This was my first time flying EVA Air, but certainly it will not be my last! I recently flew round trip with my wife from Vancouver to Hong Kong via Taipei, and here is my account of the experience for the outbound leg.

Background

I flew Vancouver to Hong Kong several times before, having tried economy class from Cathay Pacific and China Airlines. Due to travelling schedule and for the sake of trying out something different I gave EVA a shot this time instead.

Booking

I booked 2 tickets through my travel agent and selected seats in advance. EVA's fare was not the cheapest but very competitive. On the website the Taipei to Hong Kong leg said it was a 767 but the travel agent said it was a 747. It kept me puzzled for a good while but turned out to be a nice surprise. No problem with this part.

Check-in / pre-board

The flight leaves Vancouver at 2am scheduled to arrive Taipei before 6am (can't remember exact arrival time). I LOVE this schedule. It gives you a night of sleep and a full day of activity. The airport was virtually empty, very quiet and without all the rush during the day. Check-in and security was a breeze. Within 20 minutes stepping into the airport I was already shopping in duty-free! Ground-crew were friendly and polite, although they were quite strict on keeping the baggage under the weight limit. At the gate the ground crew had set up a desk for complimentary coffee/tea for all passengers, which was very nice and unheard of from other airlines. Boarding was done orderly and efficiently, again no drama here.

On board experience

The flight was packed full, but was able to leave several minutes ahead of schedule still. As it was the ONLY flight leaving Vancouver at that hour, there was no delay at take off. The Vancouver-Taipei flight utilized 747-400 which was standard for this route. The interior did start showing its age but at least it was clean and well-maintained. There was no PTV on the seat back though. It didn't bother me as I always have books with me and at that hour I would sleep anyway. Seat pitch was slightly better than average. Being almost 6' tall and fairly large build I was reasonably comfortable, at least better than CX or CI. The captain for some odd reason did not turn off the seat-belt sign for the ENTIRE flight, but again as most passenger went sleeping after take off it's not a concern and actually quite a good safety precaution. Meals and snacks were offered during the flight at various times. My impression was they were not the best tasting airline food but decent enough to be edible. The FAs made several round of drink passes during flight and then disappeared, but they can be found in the galleys actually and were prompt to react on calls. Overall they were efficient if lacked a bit of warmth, but as I'm not a needy person during flight I didn't care at all.</P>

Transfer at Taipei

The flight arrived Taipei slightly ahead of schedule and the transfer was smooth. No drama of any sort. Again, as it was early morning the airport was quiet and empty, perfect to catch a quick nap while waiting for the 8:30 flight to Hong Kong.

Taipei - Hong Kong leg

Boarding for this flight was again done orderly and efficiently. Instead of a 767 as indicated on the website, the flight was a 747-400 Combi. On this short flight most of the transfer passengers were seated in the Evergreen Deluxe class as a courtesy, hence the mystery solved when I booked the flight. I was seated in the nose section of the plane where normal first class section would be. It's quiet and roomy with the 38" pitch seats. The seats were old as they were the "regular" business class seats from the past, but it's comfortable nonetheless. A breakfast was offered during this 1:45 long flight of the usual choices. It was very average but it didn't bother me again.

Overall Impression

I am satisfied with this flight in general as everything was on the spot. There are areas where EVA could improve on (meals and IFE mainly), but overall I can give a solid "B" grade. With their new 777s entering service they can only do better, and I look forward to fly with them again.

Recommended:
Yes