A good choice if the price is right
Written: Aug 10 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice, smiling staff; good onboard music selection
Cons: Not exactly in the same league as Singapore or Cathay Pacific; tacky Web site
The Bottom Line: A dependable choice in Asia.
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| blue_tiger's Full Review: EVA Air |
I recently flew from Taipei to Fukuoka on EVA. It was my second time on EVA, the first being in their Deluxe Business Class from Taipei to San Francisco.
For this flight, I was on a free business class ticket. It was hard getting a seat, since EVA, like all other airlines, likes to play the all-seats-are-booked game when it comes to dishing out free tickets. A quick call to their PR department suddenly opened some seats up. On both flights over and back, there were plenty of empty business-class seats.
Like many other airlines on short trips, there were only two classes of service--economy and business.
The lounge in Taipei is pretty big, but just doesn't have the same feel as the United, Thai or Singapore lounges in the airport. You have been warned--the lounge fills up pretty quickly and can get pretty loud. The fact that a handful of other airlines use it and that many Taiwanese credit card companies throw in free lounge use as a signing perk ensures it is crowded.
While EVA's business class lounge snack area is big, the Western food is limited to some finger sandwiches. They seem to be pretty big on steamed buns--offering what seemed like 50 different flavors. While steamed buns are nice, I am sure many international travellers might appreciate something else.
I didn't see any non-Chinese magazines except Time. The airline's own inflight magazine, Verve, seems to have improved from being struck with the curse of unprofessional quality that affects many of Taiwan's English publications. Now if only EVA could only work on its Web site. (Maybe someone should tell their Web team Dreamweaver does have a spell-check feature.)
One nice touch the lounge had, although this might be for the airport as well, is that it had wireless Internet access, and some plug-in access tables.
The food on the plane was your typical fancy business class menu, peppered with cryptic "French" descriptions that only a five-star chef would understand. My pork meal was satisfactory, but partner complained his chicken was a little rubbery.
I found the flight staff very bubbly and helpful. The 70s/80s music channel was superb. My only complaint is that on the way to Japan I had a terrible headache. They said they weren't allowed to give me aspirin unless they first called a doctor on the ground. I decided it was too much trouble than it was worth.
Check-in from Fukuoka to Taipei is done by ANA staff. The lounge on the Japan side was near empty. To my disappointment, there was no wireless Internet (What? I thought this was Japan!) and no food, except for some peanuts. A well-stocked bar made up for it.
I would recommend EVA if the price was right. (And remember, you can earn points for it on Continental.) It should be interesting to see this airline with a perfect safety record grow and compete with the big boys.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
blue_tiger
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Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 1 member
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