Brisbane to Taipei Premium Laurel Class with EVA Air
I’m not a great flyer at the best of times. We booked our flight to Taipei with EVA Air, and being my first flight with the airline the pre-flight anxiety kicked in weeks before our scheduled departure. The flight was supposed to leave on a Friday night, then the airline decided to cancel that flight and moved us to a Thursday departure. No biggie. Then it happened again. We were told that they didn’t have enough passengers for that flight, and we were assigned to a Wednesday night flight. By that stage, we had already made arrangements and booked our hotels. I was not happy. Numerous phone calls later, they decided to give us a $200USD EVA Air voucher for the inconvenience caused. So it wasn’t a great start but I didn’t want to let it ruin my first experience with the Taiwanese airline.
We arrived at the airport roughly two hours ahead of the departure time. The check-in process was swift and we soon headed to the Premium Plaza Lounge located close to Gate 81, to which business class passengers flying with EVA Air can enjoy complimentary access.
Serviced by an A330-200, the flight to Taipei took just under 9 hours. There was no left turn for ‘Premium Laurel’ business class passengers, instead, the class occupied the first four rows of seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. Without sounding snobby, it wasn’t the prettiest business class I’ve seen. Even our cabin crew admitted to us later on that it looked dated and they were promised a new plane but it never transpired. The thing that bothered me the most though was that there was no storage space around the seat what so ever. Being a nervous flyer, I love having items like books, Kindle, phone and camera handy for my distraction and I don’t really enjoy getting up mid-flight to take items out of my bag from the overhead compartment. That aside, I didn’t have anything else to complain about.
The service throughout the flight had a systematic politeness, rather than a warm personable demeanour. Minibun George was disappointed that he didn’t get any toys from the cabin crew, as opposed to his previous flight with Emirates where he had received a bundle of presents. But that problem was quickly solved with a piece of Godiva chocolate. As soon as we settled down, hot towels and beverages were offered. After takeoff, Minibun George asked if he could have the chocolate that was placed on his seat. ‘Only if you be a good boy and have a nice sleep’, I told him, and being the little unicorn baby that he is, he cuddled up to his bunny and fell asleep straight away. As the dinner service started, I opted for a glass of Verve with their prelude to dinner - prawn cocktail tart with chive, eggs, mimosa and camembert cheese with dark rye bread. Both were very pleasant. In fact, the camembert was so yummy, I could have eaten it all night. Lobster medallions with asparagus and mango salsa soon followed and it was thoroughly enjoyed. As for the main course, I could choose between the boiled beef fillet cooked in spicy fragrant sauce served with mixed vegetables and steamed rice, or herb crusted lamb cutlets with red currant glaze served with mixed veggies and chat potatoes. I had to go for the lamb, which tasted better than it looked. I was glad that dessert wasn’t too rich; fresh fruit with some Serendipity ice cream which was the perfect ending to dinner.
Now, let’s talk about the amenities. EVA Air has the warmest, thickest, comfiest duvet I’ve ever seen on a plane, and even though the seat could only turn into an angle-flat bed, it was surprisingly spacious and comfortable. I was given a set of cotton PJ’s by Apujan as well as a sleek toiletry bag by Georg Jensen which contained a toothbrush, a small tube of toothpaste, a hairbrush, a pair of long socks, and skincare by 3Lab. Yep, the same brand whose lip balms retail for $62 on Net-a-Porter. Not bad, not bad at all.
I managed to get one hour sleep during the flight. Besides nervously watching the live flight map whenever we hit turbulence, I kept myself entertained by watching a brilliant Chinese movie, concentrating on my Sudoku book and flipping through the in-flight duty-free shopping magazine. That’s the other thing, the shopping onboard EVA Air was pretty sweet, especially if you’re into beauty products.
Our flight was ahead of schedule and breakfast was served at around 3:30AM Taipei time. I had a warm croissant and latte to start, followed by a Western-style breakfast comprised of fresh fruits with yoghurt and a cheese omelette with Hollandaise sauce, served with pork chipolata and potatoes. I was going to order the Chinese style breakfast for Minibun George, which included congee and Chinese sausage omelette, but he didn’t get up until ten minutes before the plane was ready to land. From what the other travel bunnie told me it tasted fantastic!
When the plane arrived at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, the sky was still dark but I could no longer contain my excitement to explore this unfamiliar destination. Stay tuned to follow our journey through Taiwan!
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