In November 2023, I flew business class on EVA Air for 14 hours from San Francisco to Taipei and then another 4.5 hours from Taipei to Singapore. Both flights were on Boeing 777-300ER planes, but there were differences in both the soft and hard product between each flight.
My experience flying EVA Air Royal Laurel business class across the Pacific ranks as one of the best flights of my entire life and I would absolutely jump at the opportunity to fly with them again.
HOW I BOOKED IT
EVA Air is part of Star Alliance and therefore I was able to book these flights through Air Canada Aeroplan. Aeroplan is a transfer partner with all major banks and I transferred the 87,500 points per person necessary to book this itinerary. The taxes and fees came out to $35 USD per person.
Originally, I’d tried to book ORD-TPE-SIN (the ORD-TPE portion is on the Hello Kitty-themed plane!), but in the time that it took for my points to transfer (just a few minutes), the seats were snapped up. This was frustrating, but I was able to find the SFO-TPE-SIN route on the same dates instead.
LOUNGE
At SFO, our business class tickets gave us access to both the Air France lounge and the Golden Gate Lounge. We went with the former because the latter was also a Priority Pass lounge and we figured it would be much more crowded. The Air France lounge was warm and inviting with plenty of seating and a full buffet and bar. I’ve previously visited the Air France lounge at JFK and enjoyed this SFO location much more.
In Taiwan, we had access to The Infinity lounge during our 4 hour layover. The Infinity lounge had a full buffet and bar, lockers, showers, and spacious bathrooms. Peak hours are 4:30AM-9:30AM and it was definitely crowded when we were there during that time. The time change was really throwing me for a loop, so I just grabbed a table and a coffee (ok several coffees) and spent the time trying to wake up.
BOARDING
Boarding was pretty much identical for both flights and not very eventful (which I suppose is a good thing). The gate area was crowded for our flight and it was a little chaotic as the gate agents tried to get everyone organized. We were in boarding group 1, which was still a large group since there were nearly 40 business class passengers. Business class passengers board through a separate door, which was nice because it meant the cabin wasn’t overly crowded as I went to get settled in my seat.
SEAT
I was traveling with my husband and we chose seats 3D&G in the middle section for both flights. The business class cabin is arranged in a 1-2-1 herringbone pattern. All seats have direct aisle access and window seats are all angled towards the window. Center seats angle towards each other. These are great for couples and passengers traveling together, but they lack the privacy that solo travelers would desire. If you’re traveling solo, I’d be sure to grab a window seat.
The seat had a USB and universal outlet for charging your devices, though mine was a bit loose and my charger kept falling out. There was also a remote for the in-flight entertainment screen and even an old AV outlet. This seat had an impressive amount of storage with multiple cubbies to store your stuff during the flight.
The footwell narrows and while I didn’t have any trouble getting comfortable when laying flat, I’m only 5’4”. My 6’1” husband did find this to be a bit more restrictive, but he still clocked several hours of sleep. The seat was a bit hard to adjust and took a little practice messing around with the controls.
The only difference between the seats on each flight was that our 2nd plane felt a bit newer, with lighter colors and updated tech (no AV outlet and 2 USB outlets instead of 1). Otherwise, the layout was exactly the same. Here’s what the seat looked like on our second flight:
The screens did not angle down, so they were a bit hard to view while laying flat. The in-flight entertainment did have a very limited number of American shows and movies. There were several HBO shows, but they only had a single episode of each (and not even the first episode, just a random one!).
AMENITIES
SFO-TPE
Upon arriving at my seat, I found a pillow, blanket, and … a poem? Yep. That was a first!
After we were seated, our friendly flight attendant brought us slippers, headphones, and a Giorgio Armani amenity kit. The headphone jack was 3-pronged, so you did have to use the provided headphones to connect to the IFE. The amenity kit included a hairbrush, earplugs, eye mask, dental kit, facial mist, lip balm, lotion, a keychain, and coin purse. While there hadn’t been a bottle of water at my seat when I sat down, I was soon handed a bottle of Evian water.
The most exciting amenity was definitely the pajamas. Designed by Jason Wu, there are separate colorways for men and women. The flight attendant offered me the choice between sizes medium and large (I’m normally a size small or medium and the medium fit great). This was my first time getting pajamas on a flight and I was impressed at the quality. It’s the only airline amenity I’ve consistently used after the flight.
The business class bathroom was also well stocked with amenities. There was facial mist, hand soap, aroma mist, and body lotion from Acqua Colonia as well as eye masks, toothbrush, mouthwash, and earplugs. I’ll also note that the business class bathrooms were much larger than economy, giving you plenty of room to change into your pajamas. There was even a fake plant to brighten the space.
Wi-Fi was available on the flight, but it wasn’t free. The price varies depending on the browsing speed you purchase. Prices are the same regardless of flight time.
After dinner service, the flight attendants came around and offered a mattress pad. I gladly accepted and stepped out of my seat so she could make up the bed for me.
TPE-SIN
Our second leg was a 4-hour daytime flight, so understandably we received significantly less amenities. In fact all we received were a pillow and headphones. I would have appreciated a blanket though as the cabin was kept pretty cold.
FOOD
SFO-TPE
After we got settled, the flight attendant brought a pre-departure choice of water/juice/sparkling wine, a hot towel, and chocolate. We were off to a strong start.
EVA Air allows you to pre-order your meals online before your flight. This is for all business class passengers, not just those requiring special meals for dietary restrictions. In fact, there was no printed menu offered for either flight, but the flight attendants are so knowledgeable they can easily recite the food and drink options for you.
Here were the dinner choices (note the options with the fork and knife next to them were only available by pre-selecting in advance):
For dinner, I chose the lamb chop and my husband ordered the beef Wellington. I received a hot towel both before and after the meal.
The meal was 4 courses, starting with an amuse bouche, a lobster salad, then the main, and finally dessert. It was funny just how much silverware they gave us – it felt a bit excessive. I really appreciated that everyone was served dinner at their own pace, so I wasn’t rushed but also didn’t have to wait too long between courses.
All of the food was great and we were happy with our pre-ordered choices. This flight left after midnight, so I was so full and could barely keep my eyes open by the time dessert was served.
Between meals, the flight attendants came around frequently to offer snacks and beverages to any passengers who were awake. There was an entire variety basket to choose from, but it was a bit of a mystery bag as none of the snacks were recognizable brands and some weren’t in English. It was really evident just how attentive the flight attendants were throughout this very long flight making sure no one went hungry or thirsty.
Here were the options on the breakfast menu:
I chose the waffle for breakfast, but before that I received fruit, yogurt, a muffin, and coffee. Everything was delicious but I (once again) was so full after the first course I could only enjoy more than a few bites of the waffle. We received hot towels both before and after this meal too.
TPE-SIN
Upon boarding, we were offered a pre-departure beverage. I chose the green juice that the flight attendant recommended. It also came with a hot towel.
After takeoff, we were offered another beverage and a snack mix to tide us over until lunch.
Just as on the first flight, we pre-ordered our lunch online. Here were the choices:
I chose the braised chicken. Hot towels were provided before and after just like on the first flight. We started with bread and a salad course before moving onto the main. There was no dessert course. Everything was delicious and there was plenty of variety, so if you didn’t love every single thing, you’d still fill up.
FINAL THOUGHTS
18.5 hours in EVA Air Royal Laurel business class truly didn’t feel like enough. I often find myself counting down the hours to landing when on a flight, but this time I wished we’d just keep circling.
The hard product was solid, if a little dated, but it was the amenities, food, and service that really made EVA Air stand out.
