Dianne47
Apr 6, 01, 10:55 am
This is my first trip report on FlyerTalk, so take it easy with the comments, OK? Warning: long report!
My 13-year-old daughter and I recently spent two weeks in Bali, a wonderful cultural experience for her and fun for mom to introduce my one and only chickadee to the wonders of experiencing a third-world country. It was my second trip to Bali, previous journey was in 1999 on Southwest and Singapore Air. The joys of ultra-longhaul travel are many for those FlyerTalkers in the front two cabins, but my previous experience in the SQ economy seat for a total of about 50 hours prompted me to explore other alternatives for this trip. I was going to be earning miles on this trip, not redeeming them. After much research on the internet I made the decision to give EVA Air a try. Their “Evergreen Deluxe Economy” sounded like a winner: near-business-class-size seats with a 38-in. seat pitch, 2-4-2 configuration in the cabin, and the reports of more than acceptable food and service led me to choose them. Earning Continental OnePass 18,000 miles for both of us was an added bonus. The research phase of planning this trip led to my discovery of FlyerTalk.com and information I gleaned here really helped improve our experiences during the parts of the trip that included airports and plane rides.
I kept reading that EVA’s deluxe economy was only $100-200 more RT than everyone else’s regular economy. I ended up paying $908 for each ticket LAX-DPS-LAX through Borneo International, a consolidator in SFO. Their service was quite good, they were easy to work with over the phone and they arranged our advanced seat assignments on the applicable segments (more on this later). The consolidator offered us connecting flights to LAX on America West and the return would have routed us through LAS in the middle of the night, so I ended up booking our domestic segments separately. I knew that if the international tickets were conjuncted to the United Shuttle tickets we would avoid the domestic taxes, so I drove to the CTO to show the EVA tickets and pay for the domestic segments. This saved about $36.
March 8, 2001
United Shuttle: UA 2667 PHX-LAX Coach seats 13CD (737)
We arrived at the PHX airport 90 minutes early for our early evening departure. The screen showed a late arrival on the inbound aircraft, so I knew we were in for it from the get-go. We had a 4 hour connect scheduled in LAX, so I wasn’t too concerned, but the delay kept creeping and creeping. Our flight finally departed PHX two full hours late. Beverages were served by order and from individual trays. I liked the little bag of snack crackers. We arrived at LAX Terminal 8 two hours and seven minutes late and I was amused by the curbside doggie restroom area (complete with mock fire hydrant, doghouse, and appropriate signage), adjacent to the cop shop and several parked police cars. (For future dogwalkers, this is just past the eastern end of Terminal 8 on the ground level outside baggage claim.) Our luggage had been checked through to DPS by the agent at the PHX counter, so we proceeded to the waiting area for the inter-terminal shuttle bus. We waited a very long time for the Bus A. It took more than 30 minutes to reach the International Terminal and we certainly could have walked the distance in less time, but I was conserving our energy for the forthcoming 27 more hours of travel.
EVA Airlines: BR 015 LAX-TPE Evergreen Deluxe seats 32AB (747-400)
We arrived at the EVA checkin counter about 90 minutes before departure time and there was virtually no line. Separate desks were designated for Super First, Super Business, Evergreen Deluxe, and Economy. We received out LAX-TPE boarding passes with the seats that were pre-reserved. The connecting segment from TPE-DPS was a 767 with only Super Business and Economy seating, we were told the flight was not yet open for seat assignment and instructed to check for those boarding passes upon arrival in TPE. We proceeded through long lines for security.
During the entire trip to that point a minor drama has arisen when my daughter, Ari, discovered that she could not open the brand new combination locks she had programmed and placed on her carryon tote, the one with the inflight goodies like books, personal CD player, etc. She is a seasoned traveler, but needed her own treasures to withstand the very long journey immediately ahead. We had been trying to find someone to break open the lock and had thus far been totally unsuccessful. We had asked security people at every checkpoint, baggage service offices, cops, etc., so far to no avail. We arrived at the departure gate for the EVA flight and at the last minute I spied a cheerful looking guy in some kind of uniform (oxymoron for sure: cheerful + uniform) just standing like a beacon in the swarm of people. He had a baseball cap on with a big gold LAX printed on it. I approached him and explained that I needed to break the lock on my daughter’s bag. He said he could certainly help and told me to follow him. He proceeded at jogging speed to the next gate and led me into what turned out to be a back room staging area for about a dozen painters who were readying their equipment for a night’s work! One of them had a giant vice grip and pliers and he bent the little padlock with ease, so much for baggage security... And, thank you LAX paint crew!
I hightailed it back to EVA’s gate and Ari was so happy to see my thumbs up. So much for the new Franzus combination locks, I instantly remove them from use. We were about the last passengers to board and quickly settled into our seats. The 747-400 was configured with “Super First” in the most forward section, followed by our Evergreen Deluxe cabin of 8 rows, then a large galley area, followed by another Evergreen Deluxe section, and Economy at the rear. A stairway led up to the “Super Business” section. Our seats were the last row in our cabin. We quickly settled in, placing our carryon baggage under the seats in front of us. Every seat was occupied, no babies or small children in sight. I heard a comment at the ticket counter about, “another full flight tonight.”
I had read about the weird FA uniforms on EVA, but the full impact of their design took a while to sink in. Quite simply, they are the ugliest outfits I’ve ever seen on any airline anywhere. The eye-popping emerald green jacket and skirt are accompanied by bright orange accents, we are talking St. Paddy’s Day meets Halloween... EVA is certainly the green airline, their exterior paint is green and white, the seat upholstery in our cabin was burnt orange and teal (not too bad), I believe even the leather on the armrests was green. (Ari was laughing at my notetaking at this point...) The ED rayon knitted blankets were green, green cotton fabric cases covered the tiniest pillows ever, dark green amenity bags included a clever folding toothbrush & toothpaste, Crabtree & Evelyn jojoba lotion, green (of course) eyeshade, and (hark, not green) plastic grey scuff-type slippers were provided.
A video safety briefing in Chinese and English was shown on the several TV monitors at the front of the cabin. Individual screens for the entertainment system were located at each seat, the headset was already in the seat pocket, along with several magazines in a cellophane packet: duty-free catalog for their cart, stickers for “wake me” or “do not wake me” for meals, a burp bag, monthly inflight magazine, and the entertainment guide. Flight time to TPE was announced as 13:37 and we settled in for a long night. The aircraft departed the gate on time at 2355.
I note that many FlyerTalk reports include a lot of detail about the menus and food service. My commentary about EVA’s food and beverage service will be brief. The FAs deliver consistent service in the ED cabin, serve beverages from carts, meals are served from carts with two choices of main course. I noticed that about 90% of the passengers were Asian, the menus reflect these demographics. The trays are completely pre-set with the entree, so if neither entree sounds good you are still forced to choose one, there’s no way to receive a tray with just side dishes. I only sampled one glass of white wine on the entire trip, it was unremarkable and I didn’t even note its label. The FAs did not pass through the cabin with water and juices as often as they do on SQ, but a beverage selection was always available on a side counter in the galley area. I prefer to get up and walk around often, so didn’t mind going back to get a drink while stretching.
We are very tired after the dinner service and settle in for some sleep. The larger seats make a big difference in comfort on this long segment and we sleep surprisingly well, for about 6-7 hours. I’m thankful that I brought my “Bucky” pillow, as the EVA pillow is miniscule. Our row is right in front of the lavatory and I sighed in dismay upon discovering the location of our seats, but there isn’t that much traffic and it ends up not bothering us too much.
We arrive in TPE 35 minutes ahead of schedule and proceed directly to a transit desk in the same hallway, where we are given our pre-printed boarding passes for the TPE-DPS segment. I have planned our 3 hours in the transit area carefully and plan to now reap the rewards for all my research. The spanking new Terminal 2 is a galaxy away from the incredibly awful facility I remembered from the 1999 stop in TPE. It’s filled with light, the soft blue and teal colors are easy on the eyes, stainless steel trusses and architectural features abound. We ask for directions to the EVA Lounge and well-placed signage helps us navigate a number of turns and 2 elevator rides. My FlyerTalk surfing had led me to apply for and receive a new Diner’s Club card, which we use to gain entrance to the First/Business lounge that is run by EVA in Terminal 2. The attendant tells me that only one person can enter the lounge free, I must pay NT$250 for my daughter. I have no idea how what the exchange rate is, but I ask her to charge the fee to the card. (It shows up as about $8 on the next bill.)
I ask if the showers are available and she gives me two cello-wrapped packages with fluffy white towels and paper-wrapped soaps. We are directed to the Business Class side of the facility. The ladies shower facility is located inside the restroom. Two separate areas behind etched glass doors allow two people to use the showers at the same time. For each person there is a tiny dressing area with hotel-type metal towel rack, two wooden hangers, a basket for watch, etc., plus a small round stool. A fresh floormat is not evident, I grab several paper towels from the restroom and use them for a bathmat. Another door encloses the actual shower area, with a nice handheld shower which can be mounted on a vertical slider bar. Within the showers area, but outside the cubicles, is a narrow vanity, large mirror, hairdryer, and box of tissues. The addition of a sink would have improved this area, one must go to the adjacent restroom area to access a sink. The facilities are very compact but certainly more than sufficient.
The lounge is a true oasis for such a long trip. The showers enormously refresh us, we left home 23 hours earlier and still have 7 hours to go before we touch down in Bali, then a couple of more hours ride to our hotel. After about 2 hours in the lounge we get antsy and decide to go ahead and mosey back to our gate. We check out a couple of the duty-free stores on the way, but find nothing we need to buy at this point in the trip. We arrive too early at the departure gate and suffer through 45 minutes of incessant outgoing flight announcements in both Chinese and English. I make a mental note not to make the same mistake on the way back.
March 10
EVA Airlines: BR 255 TPE-DPS Economy seats 9JK (767-200)
The aircraft is not full, 2-3-2 seating in economy. EVA does not have the fourth class on the 767 equipment, so we are in economy seats for the last five-hour segment of our trip. Flight departs ontime. Snack crackers and drinks are served, arrival forms are distributed and we manage to spill a full glass of Coke Light all over me. I ask a passing FA for club soda and the language barrier is evident. I manage to make myself understood by accompanying her to the galley. My clothing is navy blue, so the stains are not evident after the old dousing with the bubbly trick. Lunch is served from the carts, I choose a fish and rice entree, the tray also includes a salad, fruit, mystery dessert, bread rolls are served from the beverage cart. A packet with dental floss and toothpick is on the meal tray, thankfully I do not observe anyone making use of this amenity...
The flight time passes quickly, no individual movie screens on this aircraft. We read and nap a bit. The aircraft is comfortable and our seats are very near the front, which means we are among the first off from the flight. We arrive in DPS ontime and exit via a jetway, not all flights use jetways at this airport so we are thankful for the ease of disembarking. After waiting a while in the immigration lines we hopefully eye the baggage belts and are rewarded with the arrival of both suitcases---undamaged and un-tampered-with. I exchange $100 before leaving the arrivals area. Thirty-one hours after leaving home, we walk into the mid-afternoon tropical heat and our driver is waiting for us at the curb.
BALI
We spend 14 nights touring the Island of the Gods, certainly a full trip report in itself. We stay in four different hotels and enjoy them all. All too soon we return to the DPS Airport for our return trip. Our guide (I had also employed him for the trip 2 years prior) takes us to the airport 4 hours early, as he has many preparations to make at his home for the biggest religious holiday of the year the following day.
The international departures area is much different from what I recall. We are way too early for our 4pm flight, so I spend some time finding a baggage cart as I know we won’t be able to check in for a while. We finally commandeer a cart and enter the terminal. The first stop is security and x-ray right at the door. We put all our items through and walk around looking for a restaurant. We keep seeing guys walking by in McDonald’s uniforms with insulated delivery bags. The printing on the outside of the bags says, “McDonald’s Ngurah Rai International Airport.” My daughter’s antennae are fully deployed---McDonald’s!! She has been eating rice or noodles at every meal for two weeks and says she would kill for french fries and a milkshake. Reluctantly I leave her with all the luggage and set out to find the airport McDonald’s. Well, I eventually find it---outside the terminal on the curb! I laugh out loud, an Indonesian curbside Golden Arches Country Club! My amusement wanes when I discover I have to exit the terminal and navigate back through the passenger dropoff area, but it isn’t that far to walk.
About 15 minutes later I emerge from the melee, triumphantly, with the bagsful of McNuggets, fries, and shakes in hand. Uh-oh---somehow I have to get this mess back inside the terminal and through the x-ray machines. I enter the building and smile broadly at the guard, waving the McDonald’s sacks slowly. I tell him it’s only food and he motions me through. I guess I’m as far from the terrorist profile as one can get, but he doesn’t even glance into the bags to check...
March 24
EVA Airlines: BR 256 DPS-TPE Economy seats 15HK (767-200)
We ensconce ourselves as near the EVA checkin counters as we can get and wait. Finally, 2 1/2 hours before departure the contract personnel open four checkin stations: First/Business, two for groups, one for everyone else. We are second in line. Several hundred suitcases belonging to groups completely block access to the ticket counters. I present our international and domestic tickets and ask for the luggage to be checked all the way through to PHX. The agent refuses to check the bags further than LAX and a lengthy discussion, more of a standoff, ensues. She keeps asking me for “printed confirmation of your e-ticket,” and I keep pointing out that the coupons I have are printed on United Shuttle stock. She keeps saying she can’t check the bags on an e-ticket. I just stand there, with the long line behind me. She types and types into the computer and finally checks the bags to PHX, muttering that EVA might get fined...
No luggage carts are allowed upstairs in the departures area, so we schlep our carryons around while we wait for the flight. A number of upscale shops are located in the terminal. My daughter later tells me she saw a giant rat walking on the tee-shirt displays in one of the stores. Yikes! We saw hundreds of bugs, geckos, cats, dogs, etc. in Bali---but the only rats were in the airport...
The boarding process is very orderly, the first proper boarding I’ve observed on EVA. A guy holds up large signs with seat row numbers for each group to board. The flight is completely full, most passengers are the large group of Taiwanese whose luggage clogged the ticket counters. After the snafu at the checkin counter I feared the worst about our seating, but we are seated in an exit row on a bulkhead with our own tv screen, immediately behind the toilet and mid-cabin galley. My daughter is only 13, but she’s been flying all her life and I’m certain she would be more competent at opening an emergency exit than most adults, so I do not ask to be reseated.
The aircraft pulls off the gate ten minutes early, I guess it was full so why not? After takeoff the beverage carts come by with the ubiquitous bags of rice crackers, peanuts, & dried peas. Dinner is served with the choice of “seafood” or chicken.” I select the seafood which consists of shrimp, mystery fish, stir-fried greens, Chinese noodles. The chicken entree is pieces of chicken, rice, mixed Asian vegetables. The tray also has salad with tomato, fruit slices, “maybe chocolate” frosted yellow cake, the soft rolls are served from a basket on the cart. FAs come by with beverage cart, then coffee, then tea. The seatbelt sign is illuminated and it’s fairly rough, but the Chinese passengers wander the aisles and wait for the lav.
About 1:10 before arrival carts come by with “snack boxes.” Inside is an aluminum tray with sushi and mystery bites, sari buah drink (used stabber from the sushi tray to poke holes in the plastic lid), and a Kit Kat bar. Also, a heavily perfumed wetnap.
We arrive a few minutes early at 2110 in TPE and head straight for the EVA lounge. We use the Diner’s Club card for entry and again pay the fee for my daughter, using the card. There are a number of passengers in the lounge and a slight traffic jam for using the ladies showers. This time we receive very small towels and soap, but plastic-coated paper shower shoes are also issued. Again, the showers really help us revive and we still have the longest segment ahead of us. We visit the buffet area in the lounge and enjoy the drinks but do not try the fermented cabbage and pork steamed buns.
March 24
EVA Airlines: BR 015 TPE-LAX Evergreen Deluxe seats 30AC (747-400)
There are 3 empty seats in our 48-seat section of the aircraft. The aircraft pulls off the gate 5 minutes early at 2350. Video safety briefing. Same amenity kit for overnight flight, same cello packet of magazines, stickers, etc. FA delivers menus (they had been in the seat pockets on the LAX-TPE segment) and turns on my reading light when she observes me writing in my journal. Everything on the menu sounds awful to us, we’ll see. My daughter is exhausted and takes an Excedrin PM to help her sleep. FAs bring OJ, AJ, and water on trays, pass out U.S. Customs forms. Ah, the packets of peanuts and coated peas.
The dinner cart arrives. Seafood choice = mystery fish, a couple of shrimp, 1 scallop under what purports to be a tomato sauce. Rice and a few vegetables complete the entree. Salad is sliced chicken and cucumbers, apple slices plus 3 grapes are the fruit dish, Chinese white cake is topped with a light blueberry mousse-like frosting. Soft rolls are plopped onto the trays from the carts. I will say that the EVA chef sticks to the formula: entree, salad, fruit, dessert. It’s not horribly bad, but neither could the food be described as faintly imaginative.
A few hours of rest, again the ED larger seats and pitch are a godsend. The breakfast cart arrives. Entree choices are pork or porridge. Gag me! Trays are pre-set, so we have to take one or the other. We opt for porridge. A peek reveals...oh, argh! We eat the fruit, a muffin, and a roll, skip the pickled cabbage.
EVA’s audio/video is pretty good. There are 8 audio channels, an inflight progress screen with New Age music channel, the movies are four set programs of 2 1/2 hours, giving 8 movie choices such as Nurse Betty, Red Planet, Unbreakable, kiddie cartoons in English and Chinese, Meet the Parents, Billy Elliott. Languages also include German and French for some selections.
My favorite EVA moment (every flight): after landing the FAs stand at attention in the aisles, an announcement comes on, “Thank you for flying EVA,” and they all bow, followed by passengers applause!
Due to winds and mid-Pacific routing of the flight, we arrive at 1955, about 55 minutes late. Slow passport control and our visit with the USDA man about our experiences in the pigpen in Bali mean our baggage is already sitting on the floor when we reach the claim area. We are waved through customs and deposit our bags at the onward baggage belt. We have one hour until our United Shuttle departure.
March 24
United Shuttle: UA 2668 LAX-PHX Coach seats 5 EF (737)
We walk all the way to Terminal 8, about a 15-minute hike. I never see the inter-terminal bus on the whole walk. We cannot find the elevator (it turns out we walked too far past it) and go to the Traveler’s Aid lady in the UA baggage claim for directions. She can’t speak enough English for us to understand her---welcome to America!
We look at a screen for our flight number and it’s posted for 2310 departure, 1:40 late! Surprise, surprise... The friendly agent at the gate asks if she can keep our boarding passes to try to to give us better seats. We beeline to California Pizza Kitchen and order two personal-size pizzas and one small drink. That’ll be $17 and change. We burst out laughing, we could’ve eaten for 2 days in Bali for $17. My daughter is in ecstasy as she finishes the pizza and we go back to retrieve the boarding passes. The gate has been changed and our boarding passes are...well, who knows and at United, who cares? We finally manage to retrieve them (turned out they were being carried to the new gate when we approached.)
We finally depart LAX 2 1/2 hours late and arrive PHX the same 2 1/2 hours late, at 0125. After a LONG wait for the luggage it arrives. We stagger from the claim area, 26 hours after leaving our hotel in Bali.
When we arrive at home I discover that Ari’s luggage lock is completely missing and the fitting is torn away. My lock is also missing. I fear the worst and immediately know if something happened it was after re-depositing the luggage in LAX. I carefully check the contents of our bags and everything is orderly and there.
SUMMARY
Would I fly EVA again? Well, they have a flawless safety record, their equipment is new, they were on time (except for the segment with the headwinds). Sure, I will fly again on EVA, but only in the Deluxe Economy or better. This trip gave us each almost enough mileage for a domestic CO ticket. Next time I will take some little snacks and goodies, just in case they want to give me chicken porridge again... For travelers from North America to Bali, this routing is definitely the fastest. Everything else takes even longer. The food and service on SQ was somewhat better, their FA uniforms, decor, etc. were far nicer. But when I’m in a moving room for 14 hours straight, give me the BIGGER SEAT. I want the real estate. Now if we could just lose the bright green uniforms...
[This message has been edited by Dianne47 (edited 04-06-2001).]
My 13-year-old daughter and I recently spent two weeks in Bali, a wonderful cultural experience for her and fun for mom to introduce my one and only chickadee to the wonders of experiencing a third-world country. It was my second trip to Bali, previous journey was in 1999 on Southwest and Singapore Air. The joys of ultra-longhaul travel are many for those FlyerTalkers in the front two cabins, but my previous experience in the SQ economy seat for a total of about 50 hours prompted me to explore other alternatives for this trip. I was going to be earning miles on this trip, not redeeming them. After much research on the internet I made the decision to give EVA Air a try. Their “Evergreen Deluxe Economy” sounded like a winner: near-business-class-size seats with a 38-in. seat pitch, 2-4-2 configuration in the cabin, and the reports of more than acceptable food and service led me to choose them. Earning Continental OnePass 18,000 miles for both of us was an added bonus. The research phase of planning this trip led to my discovery of FlyerTalk.com and information I gleaned here really helped improve our experiences during the parts of the trip that included airports and plane rides.
I kept reading that EVA’s deluxe economy was only $100-200 more RT than everyone else’s regular economy. I ended up paying $908 for each ticket LAX-DPS-LAX through Borneo International, a consolidator in SFO. Their service was quite good, they were easy to work with over the phone and they arranged our advanced seat assignments on the applicable segments (more on this later). The consolidator offered us connecting flights to LAX on America West and the return would have routed us through LAS in the middle of the night, so I ended up booking our domestic segments separately. I knew that if the international tickets were conjuncted to the United Shuttle tickets we would avoid the domestic taxes, so I drove to the CTO to show the EVA tickets and pay for the domestic segments. This saved about $36.
March 8, 2001
United Shuttle: UA 2667 PHX-LAX Coach seats 13CD (737)
We arrived at the PHX airport 90 minutes early for our early evening departure. The screen showed a late arrival on the inbound aircraft, so I knew we were in for it from the get-go. We had a 4 hour connect scheduled in LAX, so I wasn’t too concerned, but the delay kept creeping and creeping. Our flight finally departed PHX two full hours late. Beverages were served by order and from individual trays. I liked the little bag of snack crackers. We arrived at LAX Terminal 8 two hours and seven minutes late and I was amused by the curbside doggie restroom area (complete with mock fire hydrant, doghouse, and appropriate signage), adjacent to the cop shop and several parked police cars. (For future dogwalkers, this is just past the eastern end of Terminal 8 on the ground level outside baggage claim.) Our luggage had been checked through to DPS by the agent at the PHX counter, so we proceeded to the waiting area for the inter-terminal shuttle bus. We waited a very long time for the Bus A. It took more than 30 minutes to reach the International Terminal and we certainly could have walked the distance in less time, but I was conserving our energy for the forthcoming 27 more hours of travel.
EVA Airlines: BR 015 LAX-TPE Evergreen Deluxe seats 32AB (747-400)
We arrived at the EVA checkin counter about 90 minutes before departure time and there was virtually no line. Separate desks were designated for Super First, Super Business, Evergreen Deluxe, and Economy. We received out LAX-TPE boarding passes with the seats that were pre-reserved. The connecting segment from TPE-DPS was a 767 with only Super Business and Economy seating, we were told the flight was not yet open for seat assignment and instructed to check for those boarding passes upon arrival in TPE. We proceeded through long lines for security.
During the entire trip to that point a minor drama has arisen when my daughter, Ari, discovered that she could not open the brand new combination locks she had programmed and placed on her carryon tote, the one with the inflight goodies like books, personal CD player, etc. She is a seasoned traveler, but needed her own treasures to withstand the very long journey immediately ahead. We had been trying to find someone to break open the lock and had thus far been totally unsuccessful. We had asked security people at every checkpoint, baggage service offices, cops, etc., so far to no avail. We arrived at the departure gate for the EVA flight and at the last minute I spied a cheerful looking guy in some kind of uniform (oxymoron for sure: cheerful + uniform) just standing like a beacon in the swarm of people. He had a baseball cap on with a big gold LAX printed on it. I approached him and explained that I needed to break the lock on my daughter’s bag. He said he could certainly help and told me to follow him. He proceeded at jogging speed to the next gate and led me into what turned out to be a back room staging area for about a dozen painters who were readying their equipment for a night’s work! One of them had a giant vice grip and pliers and he bent the little padlock with ease, so much for baggage security... And, thank you LAX paint crew!
I hightailed it back to EVA’s gate and Ari was so happy to see my thumbs up. So much for the new Franzus combination locks, I instantly remove them from use. We were about the last passengers to board and quickly settled into our seats. The 747-400 was configured with “Super First” in the most forward section, followed by our Evergreen Deluxe cabin of 8 rows, then a large galley area, followed by another Evergreen Deluxe section, and Economy at the rear. A stairway led up to the “Super Business” section. Our seats were the last row in our cabin. We quickly settled in, placing our carryon baggage under the seats in front of us. Every seat was occupied, no babies or small children in sight. I heard a comment at the ticket counter about, “another full flight tonight.”
I had read about the weird FA uniforms on EVA, but the full impact of their design took a while to sink in. Quite simply, they are the ugliest outfits I’ve ever seen on any airline anywhere. The eye-popping emerald green jacket and skirt are accompanied by bright orange accents, we are talking St. Paddy’s Day meets Halloween... EVA is certainly the green airline, their exterior paint is green and white, the seat upholstery in our cabin was burnt orange and teal (not too bad), I believe even the leather on the armrests was green. (Ari was laughing at my notetaking at this point...) The ED rayon knitted blankets were green, green cotton fabric cases covered the tiniest pillows ever, dark green amenity bags included a clever folding toothbrush & toothpaste, Crabtree & Evelyn jojoba lotion, green (of course) eyeshade, and (hark, not green) plastic grey scuff-type slippers were provided.
A video safety briefing in Chinese and English was shown on the several TV monitors at the front of the cabin. Individual screens for the entertainment system were located at each seat, the headset was already in the seat pocket, along with several magazines in a cellophane packet: duty-free catalog for their cart, stickers for “wake me” or “do not wake me” for meals, a burp bag, monthly inflight magazine, and the entertainment guide. Flight time to TPE was announced as 13:37 and we settled in for a long night. The aircraft departed the gate on time at 2355.
I note that many FlyerTalk reports include a lot of detail about the menus and food service. My commentary about EVA’s food and beverage service will be brief. The FAs deliver consistent service in the ED cabin, serve beverages from carts, meals are served from carts with two choices of main course. I noticed that about 90% of the passengers were Asian, the menus reflect these demographics. The trays are completely pre-set with the entree, so if neither entree sounds good you are still forced to choose one, there’s no way to receive a tray with just side dishes. I only sampled one glass of white wine on the entire trip, it was unremarkable and I didn’t even note its label. The FAs did not pass through the cabin with water and juices as often as they do on SQ, but a beverage selection was always available on a side counter in the galley area. I prefer to get up and walk around often, so didn’t mind going back to get a drink while stretching.
We are very tired after the dinner service and settle in for some sleep. The larger seats make a big difference in comfort on this long segment and we sleep surprisingly well, for about 6-7 hours. I’m thankful that I brought my “Bucky” pillow, as the EVA pillow is miniscule. Our row is right in front of the lavatory and I sighed in dismay upon discovering the location of our seats, but there isn’t that much traffic and it ends up not bothering us too much.
We arrive in TPE 35 minutes ahead of schedule and proceed directly to a transit desk in the same hallway, where we are given our pre-printed boarding passes for the TPE-DPS segment. I have planned our 3 hours in the transit area carefully and plan to now reap the rewards for all my research. The spanking new Terminal 2 is a galaxy away from the incredibly awful facility I remembered from the 1999 stop in TPE. It’s filled with light, the soft blue and teal colors are easy on the eyes, stainless steel trusses and architectural features abound. We ask for directions to the EVA Lounge and well-placed signage helps us navigate a number of turns and 2 elevator rides. My FlyerTalk surfing had led me to apply for and receive a new Diner’s Club card, which we use to gain entrance to the First/Business lounge that is run by EVA in Terminal 2. The attendant tells me that only one person can enter the lounge free, I must pay NT$250 for my daughter. I have no idea how what the exchange rate is, but I ask her to charge the fee to the card. (It shows up as about $8 on the next bill.)
I ask if the showers are available and she gives me two cello-wrapped packages with fluffy white towels and paper-wrapped soaps. We are directed to the Business Class side of the facility. The ladies shower facility is located inside the restroom. Two separate areas behind etched glass doors allow two people to use the showers at the same time. For each person there is a tiny dressing area with hotel-type metal towel rack, two wooden hangers, a basket for watch, etc., plus a small round stool. A fresh floormat is not evident, I grab several paper towels from the restroom and use them for a bathmat. Another door encloses the actual shower area, with a nice handheld shower which can be mounted on a vertical slider bar. Within the showers area, but outside the cubicles, is a narrow vanity, large mirror, hairdryer, and box of tissues. The addition of a sink would have improved this area, one must go to the adjacent restroom area to access a sink. The facilities are very compact but certainly more than sufficient.
The lounge is a true oasis for such a long trip. The showers enormously refresh us, we left home 23 hours earlier and still have 7 hours to go before we touch down in Bali, then a couple of more hours ride to our hotel. After about 2 hours in the lounge we get antsy and decide to go ahead and mosey back to our gate. We check out a couple of the duty-free stores on the way, but find nothing we need to buy at this point in the trip. We arrive too early at the departure gate and suffer through 45 minutes of incessant outgoing flight announcements in both Chinese and English. I make a mental note not to make the same mistake on the way back.
March 10
EVA Airlines: BR 255 TPE-DPS Economy seats 9JK (767-200)
The aircraft is not full, 2-3-2 seating in economy. EVA does not have the fourth class on the 767 equipment, so we are in economy seats for the last five-hour segment of our trip. Flight departs ontime. Snack crackers and drinks are served, arrival forms are distributed and we manage to spill a full glass of Coke Light all over me. I ask a passing FA for club soda and the language barrier is evident. I manage to make myself understood by accompanying her to the galley. My clothing is navy blue, so the stains are not evident after the old dousing with the bubbly trick. Lunch is served from the carts, I choose a fish and rice entree, the tray also includes a salad, fruit, mystery dessert, bread rolls are served from the beverage cart. A packet with dental floss and toothpick is on the meal tray, thankfully I do not observe anyone making use of this amenity...
The flight time passes quickly, no individual movie screens on this aircraft. We read and nap a bit. The aircraft is comfortable and our seats are very near the front, which means we are among the first off from the flight. We arrive in DPS ontime and exit via a jetway, not all flights use jetways at this airport so we are thankful for the ease of disembarking. After waiting a while in the immigration lines we hopefully eye the baggage belts and are rewarded with the arrival of both suitcases---undamaged and un-tampered-with. I exchange $100 before leaving the arrivals area. Thirty-one hours after leaving home, we walk into the mid-afternoon tropical heat and our driver is waiting for us at the curb.
BALI
We spend 14 nights touring the Island of the Gods, certainly a full trip report in itself. We stay in four different hotels and enjoy them all. All too soon we return to the DPS Airport for our return trip. Our guide (I had also employed him for the trip 2 years prior) takes us to the airport 4 hours early, as he has many preparations to make at his home for the biggest religious holiday of the year the following day.
The international departures area is much different from what I recall. We are way too early for our 4pm flight, so I spend some time finding a baggage cart as I know we won’t be able to check in for a while. We finally commandeer a cart and enter the terminal. The first stop is security and x-ray right at the door. We put all our items through and walk around looking for a restaurant. We keep seeing guys walking by in McDonald’s uniforms with insulated delivery bags. The printing on the outside of the bags says, “McDonald’s Ngurah Rai International Airport.” My daughter’s antennae are fully deployed---McDonald’s!! She has been eating rice or noodles at every meal for two weeks and says she would kill for french fries and a milkshake. Reluctantly I leave her with all the luggage and set out to find the airport McDonald’s. Well, I eventually find it---outside the terminal on the curb! I laugh out loud, an Indonesian curbside Golden Arches Country Club! My amusement wanes when I discover I have to exit the terminal and navigate back through the passenger dropoff area, but it isn’t that far to walk.
About 15 minutes later I emerge from the melee, triumphantly, with the bagsful of McNuggets, fries, and shakes in hand. Uh-oh---somehow I have to get this mess back inside the terminal and through the x-ray machines. I enter the building and smile broadly at the guard, waving the McDonald’s sacks slowly. I tell him it’s only food and he motions me through. I guess I’m as far from the terrorist profile as one can get, but he doesn’t even glance into the bags to check...
March 24
EVA Airlines: BR 256 DPS-TPE Economy seats 15HK (767-200)
We ensconce ourselves as near the EVA checkin counters as we can get and wait. Finally, 2 1/2 hours before departure the contract personnel open four checkin stations: First/Business, two for groups, one for everyone else. We are second in line. Several hundred suitcases belonging to groups completely block access to the ticket counters. I present our international and domestic tickets and ask for the luggage to be checked all the way through to PHX. The agent refuses to check the bags further than LAX and a lengthy discussion, more of a standoff, ensues. She keeps asking me for “printed confirmation of your e-ticket,” and I keep pointing out that the coupons I have are printed on United Shuttle stock. She keeps saying she can’t check the bags on an e-ticket. I just stand there, with the long line behind me. She types and types into the computer and finally checks the bags to PHX, muttering that EVA might get fined...
No luggage carts are allowed upstairs in the departures area, so we schlep our carryons around while we wait for the flight. A number of upscale shops are located in the terminal. My daughter later tells me she saw a giant rat walking on the tee-shirt displays in one of the stores. Yikes! We saw hundreds of bugs, geckos, cats, dogs, etc. in Bali---but the only rats were in the airport...
The boarding process is very orderly, the first proper boarding I’ve observed on EVA. A guy holds up large signs with seat row numbers for each group to board. The flight is completely full, most passengers are the large group of Taiwanese whose luggage clogged the ticket counters. After the snafu at the checkin counter I feared the worst about our seating, but we are seated in an exit row on a bulkhead with our own tv screen, immediately behind the toilet and mid-cabin galley. My daughter is only 13, but she’s been flying all her life and I’m certain she would be more competent at opening an emergency exit than most adults, so I do not ask to be reseated.
The aircraft pulls off the gate ten minutes early, I guess it was full so why not? After takeoff the beverage carts come by with the ubiquitous bags of rice crackers, peanuts, & dried peas. Dinner is served with the choice of “seafood” or chicken.” I select the seafood which consists of shrimp, mystery fish, stir-fried greens, Chinese noodles. The chicken entree is pieces of chicken, rice, mixed Asian vegetables. The tray also has salad with tomato, fruit slices, “maybe chocolate” frosted yellow cake, the soft rolls are served from a basket on the cart. FAs come by with beverage cart, then coffee, then tea. The seatbelt sign is illuminated and it’s fairly rough, but the Chinese passengers wander the aisles and wait for the lav.
About 1:10 before arrival carts come by with “snack boxes.” Inside is an aluminum tray with sushi and mystery bites, sari buah drink (used stabber from the sushi tray to poke holes in the plastic lid), and a Kit Kat bar. Also, a heavily perfumed wetnap.
We arrive a few minutes early at 2110 in TPE and head straight for the EVA lounge. We use the Diner’s Club card for entry and again pay the fee for my daughter, using the card. There are a number of passengers in the lounge and a slight traffic jam for using the ladies showers. This time we receive very small towels and soap, but plastic-coated paper shower shoes are also issued. Again, the showers really help us revive and we still have the longest segment ahead of us. We visit the buffet area in the lounge and enjoy the drinks but do not try the fermented cabbage and pork steamed buns.
March 24
EVA Airlines: BR 015 TPE-LAX Evergreen Deluxe seats 30AC (747-400)
There are 3 empty seats in our 48-seat section of the aircraft. The aircraft pulls off the gate 5 minutes early at 2350. Video safety briefing. Same amenity kit for overnight flight, same cello packet of magazines, stickers, etc. FA delivers menus (they had been in the seat pockets on the LAX-TPE segment) and turns on my reading light when she observes me writing in my journal. Everything on the menu sounds awful to us, we’ll see. My daughter is exhausted and takes an Excedrin PM to help her sleep. FAs bring OJ, AJ, and water on trays, pass out U.S. Customs forms. Ah, the packets of peanuts and coated peas.
The dinner cart arrives. Seafood choice = mystery fish, a couple of shrimp, 1 scallop under what purports to be a tomato sauce. Rice and a few vegetables complete the entree. Salad is sliced chicken and cucumbers, apple slices plus 3 grapes are the fruit dish, Chinese white cake is topped with a light blueberry mousse-like frosting. Soft rolls are plopped onto the trays from the carts. I will say that the EVA chef sticks to the formula: entree, salad, fruit, dessert. It’s not horribly bad, but neither could the food be described as faintly imaginative.
A few hours of rest, again the ED larger seats and pitch are a godsend. The breakfast cart arrives. Entree choices are pork or porridge. Gag me! Trays are pre-set, so we have to take one or the other. We opt for porridge. A peek reveals...oh, argh! We eat the fruit, a muffin, and a roll, skip the pickled cabbage.
EVA’s audio/video is pretty good. There are 8 audio channels, an inflight progress screen with New Age music channel, the movies are four set programs of 2 1/2 hours, giving 8 movie choices such as Nurse Betty, Red Planet, Unbreakable, kiddie cartoons in English and Chinese, Meet the Parents, Billy Elliott. Languages also include German and French for some selections.
My favorite EVA moment (every flight): after landing the FAs stand at attention in the aisles, an announcement comes on, “Thank you for flying EVA,” and they all bow, followed by passengers applause!
Due to winds and mid-Pacific routing of the flight, we arrive at 1955, about 55 minutes late. Slow passport control and our visit with the USDA man about our experiences in the pigpen in Bali mean our baggage is already sitting on the floor when we reach the claim area. We are waved through customs and deposit our bags at the onward baggage belt. We have one hour until our United Shuttle departure.
March 24
United Shuttle: UA 2668 LAX-PHX Coach seats 5 EF (737)
We walk all the way to Terminal 8, about a 15-minute hike. I never see the inter-terminal bus on the whole walk. We cannot find the elevator (it turns out we walked too far past it) and go to the Traveler’s Aid lady in the UA baggage claim for directions. She can’t speak enough English for us to understand her---welcome to America!
We look at a screen for our flight number and it’s posted for 2310 departure, 1:40 late! Surprise, surprise... The friendly agent at the gate asks if she can keep our boarding passes to try to to give us better seats. We beeline to California Pizza Kitchen and order two personal-size pizzas and one small drink. That’ll be $17 and change. We burst out laughing, we could’ve eaten for 2 days in Bali for $17. My daughter is in ecstasy as she finishes the pizza and we go back to retrieve the boarding passes. The gate has been changed and our boarding passes are...well, who knows and at United, who cares? We finally manage to retrieve them (turned out they were being carried to the new gate when we approached.)
We finally depart LAX 2 1/2 hours late and arrive PHX the same 2 1/2 hours late, at 0125. After a LONG wait for the luggage it arrives. We stagger from the claim area, 26 hours after leaving our hotel in Bali.
When we arrive at home I discover that Ari’s luggage lock is completely missing and the fitting is torn away. My lock is also missing. I fear the worst and immediately know if something happened it was after re-depositing the luggage in LAX. I carefully check the contents of our bags and everything is orderly and there.
SUMMARY
Would I fly EVA again? Well, they have a flawless safety record, their equipment is new, they were on time (except for the segment with the headwinds). Sure, I will fly again on EVA, but only in the Deluxe Economy or better. This trip gave us each almost enough mileage for a domestic CO ticket. Next time I will take some little snacks and goodies, just in case they want to give me chicken porridge again... For travelers from North America to Bali, this routing is definitely the fastest. Everything else takes even longer. The food and service on SQ was somewhat better, their FA uniforms, decor, etc. were far nicer. But when I’m in a moving room for 14 hours straight, give me the BIGGER SEAT. I want the real estate. Now if we could just lose the bright green uniforms...
[This message has been edited by Dianne47 (edited 04-06-2001).]