The Pavilion Says: EVA Air's long-haul business class is of great value, but still far from perfect (BR/C/SEA-TPE-HKG)

In the last post, I wrote that I took a trip to the States last summer, and I took EVA's business class in the return sector. I used 62,500 Avianca Lifemiles to redeem this award. (When I redeemed my miles, it was before Avianca devalued their award chart; now they charge 75,000 miles for one-way trip between North America and North Asia) I will introduce Avianca Lifemiles as well as other frequent flyer programs to you in later posts, so stay tuned!

Flight Information:
EVA Air (BR) flight 25
Seattle (SEA) - Taipei (TPE)
Departing at 02:10 on Aug 14th, 2014
Royal Laurel Class seat 9D

Flight Route

We arrived at Seattle/Tacoma airport at approximately 11 pm. It was quite funny when we were checking in; although the check-in agent was Chinese/Taiwanese, and she remained speaking English to us after we handed in our Chinese passport. When she was giving us boarding passes, she suddenly asked "do you speak Chinese?" We said, "of course." Then we began communicating in Chinese... 

Anyway, check-in was fast, and the lady who helped us was friendly and helpful in giving us the directions to the British Airways lounge, which EVA Air used, and we got our boarding pass and lounge invitation within minutes.

Seattle Airport

EVA Check-in counter

Boarding Pass

Then we passed security and went to the lounge. It is worth noting that SEA did not have a dedicated security lane for premium passengers that day. 

Can you find my flight? (Yes, yes, I realize this is a tricky one...)

Taking a train to our gates

As I have mentioned before, EVA uses British Airways lounge for their flights. The BA lounge was good in US standards. The lounge is not very large, but there are very few people (given that only passengers on BR25 are using this lounge), and the lounge feels quite comfortable. There are not many dinning options aside from cookies, sandwiches and cup noodles, but I guess no one is especially hungry at 1 am...

British Airways Lounge SEA Airport

Boarding started on time, and as a business class passenger, I got priority boarding, which is enforced effectively at SEA.

Boarding starts

This is the first time for me to fly in a reverse herringbone business class, so I was quite excited when I stepped into the cabin. (I was also excited that EVA did not change the plane into a 747, which does not feature fully flat seats) Per Seatgruru, there are 38 business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, and each seat has direct aisle access.

My seat

Personal in-flight entertainment system

Seat controls & Storage

Those seats were comfortable and wide, and can give each passenger more privacy than other normal fully flat seats. So far, my first impression of EVA Air was very positive.

However, there are some downsides of this seat. There are not enough storage area, and I find it quite painful not able to use the entertainment system during taxi, take-off and landing since you are required to "fold" the screen during these occasions.

Magazine, in-flight entertainment system guide, and duty free catalog

One of the biggest 'highlights" of EVA's business class is the Rimova amenity kit they offer.

Welcome drink and Rimova (!) amenity kits

Then, menu was distributed and dinner order was taken. EVA allows its business class passengers to pre-order the main course of their meal online in advance. In this case I ordered a creamy seafood rice, which was not in the menu.

The menu reads as follows: (I did not take a photo of the English version of the menu, so below is the translation from the Chinese menu, which I will not include a picture in this post)

Light Dinner

Prawn & crab salad

Roasted steak with vegetables

or

Sweat & sour fish with rice

Seasonal fruits and dessert

Coffee and tea

or

Star Menu - enjoy more rest time by choosing Star Menu

A selection of appetizers

Chicken noodle

Coconut & pork meat soup

Seasonal fruits and dessert

Coffee and tea

Breakfast

Fruit juice, coffee and tea

Chinese style breakfast

Traditional Taiwanese appetizers, porridge, stir-fried chicken, fried egg

Fruit

or

Western style breakfast

Fruit

A selection of bakery

Breakfast cereals and yogurt

Egg omelette with bacon

or

Texas style toast 

Basically, you can choose between "light dinner" and "star menu" for the meal after take-off, and you can choose between Chinese and Western style breakfast for the meal before arrival.

After the flight attendants confirmed to me that I have pre-ordered my meal, dinner service started. The salad was great. The main course was edible, but it was too creamy for me, and for a meal at 3 am. The fruit tastes awful and was among one of the worst I have ever had on an airplane. Fortunately, the dessert, which was a Tiramisu cake, was good.

The service during dinner was okay. One odd thing I noticed is that the menu did not indicate which the dessert was specifically, nor did the flight attendants. 

Main course

Dessert and fruits

Overall, the dinner was a little below my expectation, which, considering the timing, was not high in the first place.

Then I got rested for about five to six hours. I slept very well, among one of the best I have ever had in an airplane.

After waking up, I requested a cappuccino, which was served after a few minutes. I have heard good things about EVA's cappuccino, but this one has a rather strange flavor, and is lower than the quality than a Starbucks one.

It is also worth noting that EVA's entertainment system was quite extensive.

(To be continued...)

The Pavilion Says: Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy has excellent hard product - and that's all (CX/Y+/HKG-JFK)

Trip Report In Summary:

Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy class is great because of their hard product with generous pitch and width, as well as comfortable recline. However, when it comes to soft products such as food and service, they could have been better.

I took a trip to the United States last summer. I chose Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy class for the outbound sector, and EVA Air's Business Class (or Royal Laurel class, as they called it) for the inbound sector. Below I will share my thoughts flying with Cathay's Prem Econ class.

Originally, I redeemed my Avianca Lifemiles for my outbound flight on Lufthansa business class for HKG-MUC-JFK and the inbound EVA flight. However, due to some mysterious error in their system, Avianca apparently did not charge me enough miles, and since they thought they can cancel my ticket without my consent, they did so. After hours on the phone with some annoying Avianca agents on the phone, I finally gave up. Then, I booked this Cathay one-way flight from Guangzhou via Hong Kong to New York. This flight only costs me about 1000USD one way, so it is quite a reasonable price for me. 

Flight Information:
Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) Flight 846
Hong Kong (HKG) - New York (JFK)
Departing at 18:45 on Aug 1st, 2014 
Premium Economy Class Seat 34D

We arrived at Hong Kong from Guangzhou (CAN) by a Dragonair flight. This flight was largely unmemorable, but my only advice for those who want to fly a Dragonair A320 is: if you are taller than 180cm, DO NOT choose to sit in the last row. For a flight that is only 84 miles and lasts for about 30 minutes, this sucks; for a flight that is between 30 minutes and an hour, this sucks a lot; for a flight that is longer than one hour, good luck!

Boarding Pass

Anyway, after we arrived in HKG, we stayed at the Regal Airport Hotel for one night. Regal Airport is connected to the airport through a walkway, whereas you will have to use subway or shuttle buses to get to other airport hotels in Hong Kong, such as the Marriott SkyCity and the Novotel Citygate. So, Regal Airport's location is very convenient if you is going to have a early departure or late arrival in HKG. This hotel is also largely unmemorable. This is the second time that I have stayed in this hotel, and check-in is very, very slow for both times. Service is basically non-exist; the first time I stayed in this hotel, I called for about 5 times and literally waited for 3 hours to get another box of tissue paper, and the delivery guy did not even say thank you to me after I thanked him. This time, I had a problem with a light bulb in my room; I cannot find a control to it. It also takes them about 30 minutes to send someone to come and fix this issue. Keep in mind that was 1 am and I seriously doubt whether they are that busy at that time... 

That being said, the room at the hotel is okay, and can be considered as large in Hong Kong standards. Also, the price of the hotel is quite reasonable.

We went back to HKG the next day. There are many interesting traffic at HKG that time...

China Airlines A330, Finnair A340 & Singapore Airlines A380

South African Airlines A340

EL AL (Israel) 777 & HK Express A320 w/ new livery

Ethiopian 767 w/ Star Alliance livery & Hunnu Air (Mongolia) A320

Air India 787 & Singapore Airlines 777 w/ Star Alliance livery

Can you find my flight?

Boarding starts at 18:20, and as Premium Economy passengers, I get priority boarding. Boarding sequence is enforced effectively in HKG. 

I find my seat soon. With a pitch of 38 inches and a 2-4-2 layout, the seats are definitely much more comfortable than normal Economy class seats. The seats also offer larger recline and a cocktail table. It is also worth noting that this seat have power outlets and USB plugs so that you can charge your phone or iPad, though I think economy class seats also have those features.

I was sitting in a weird angle when I was taking this photo - I am sure that the real seat pitch is much more generous than that...

In-flight Entertainment

Soon, welcome drinks were distributed, including still water, orange juice and champagne. I chose still water.

Then amenity kits were distributed. Those kits were designed by a local brand in Hong Kong, but frankly speaking, I found the fabrics of the amenity kit very uncomfortable, and the amenity kit looks "cheap".

The amenity kit

The flight departed, well, three hours late than the original schedule. When the plane is taxing to the runway, it suddenly started to rain very heavily, and we were stuck on the ground for three hours. This flight departs at 18:45, so a dinner after take off works perfectly for my schedule, but with this three-hour delay, I was literally starving when the dinner service began. 

Once the flight reached cruising attitude, the dinner service started. Here's the menu: (sorry that I only take a photo of its Chinese version)

Menu

The menu reads as follows, and those in red are the ones that I chose: (sorry again for the very abridged translation)

Dinner - served after take off

Smoked salmon and potato salad

Prawn with rice

or

Steak with potato

or

(Vegetarian option) Italian tortellini 

Ice cream

Tea and coffee

Snacks - please ask our flight attendants for snacks such as cup noodles

Brunch - served before landing

Seasonal fruits

Fruit yogurt

Cheese omelet with bacon and hash browns

or

Porridge with chicken and fish

Croissant with butter and jam

Tea and Coffee

I did not take pictures of my meal. 

My first choice for dinner was prawns, since I love seafood, but the flight attendant told me that they have run out of prawns. OK, steak will also work for me. After searching for a while, the flight attendant told me that they have also run out of steak. At this time I felt a little angry. I have been starving for three hours, and my dinner will be a vegetarian dish? What the hell?

Don't get me wrong; this is definitely not the flight attendant's fault, and I did not shout to him or express my anger. They eventually found a steak though.

I was told before that the meal of Cathay's Prem Econ class resembles that of its Business class. If this is true, I felt very sorry for Cathay's business class passengers... The steak is edible, but although I will take it for Prem Econ class, this is definitely not a business class standard meal. The salad tastes good.

Then I began to watch some movies on the inflight entertainment system, StudioCX. Cathay has one of the better IFE, so I managed to watch several movies.

After that, I got some rest. Although CX offers a great hard product in Prem Econ class, I did not rest well, out of unknown reasons. 

Then the breakfast was served. The omelet was also edible, but again, it is definitely not business class standard.

The service throughout the flight is okay, but not great. Flight attendants typically showed up within two or three minutes after I pushed the call button, a time that is acceptable. They were not proactively rude, but I could clearly see that none of them were enjoying their jobs.

The flight arrives in New York two hours behind schedule. After interacting with "friendly" U.S. immigration officers, we took a shuttle bus to Crowne Plaza New York JFK Airport, which I have reviewed in TripAdvisor and will not post a separate review in this blog.

Overall, my experience with Cathay Pacific was positive, mainly because of its excellent hard product. However, for Cathay, there are also huge room for improvement: the food left a bit to be desired, and the service could have been better. That being said, I will fly with their Prem Econ class again if the price is reasonable - after all, it is much better than Economy class. 

Thanks for reading, and comments are always appreciated! 

Hello!

Ni Hao from Shenzhen, China!

Because of unknown reasons, Weebly has apparently stopped my blog originally hosted on weebly.com/quietsky97. So, I guess I have lost all the blog posts on that website, and I will have to start on this new blog.

I have tried numerous create-a-free-website services, but none of them really worked. Finally, I decided that I should just go with Blogspot (although it is banned in China, also because of unknown reasons...)

As you can see, this blog, named "The Sky Pavilion", will be similar to my old blog, which will be mainly focusing on all stuff centering the aviation industry, such as frequent flyer, airline routes, airline service & products, new airplanes, etc. 

My plan is to write a new post every day, but I am not sure whether I am able to do so, given my senior year schoolwork and all the other stuff... OK, I admit, sometimes I am just lazy.

Anyway, welcome to the Pavilion, and hope you will find something helpful in my following posts and enjoy your time reading my blog!

For updates for my blog and more information about me, please follow my Twitter at @quietsky97, Instagram at michael35432, and Weibo (only in Chinese) at @静静de天空97. 

You can also contact me by email. My email address is

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Thanks!

Michael Han
Feb. 27th, 2015

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