

There was body lotion, face mist, and hand soap at all times. Halfway through the flight, they also brought out mouthwash and earplugs. I also liked the flowers they had placed in the lavatory.

Arrival

Right before landing, the flight attendant came by with little candies. We then touched down at 9 AM local time and arrived at the gate at 9:10 AM.

Once I got off the plane, then it was off to the EVA Air Infinity Lounge to wait for my connecting flight!

The Verdict

Overall, my first flight on EVA Airways Business Class on the Boeing 777 was quite enjoyable and up to par for a five-star airline. While the seats aren’t the newest in the industry, it gets the job done and I was able to get a good amount of sleep. It really didn’t feel like I was on a plane for almost 18 hours. The food offering was top-notch, and the service was quite attentive.

 

Have you flown in EVA Airways Business Class on the Boeing 777? How was your experience? Comment below!

 

Cheers,

Ty

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Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!