EVA Air A330-200, Business Class

Originally published on www.businesstraveller.asia 10/10/2006 - Filed under: Tried & Tested » Airlines » Tried & Tested » Tried & Tested » Airlines » Eva Air »

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First impressions: Terminal Two of Taipei’s Chiang Kai Shek (CKS) International Airport was surprisingly crowded at 0635 on a Tuesday when I arrived for my 0815 flight to Nagoya. A fair number of passengers milling about were taking EVA flights, as Terminal Two is the Taiwanese airline’s main hub. Despite this, check in was fast and courteous. I was through immigration less than 30 minutes after arriving.

Unlike EVA’s other flights departing Taiwan, the company does not offer its normal online check-in service on this route because it is a code share with All Nippon Airlines. The service is wholly operated by EVA, apart from check in at Nagoya.

A word of warning about surcharges if you change your EVA flight reservation over the phone – EVA’s call centre staff may not tell you if your ticket does not allow you to fly at certain times or dates. They may even unwittingly suggest those embargoed flights to you. You will then be hit with a mandatory surcharge at check in, which could total hundreds of dollars. The telephone reservations staff do have this information available, but they won’t check it unless you specifically ask them to.

The lounge: EVA’s lounge at CKS offers a lot, but the quality is uneven. The gloomy lounge receives no direct daylight as it overlooks the departure hall. It felt crowded and noisy when I was there, with about half the seats occupied. This large, non-descript space is a painful contrast to the beautiful Star Alliance lounge which EVA shares at the other end of this route in Nagoya’s airport.

But EVA’s flagship lounge does have far more staff and a wider range of facilities. The bathrooms include showers, for example. The lounge’s small business centre just past the main desk is a brighter, quieter place to sit and work. Inside, there are computers with printing and copying facilities.

There’s a fair selection of food, although it’s very much oriented towards local tastes. During my visit, Western palates were catered for mainly by the odd combination of sausages and toast. I went for steamed dumplings, which were okay, but not the best. There’s a choice of tea, coffee, juice, spirits and various canned drinks.

Wireless internet access is free, but requires a password, which the polite and friendly staff will supply on request. Before discovering this, I wasted 10 minutes trying to figure out why my laptop was connected to the network but not retrieving email. I appreciate that EVA wants to protect customers and keep freeloaders off its network, but the implementation of this policy could do with a rethink.

Boarding: After a five-minute walk to the gate, boarding was quick and uneventful. Business Class was fully occupied, although Economy Class appeared about half full. The plane pushed back from the gate on schedule.

The seat: EVA’s Airbus A330-200 has a 2-2-2 configuration in Business Class. The comfortable seats, in olive green leather with grey trimming, have a 155-centimetre pitch. They can recline almost flat, although this short two-hour-and-45-minute flight obviously doesn’t provide enough time to appreciate them. This is EVA’s Premium Laurel flavour of Business Class, so seats and facilities on the airline’s other flights may vary.

The flight: Despite a full cabin, staff were attentive and polite. The chief purser addressed me by name. All spoke English well. There were also three Japanese flight attendants onboard.

We had a choice of three light meals: Western, Japanese and Chinese. The Western one was very good, achieving the balanced palette of tastes which inflight meals sometimes miss. The distinct freshness of vegetables in the hors d’oeuvre was particularly notable.

The selection of English newspapers and magazines on the flight and in the lounge is very limited in scope and quality. There are also a couple of Japanese and Korean publications. The overwhelming majority of reading matter is in Chinese, of which there is a wide selection.

Perhaps sensing my disappointment, a flight attendant thoughtfully rounded up a handful of English magazines to offer me.

The onboard entertainment system has some 50 channels of TV shows, news and movies.

This is an on-demand system, so you can start the show when you like, pause, rewind, and so on. The Sennheiser noise-cancelling headphones did a great job of cutting out the low rumble of flight.

Arrival: The plane touched down in rainy Nagoya 10 minutes ahead of schedule, and, with no baggage to collect, I was through immigration and customs within 20 minutes. The unsmiling faces of the customs officials were a bit of a shock compared to the laidback attitude of their Taipei counterparts.

Verdict: Excellent flight with good service. The EVA lounge in Taipei is a bit hit-and-miss.

Price: Until December 31, round-trip Business Class fares start from US$670, including tax, booked through EVA’s website at www.evaair.com

Simon Burns