After a wonderful time exploring Bangkok and a fast-paced lounge adventure at Suvarnabhumi Airport, it was finally time to begin the journey back home to the US. Kicking off this return trip was Eva Air’s short-haul business class from Bangkok to Taipei. I was very excited to try Eva Air for the first time and am happy to report that the experience was great!
Flight Information
- Flight Number: BR 202
- Seat: 2A
- Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
- Scheduled Departure Time: March 9, 2024 2:40 PM
- Arrival Time: March 9, 2024 4:50 PM
- Flight Time: 2 hours 55 minutes
- How I Booked: 25,000 Air Canada Aeroplan Miles transferred from Chase UR + $49.30 in taxes booked 7 months in advance. There was a 20% transfer bonus from Chase to Air Canada that brought the price down from 30,000 miles to 25,000 miles.
Check In And Arrival Process
Suvarnabhumi Airport has a fast-track lane for international departures which gives eligible passengers access to an expedited security check. This area is located near the check-in counters and was very easy to spot. I’m very thankful that I was able to use it because of my business class ticket and it ended up saving me a ton of time. I was able to clear security in about 10 minutes!
Eva Air Lounge
Bangkok Airport has a ton of airport lounges and I unfortunately only was able to visit 4 of them. However, there is a beautiful Eva Air Lounge in Suvarnabhumi Airport that is very good and definitely worth a visit. It was decently crowded when I visited around 1:00 PM but there were still a lot of empty seats.
Eva Air Business Class Boarding
The boarding gate area was a little different than what I’m normally used to because the actual waiting area was about half a level below where I was on in level 4. I had to show a worker my boarding pass and passport before being allowed to walk down the short ramp that led into the waiting area.
Another interesting thing was how Eva Air set up a priority area for business class, elderly, and disabled passengers near the gate. This section had a few rows of seating that was blocked off by some stanchion barriers and felt kind of pointless, to be honest. I don’t think it provided a real benefit other than add an unnecessary “exclusivity” factor.
We were able to board on time and the boarding process was very fast and efficient. There was even a dedicated priority jet bridge that led right to the front of the plane.
Eva Air Business Class Cabin
Eva Air’s 777-300ER business-class cabin is a little on the older side but still looks terrific. There are 38 reverse herringbone seats with direct aisle access in a 1-2-1 configuration.
My only complaint with the cabin was that the interior design wasn’t the most striking and a bit drab. This was mainly because the cream-colored didn’t really seats didn’t stand out but instead just matched the bland color of the walls.
However, I did like how Eva Air’s signature royal green color was incorporated into different seat elements and provided a nice contrast. There was also a painting hanging on the wall at the front of the cabin that helped give a more artsy touch to the cabin.
Eva Air Business Class Seats
Eva Air’s 773-300ER business class seats are fantastic. They’re not the most modern, but they still look great, offer great privacy, and are very comfortable. For a short-haul flight, I really couldn’t ask for anything more.
Each seat has two control panels with the main one located nearer the seat headrest. This panel contains the TV remote, a reading light, a headphone jack, and a charging port. Next to this panel is a little storage cubby that is convenient for holding drinks and small belongings.
Below this control panel is the second panel with all of the seat controls. It was very intuitive to use and I liked that I could adjust different parts of the seat individually to get my preferred position. The panel also came with 3 preset seat positions of upright, recline, and bed mode that were very convenient.
The TV is stowed away flush with the back of the front seat but can swivel out at the push of a button.
This combined with the general seat aesthetics reminded me a lot of Cathay Pacific’s business class seats.
The footwell is an angled trapezoid shape but is still pretty roomy. I felt that there was a lot of leg space for me to stretch out and relax.
In addition to the storage cubby near the control panel, the side of the seat also has a larger storage cubby built into it.
The armrest facing the aisle also had a button that allowed me to adjust its height. This was useful in getting a few more inches for the bed width when in lie-flat mode.
The last seat feature is a coat hanger built into the back of the seat in front.
I genuinely don’t think there is a bad seat on this aircraft. If traveling solo, I’d recommend grabbing a window seat and if traveling with a companion, the center seats could be good. I’d pick a seat in row 2 or 3 because they’re further away from the bathrooms and galleys.
Eva Air Business Class In Flight Entertainment
The in-flight entertainment on this flight was solid. The TV is a good size and the touch screen was very responsive. However, the screen was pretty glossy like the TV in China Airline’s A330-300 business class so glare might be an issue for bright daytime flights. The good thing was that this TV was much bigger so the glare wasn’t as big of an issue.
There is also a complimentary set of headphones waiting at each seat. I appreciated that the headphones came wrapped with a band stating that it was sterilized.
The headphones didn’t seem cheaply made and were comfy to wear.
The TV remote is tethered to the control panel via a retractable cord and is very user-friendly. Cathay Pacific’s business class also features this exact same remote.
The back of the remote has a keyboard and also serves as a game controller.
However, the directional buttons on my remote were not that responsive. I had to press very hard to get the button to register and I found it easier to use the TV’s touch screen instead.
I also didn’t really browse too much of the flight entertainment or watch much because it was a relatively short flight. However, the selection looked decent and had all of the new Hollywood box office hits.
Eva Air Business Class Amenity Kit and Pajamas
Since this was a short-haul flight, there was no amenity kit or pajamas. Eva Air only gives those out to business class passengers on a long haul flight. But I was surprised to find out that business class passengers still get slippers!
The slippers were open-toe and came in a drawstring bag.
Eva Air 777-300 Wifi
Eva Air does offer wifi onboard their 777-300ER. Unfortunately, business class passengers don’t get free wifi but the nice thing is that all passengers can connect and enjoy 30 minutes of free wifi.
There were paid Wifi plans to choose from but the pricing was pretty steep.
I don’t know if this was a one-off but the wifi was actually very inconsistent for me. I had to retry twice just to connect for the free 30 minutes and when I finally connected, the speed was still very spotty.
Pre Departure
The pre-departure process was very smooth. Before takeoff, a flight attendant walked down the cabin handing out a hot towel and also taking orders for the pre-departure drink.
I had my choice of orange juice, sparkling water, sparkling wine, or hot green tea and ended up getting the sparkling wine. The wine was delicious and the nifty little drink holder built into the seat was very handy!
Shortly after serving the drinks, the flight attendants came down the cabin one last time to take meal orders. Once that was finished, we took off and were on our way to Taipei!
Eva Air Business Class Lunch Service
The paper menu on this flight had a pretty nice design and was surprisingly extensive.
For my main entree, I decided to order the wok-fried sea bass with onion mushroom sauce.
One interesting thing was how passengers could request ketchup and spicy chili sauce. I kind of regret not asking for the chili sauce since it would have been good to compare it to the delicious sauce in Starlux’s business class.
The drink selection had a lot of great alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.
I liked how the tea menu was especially extensive. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it until I wrote this review, but there was matcha milk tea! I would have loved to try that while I was onboard.
In addition to the fish, I also ordered the Evergreen Special, which is Eva Air’s signature cocktail. When I requested this drink, the flight attendant informed me that this cocktail could be made with either soda water or Sprite and I chose the Sprite option.
Not long later, the drink came out with a small dish of rice crackers. I loved the vibrant green color of the drink from the melon liqueur but honestly, it looked better than it tasted. The drink was very forgettable and tasted very mediocre.
Shortly after serving that, the appetizer was brought out and I thought that the presentation was terrific. The decorative porcelain plates, plating of the appetizer elements, flower garnish, and the napkin band with the Eva Air logo all looked fantastic. I even got my own little cube-shaped salt and pepper shakers!
The scallop was the item I was most excited about but it ended up being just average. The real highlight of the appetizer was how delicious the salmon slices and prawn was.
After the appetizer was cleared away, the entrees were brought out and I was impressed with Eva’s meal service here. The dishes were so hot that the flight attendants had to use a special plate lifter to place the dishes on customers’ trays. I’ve never seen a dish served so piping hot like this before and I felt that it really elevated the meal’s flavor.
I thought that the sea bass was cooked well and really enjoyed how well the tasty sauce paired with it. I found the vegetables to be a little underwhelming but overall the entree was delicious.
However, what impressed me the most was when the flight attendants came around with a basket full of assorted bread. The selection included pretzels, rolls, and various other breads but I ended up just picking a dinner roll and the garlic bread.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the garlic bread because I felt that the extra virgin olive oil flavor was too overpowering. In my opinion, Singapore Airline’s garlic bread tasted much better. But despite that, I still really enjoyed this aspect of the service because of how these breads were served warm. Some airlines serve breads that are room temperature and this warm dinner roll tasted so much better than those.
Once I had finished the main course, the flight attendants brought out the desserts. I didn’t expect to get 2 plates of desserts so that was a pleasant surprise.
I thought the plating here was excellent, especially the decorative banana leaf because it really showcased Eva’s attention to detail. The fruits were tasty but the taro delight was my favorite dessert item because of how decadent it was.
To close out the meal service, the flight attendant came by and asked if I would like coffee or tea. I ordered a cup of green tea and it was the perfect ending to a scrumptious meal.
Eva Air Business Class Bathroom
In this aircraft, there are 3 bathrooms for business class in total. One bathroom is found in the front of the cabin on the left and there are two bathrooms on both sides of the plane in the galley separating business class from economy.
One nice thing was that there was a sign in the front of the cabin indicating if the bathroom was vacant or not.
Other than that, the bathroom was pretty average.
The interior was clean and there were some floral decorations and LED lights to make the space more inviting.
There were also Acqua Colonia brand soaps and lotions. The white peach & coriander scent was really unique and smelled quite good.
Eva Air Business Class Bed
The business class seats in Eva Air’s 777-300ER can transform into lie-flat beds. It was super easy to use the control panel to turn the seat into bed mode and the bed was pretty comfy. I didn’t sleep since it was late afternoon and such a short flight but on long-haul flights, I can see myself falling asleep very easily.
It’s not the widest bed out there but I didn’t feel cramped or restricted at all. I liked how you can fold the TV back into the seat so that you will never hit your legs against the bottom of the TV.
The pillow was also very plush and comfortable to rest my head on.
Landing in Taipei
My flight was set to land around evening time in Taipei and I was able to catch a breathtaking view of the sunset. It’s just another reason why I love window seats.
About 20 minutes before landing, the flight attendants came by with a basket of assorted candies. There were 4 flavors to choose from and I picked the lime one. The packaging was super cute with the Eva Air branding but the candy itself was pretty mediocre. It had a consistency that was very similar to a tic tac but didn’t taste very good. Maybe I just got the wrong flavor.
Shortly after that, the flight attendants came by to collect the headphones and stow the TVs. Around this time, the captain also turned off the cabin lights and used the night lighting. The cabin looked really cool because of how the blue hue lighting and the white dots simulated the night sky.
Eva Air Business Class Service
Eva Air’s in-flight service was good but there wasn’t anything extraordinary about it. All of the attendants were polite, friendly, and available which is all you can really ask for in business class on this short of a flight. I liked how the attendant made me feel taken care of like when he asked if it was ok for him to wake me up for my meal if I was sleeping.
However, the biggest thing that stood out to me on this flight was just how present the Eva Air flight attendants were. I saw the attendants repeatedly in the cabin throughout the duration of the flight and my interactions with them went beyond pre-departure and the dedicated meal time without having to call them directly. It ranged from them asking if I needed arrival cards shortly after taking off to coming through the cabin serving candies near the end of the flight.
This was the complete opposite of what I experienced on my China Airlines flight from Taipei to Bangkok. On that flight, it felt that beyond the pre-departure and meal service, the flight attendants were never to be seen again. So compared to that, the service I experienced on this flight was significantly better and made for a very pleasant journey.
Conclusion
Eva Air’s short-haul 777-300ER business-class product is excellent. The business class seats offer good privacy, are comfy, and can convert to lie-flat beds. This coupled with the good service and terrific food made it an incredibly comfortable 3-hour flight. I wouldn’t hesitate to fly Eva Air’s short-haul business class again and only wish that this type of product was something I had back in the US.
What did you think about Eva Air’s 777-300ER business class?
