The thread for this carrrier has not had many postings - so thought I would add a review of EGD for those of U considering a trip to Asia - as an alternative to coach class seating - or high priced BC fares.

EVA offers four classes of service...FC,BC, EVERGREEN DELUX,and coach. I have used EVA most frequently on trips to Bali and have found that by purchasing a EGD ticket thru a consolidator, it ONLY cost me about $ 200 more than a consolidator coach ticket. I have found this service to be one of the best kept secrets in air travel to asia and should certainly be of interest to Flyer Talkers - as the EVA EGD cabin is comperable to most BC cabins.

Seating in EGD is 2-4-2 with 38" of pitch and a foot rest. Individual seat monitors are located in each seat back. The added comfort of the seat alone is well worth the difference in price vs. coach - and U can save hundreds by using EGD vs. BC. It is much more comfortable than Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic - and in my opinion doesn't really compare with it - since VS seating is coach.

As for dining, a typical 1960's coach class tray is offered - usually "chickin-or-beef" along with a choice of an asian selection. However, the tray is abundant!

In short, the advantages are a BC seat and CO/AA/HP FF credit. Disadvantages: 1.EGD armrest cannot be raised - so there's no "stretching out" on an undersold flight 2. Limited 6 chanel video and music in english 3.EGD is only found on 747/MD-11, so connections to this equip. may be in coach 4.No access to BC/FC Lounges with EGD ticket alone.

All and all, EGD is a big bang for the buck!

Thanks for the info. I'm planning on flying EVA this summer so please tell me which consolidator you prefer.

*

[This message has been edited by FQTV (edited 10-06-2000).]

*

A friend of mine is travelling from PIT-SIN and he told me how he tried his hardest to get into Delux class on Eva Air on his flights. He says it's a great value -- and another friend agreed. So sounds like a winner to me!

This is a "heads up - thumbs up" recommendation.

However, be careful with CO OP credit. For OP credit flights must be CO codeshare - even tho tkt can be issued on BR tkt stock with a BR flt. no. - which means credit is usually only given on LAX-TPE sector.

With regard to a consolidator, try Econo Travel in LA: 1-800-255-1688. Ask for June.

Friends who used to fly SQ Business Class have switched to taking EVA Airways Evergreen Deluxe because they say that it's better value for money and the service is actually very good.

thanks for the info....i will be looking forward to Evergreen Deluxe when i fly AA PHL-DFW-SFO-TPE-SFO-BOS-PHL on AA with SFO-TPE-SFO being Eva Air

Originally posted by tvl4free:
This is a "heads up - thumbs up" recommendation.

However, be careful with CO OP credit. For OP credit flights must be CO codeshare - even tho tkt can be issued on BR tkt stock with a BR flt. no. - which means credit is usually only given on LAX-TPE sector.

With regard to a consolidator, try Econo Travel in LA: 1-800-255-1688. Ask for June.




Rules have changed for a while.
Nowadays CO members can earn and redeem miles on all Eva Air flights systemwide.

The seating configuration is variable.

On many of their -400's, Evergreen Deluxe is located all the way forward, resulting in 2-1-2 and 2-2-2 in zone A.

Though I have been on many sold out flights, I have never had a seat assigned in the middle 4. My status with the airline is just the junior Executive level.

The service is outstanding. Only stewardesses, no stewards at all. They hire the best captains, irrespective of nationality.

They have cut back on the booze trolley, which I believe is a pro active measure by the airline to cut down on air rage. Booze is there but on request.

Sshhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

"Nowadays CO members can earn and redeem miles on all Eva Air flights systemwide"

From my conversations with OP Customer Service, while you would get mileage credit for all EVA flights, they would not count towards elite status unless the ticket is ticketed as CO codeshare.

I flew yesterday from VietNam to France in ED class (the onward flight was 3 weeks ago) and can confirm the good value of this service, with a seat confort excellent when considering the price paid (equivalent to normal discounted economy on other carriers).
The cabin service is efficient and fast which enables to rest perfectly (Taipei-Paris is 13 to 14 hours, flying over Russia as they can not cross mainland China).
The only critic I would formulate is the food selection (not the quality). It is only aimed at asian taste (maybe logically as asians were in majority on the flights) or american taste (there are many more fligths to the US than to Europe), but some "europeanisation" would be appreciated on flights to Europe, especially for breakfast.
To those that have to wait for their connection in Taipei (6 hours in my case), and as lounge access is not given, an option is the transit hotel (NT$ 300 per hour) conveniently located on the higher floor, not far from Eva Air lounge.

Originally posted by Lulu:
"Nowadays CO members can earn and redeem miles on all Eva Air flights systemwide"

From my conversations with OP Customer Service, while you would get mileage credit for all EVA flights, they would not count towards elite status unless the ticket is ticketed as CO codeshare.

I still suggest most flyers to get CO miles on EVA flights instead EVA's FFP miles.

Here are my reasons:

1. EVA's entry tier of elites requires 50K miles. That's a level only busy frequent flyers can achieve regularly.

2. CO Onepass member can redeem miles to get award EVA flights at the same level as EVA FFP member.

3. CO OnePass program is a much superior to EVA's FFP.

By the way, in my opinion EVA's ED class is no longer the top choice for trans-pacific routes.

UA now has an similar product, Economy Plus on its International routes. It even has slightly better seat pitch and laptop power.

The most important thing is UA's economy plus is FREE to UA's elite members with any economy tickets. Also UA's discount trans-pacific economy ticket is usually cost MUCH LESS than EVA's economy ticket.



[This message has been edited by VinceLee (edited 05-07-2001).]

UA's Economy+ isn't available on all transpacific flights yet, is it? I'm flying SIN-NRT-ORD in June and I've been advised that neither segment has the new enhanced seating.

Besides, UA Economy is usually comparable in price to EVA Deluxe. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Originally posted by VinceLee:
... UA now has an similar product, Economy Plus on its International routes. It even has slightly better seat pitch and laptop power.


How's the seat WIDTH? Is the config also
2X4X2 in the main cabin? Do the FA's pamper you on UA as they do on BR? Do they make you noodles everytime you cross the date line?

The real problem that I have with UA and TG transpacific are their BKK flight timings. I really enjoy sleeping on BR's night flights to/from TPE. And I love the Evergreen Lounge in the new Terminal 2. But I could be persuaded to change ...

E+ only has a seat pitch of 33-35", and uses standard economy style seats. Service is standard UA economy service -- which is pretty darn bad.

EVA's ED Class has a 38" pitch with individual seatback monitors. In fact, the seats remind me of the First Class seats on a lot of the Domestic US carriers (in terms of width/pitch). The food is pretty decent and the service is definitely better than any other "Economy Class".

I would take it over E+ any day.

For the same money, fly EVA's ED. But for several hundred less, I will definitely go with UA's E+.

My bad for mistakenly confusing about ED's seat pitch.
However, UAL's E+ on transpacific 747 have 34-36" seat pitch. E+ is expected to be completed on all UA routes by 09/2001.
I flew UA's E+ on domestic US route once and I love it.
I liked EVA's food because I am asian but I don't prefer EVA's service than UA on transpacific routes. And when was the last time that EVA offered laptop power on its plane?

I usually do leasuire travel between LAX-TPE and EWR-TPE.
The cheapest discount economy fare of EVA AIR is always more expensive than UAL. When I took EWR-TPE on UA for about $750 in Janunary, EVA's economy was asking for $900 and above.
ED was even another hundred dollar more than economy.

EVA's fare to other destination may be cheap, but I can't comment on that.

TGV said:

To those that have to wait for their connection in Taipei (6 hours in my case), and as lounge access is not given, an option is the transit hotel (NT$ 300 per hour) conveniently located on the higher floor, not far from Eva Air lounge.

The solution for access to the Eva Lounge at TPE is possession of a Diners Club card. Cardholder is admitted free, a guest costs about US$8. Fluffy towel, soap, & plastic shower slippers are provided at no additional charge. Showers are located inside restroom area within the lounge. The Eva lounge is a great break between flites.

EVA uses a 767 Domestic Business Class seat in its Economy Deluxe section. It's worth the money for a 10+ hour flight.

Vince Lee,

BR's fares to/from Taiwan are not indicative.

Most non Taiwanese who travel the airline to points beyond TPE do so on heavily discounted tickets. I am sure my BKK-LAX tickets always cost less than what a TPE-LAX ticket might.

Since EVA is trying to gain more business for its thru-conneciton passengers via the Taipei hub, the tickets for US - Asia (via Taipei) will most likely (if not always) be cheaper than US - Taipei.

I would suggest going on a trip to somewhere in Asia via Taipei, and on either the outbound or the inbound take the stop in Taipei. It's perfect for an extended vacation.

I also like the EVA deluxe class. It seems that its real business class isn't that good. So there shouldn't be much difference between the deluxe and business class.

If you plan to buy an EVAEGD ticket, you should know that if the flight is delayed or cancelled and they need to put you on another carrier, you'll get a plain economy seat, no upgrade, no compensation.

Nlp is right on the money- Eva's biz class is really quite bad- it is not comparable to others, 44" of pitch while others are at least 50 ".

I flew them in Biz on an AA code share ex LAx and will not fly them agian in this class. Evergreen Deluxe might work next time, but how do you go abot booking that with AA (code share) as they only show 3 classes.

An alternative for those Eva frequesnt fliers who want to get 50" in biz class is to take AA new servive ex SJC or SEA and earn miles

An indication of the popularity of Evergreen's Deluxe is that their 747s have had their Deluxe cabins greatly expanded. Now the economy passengers seem to be in the minority on this equipment type.

I think BR has gone a full circle with Evergreen Deluxe (ED). When EVA 744 first started in December of 1992, ED cabins were a lot bigger - 3 zones if I can remember. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a mis-calculation and they shrank it by 1 zone. I think the reason is tour groups tend to use "small Y" and tourists out of TPE account for a large portion of their passengers.

I think now that ED has been widely recognized as a good value, they are getting very popular. ED will sell out before small Y on many routes.

As far as F/Y are concerned, I think they were great products when they came out in 1992. Unfortunately, BR has not improved these cabins while other airlines (including their primary competitor China Airlines) dramatically improved ther products. Personally, I think it sort of defeats the purpose of codesharing with AA and CO (i.e. unable to impress high yield business passengers).

For passengers from Taiwan, I think many would pick BR over CI because of their safety record. So in a way BR does not need to improve as much in F/C.

My guess is things will start changing with the new aircraft 777/A330s they are getting (in C class).

Steven

I just completed a trip in ED. Last summer I was on a 744 that had in fact removed ED from the front section and replaced it with Business. However, on both flights this week, BKK-TPE and TPE-LAX, the front was ED and Business was upstairs. So, I guess it depends on the aircraft. I felt there were several improvements evident from previous ED trips. The FA's were much stronger in English than before. Also, the menus were much more eclectic...nice selections including Hagaan Daas and Belgium chocolates.
I was however seated on the back row under the magazines and outside the LAV door...what a nightmare...Still a great deal though.
John

I am travelling in Evergreen Deluxe in late September from London to Brisbane. Any suggestion for the best seat?
OP Customer Service told me that the miles count towards Elite status. I think I have to save the e-mail until they credited the miles to my account.
And they will give my a free dayroom in the transit hotel in Taipeh on my way back through Amsterdam to Hamburg.
Not a bad deal for about $950.

I am also interested in which seat would be best on Economy Deluxe - traveling from LAX to Bali through Taipei for my honeymoon http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Here is the link to the seat layout:

http://www.evaair.com/english/eva/aircraft/aircraft1_1c.htm

Also, Tim, how did you organize a free day room?

Thanks

[This message has been edited by kovets (edited 06-18-2001).]

IMHO the best seats are 24, 25, or 26, D or G. These are 2 seats in the middle so both are aisle. The row 24 and 26 ones also have more leg room; row 24 also has the small table in front of it. A drawback to 24 and 26 is that there is no seat in front for the video monitor, so it has to be placed and removed by the FA. 27 D or G are my fallbacks if I can't get one of the above.

However, EVA usually will say that those seats are reserved for Evergreen Gold members so I tell them I'm Gold, and give them my card number (don't know why my agent never seems to be able to give them my number before I'm able to get one.

I lucked into a friendly check in agent the very first time I flew EVA about 5 years ago, and he changed my seat to one of these.

Avoid the exit window seats, row 27; half your lateral leg space is taken by the exit door. In fact I avoid the aisle exit also.

[This message has been edited by siliconengineer (edited 06-19-2001).]

I will be flying SFO-TPE-SIN on June 26th and
SIN-TPE-SFO on July 6 (still waitlisted)
seatings are SFO-TPE 27D, TPE-SIN 7A
SIN-TPE 7A and TPE-SFO (still waitlisted)

Seats in what are the low-20's on BR are my preference.

The closer toward the front of the 747, the less noise from air and the engines. I'm sure you've all noticed how drastic the difference is when you walk the cabin from the rear to the front.

Just hope there ain't no crying babies in bassinets hanging off the bulkhead.

There are 3 different configuration for the 747-400s.

747-400 Full Passenger (744) - newer ones have F downstairs (12), C upstairs (32 or 34) and ED after F downstairs. I don't think there is any special ED seat.

747-400 Full Passenger (744) - older ones have F (8)/C(16) upstairs and ED downstairs. My favorite seat is 23C or the 23 on the other side. Any "A Zone" seat is better.

747-400 Combi (74E) - similar to older 747-400 F. One few ED and one fewer Y zone.

On the newer 744s rows 20-25 do not exist.

Steven

My travel agent called Eva Air in Germany and asked if a free room is available and for sure it was. I think it´s a special offer for flights from Europe to Australia but I´m not sure about that. The minimum connecting time for the room was 6 hours. So just ask your travel agent. Even if it is a consolidator flight. And I´ll become CO silver with just this flight!

"Free" hotel accomodations are often included for late-arriving PAX having transfers.

BR TPE-EWR is an example. They'll put you up in the nearby Ramada for any connecting flights.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Tim2008:
My travel agent called Eva Air in Germany and asked if a free room is available and for sure it was. I think it´s a special offer for flights from Europe to Australia but I´m not sure about that. The minimum connecting time for the room was 6 hours. So just ask your travel agent. Even if it is a consolidator flight. And I´ll become CO silver with just this flight!</font>

You have to make sure that EVA flight is CO Codeshare otherwise the flight mileage won't be counted toward CO Onepass elite qualification.

Overnight hotels when connecting is called STPC (not sure what it means). Supposedly, airlines are not allowed to advertise it to attract customers.

It is a longggg trip to go through TPE for Australia.

Steven

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by VinceLee:
You have to make sure that EVA flight is CO Codeshare otherwise the flight mileage won't be counted toward CO Onepass elite qualification.</font>

And the Europe-TPE-Australia flights are not codeshared with CO.

Steven

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by username:
And the Europe-TPE-Australia flights are not codeshared with CO.

Steven

</font>

You can still get CO miles anyway. It just doesn't help in gaining elite status in CO.

I got this e-mail from CO after asking for status miles. I looks like that they count even if it´s no codeshare flight.

Thank you for contacting the OnePass Service Center.

Eva Airlines flights in Evergreen class are valid for credit. These miles
will count toward your Elite status. In order to receive credit for a
missing flight we require a legible copy of the airline passenger receipt
and original boarding passes. Please mail this information to the OnePass
Service Center along with a note that includes your account number. Our
mailing address is:

OnePass Service Center
P. O. Box 4365
Houston, TX 77210-4365

OnePass Service Center

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Tim2008:
I got this e-mail from CO after asking for status miles. I looks like that they count even if it´s no codeshare flight.

Thank you for contacting the OnePass Service Center.

Eva Airlines flights in Evergreen class are valid for credit. These miles
will count toward your Elite status. In order to receive credit for a
missing flight we require a legible copy of the airline passenger receipt
and original boarding passes. Please mail this information to the OnePass
Service Center along with a note that includes your account number. Our
mailing address is:

OnePass Service Center
P. O. Box 4365
Houston, TX 77210-4365

OnePass Service Center</font>

All I can say is good luck. My girlfriend took EVA from EWR to TPE roundtrip in April. She didn't get any CO status miles because the flights weren't codeshared.

I was very impressed with Evergreen Deluxe service. Even though my flight to Vietnam was not listed as a code share (I bought from EVA directly) I did receive OnePass miles (and Elite bonus miles) for all segments.

BA now offers far superior service in their T class.

If you refer to the OnePass web site, it doesn't say that EVA earns mileage on it's own:

http://onepass.continental.com/elite_rewards.htm

I would assume that only "Continental code-share flights operated by other airlines (ticketed as Continental)" would qualify.