Other Asian, Australian and South Pacific Frequent Flyer Programs - I got the EVA 744 to 74E equipment sub TPE-SEA :(

Yesterday, 26Sep I did have the dreaded equipment sub when at the last minute our scheduled 744 became a 74E on flight 26 TPE-SEA. And yes, I was booked in C. The sub apparently happened when I was airborne from BKK as they were paging people from our flight at the gate to give them new seat assignments.

What was interesting though was that the flight was staffed as it were a 744, so lots of "extra" flight attendants. I did find out from the chief purser that our original aircraft had to divert to MNL for unspecified reasons, so the choice was the 74E or to cancel our flight. Even though the seat was the old Super Business one, I still managed a few hours of sleep, and the service was fantastic as they flight attendants were really trying to "make up" for the sub par seats.

One of the things the ground staff did was make sure that if a person in C was traveling by themselves, they had two seats to themselves for extra room.

I am in the process of writing a trip report, it should be posted in a few days.

Wow... this first-hand confirmation is dreadful news indeed.

I sprung for business class this year for a December trip. I hope I'm not sorry. On a 74E even 1 penny more for biz vs deluxe is wasted, IMO.

Apparently it wasn't a bad experience as described...?

Well, their 74E will be roaming here and there since they are lacking planes to serve mainland routes. Therefore, the 74E that serves local area and SFO will be substituted if there's a failure. Given that in mind, this flight is probably not making money as a 74E can be substituted... on top of that, extra space were able to be made to cater solo Premium Laurel passengers.

Apparently it wasn't a bad experience as described...?

Well, their 74E will be roaming here and there since they are lacking planes to serve mainland routes. Therefore, the 74E that serves local area and SFO will be substituted if there's a failure. Given that in mind, this flight is probably not making money as a 74E can be substituted... on top of that, extra space were able to be made to cater solo Premium Laurel passengers.

Most of the complaining was from standard K class passengers. Originally, the flight was not very full, and many people had a row to themselves. When the new seat assignments were handed out, some aisle seat passengers found themselves in the middle.

The overall experience for me was great on the soft (service) end, but that old seat just does not cut it. At least I wasn't paying full C; I would have been royally ticked off if I had.

our original aircraft had to divert to MNL for unspecified reasons, so the choice was the 74E or to cancel our flight.

most likely due to the typhoon here. Many pax are stranded in MNL.

While I do agree that the Super Business seats are horrible when compared to Premium Laurel, I wouldn't say that a payment in Full C would not justify a seat in Super Business when the price of C in EVA Airways is much lower than it's competitors, such as Cathay through Hong Kong (though, in this case, CX does not serve Seattle) or any airlines in the U.S.

I don't understand why the K class passengers would complain unless there are passengers who got upgraded to Evergreen Deluxe as a result of reductions in Economy seats. The layout for Elite vs. Evergreen Deluxe makes it so that the Evergreen Deluxe cabin is way bigger than Elite, and the chance of getting a middle seat is slim.

I don't understand why the K class passengers would complain unless there are passengers who got upgraded to Evergreen Deluxe as a result of reductions in Economy seats. The layout for Elite vs. Evergreen Deluxe makes it so that the Evergreen Deluxe cabin is way bigger than Elite, and the chance of getting a middle seat is slim.

No upgrades for anyone from coach to Elite, they just packed coach to the brim.

You must of been on the heap of junk I got not so long ago, ancient biz class

I just saw that my upcoming trip had another equipment change. My flight from TPE to SEA has switched from the 744 to a 77W. I hope the 77W becomes a permanent fixture on this route, but my feeling is that this is just one of those occasional switches.

What was interesting though was that the flight was staffed as it were a 744, so lots of "extra" flight attendants. I did find out from the chief purser that our original aircraft had to divert to MNL for unspecified reasons, so the choice was the 74E or to cancel our flight. Even though the seat was the old Super Business one, I still managed a few hours of sleep, and the service was fantastic as they flight attendants were really trying to "make up" for the sub par seats.


That was probably the best thing about the 74E - a favorable passenger to crew ratio, plus being able to exit the plane faster. Otherwise, as you've noted, the old seats aren't anything special.

I just saw that my upcoming trip had another equipment change. My flight from TPE to SEA has switched from the 744 to a 77W. I hope the 77W becomes a permanent fixture on this route, but my feeling is that this is just one of those occasional switches.

The 777 has been a permanent fixture, up until last month when they put the 747-400 on the route. Maybe they're switching back.

Sounds like the 74E substitution recently was a one-off due to very specific circumstances,

The 777 has been a permanent fixture, up until last month when they put the 747-400 on the route. Maybe they're switching back.

Sounds like the 74E substitution recently was a one-off due to very specific circumstances,

It's been a mix of the 744 and 77W. I went back into my log book and saw there were a couple of trips where I was on the 744 outbound and the 77W on the return.

Route & equipment shuffling based on loads? Scheduled maintenance? I got a trip ex-SEA in 2 weeks and it went from 744 to 77W. Odd thing is the TPE-KUL segment is also a 77W. That's usually a 332 or occassionally 74E. This is the first I've seen a 77W on ex-TPE to southasia. BR really is an unusual creature.

Anybody know how they're doing financially? SEA flights are down to 2 a week. They've got the best routes to Southasia and though, IMHO, their FF program is lamer than a 2-legged dog, the convenience still trumps my ST and *A alternatives.

Anybody know how they're doing financially? SEA flights are down to 2 a week. They've got the best routes to Southasia and though, IMHO, their FF program is lamer than a 2-legged dog, the convenience still trumps my ST and *A alternatives.

Actually, the have recently upped their SEA flights to 5 days a week; which is why I am flying the more from SEA these days. When it was just 4 days a week, it never seemed to fit my schedule.

I know financially they are still in the red, but their parent company Evergreen makes a boat load of cash (pun intended).

Their selling that old "super business" product as actual business class borders on false advertising.:td:
With a pitch of 44 inches it qualifies as premiere economy at best.
They should improve the pitch by at least a foot!

How dreadful to get that surprise with an aircraft change.

Their selling that old "super business" product as actual business class borders on false advertising.:td:
With a pitch of 44 inches it qualifies as premiere economy at best.

I would agree with you if they advertised the fare as being for Premium Laurel class.

Else I disagree. SuperBusiness is clearly illustrated on their website where there are also seatmaps. The seat pitch is given.

"Premiere economy at best"? I don't think any premium economy is as generous as 44". 38" is typical.

Also, you still get lounge access, priority boarding, extra luggage, priority tagged luggage, C class meals which you can order in advance.

Yep it's not a great seat by modern standards and a disappointment if you are used to PL seats... but some of EVA's C class fares are very cheap.

I think a case could be made that they do in fact advertise it as PL, even though I'm sure there is some legality or fine print somewhere that ensures they're not actually legally bound to offer PL vs Super Business (although I don't recall ever having seen it).

The long and short of it is that on their USA booking engine, the choices that come up for a given itinerary clearly state -- and differentiate -- PL vs. Super Business (and, for that matter, Elite vs. Deluxe). Eva clearly encourages the expectation that a person who selects PL is in fact paying for PL and not Super Business.

In any case I strongly suspect this was a one-off situation, and not a case of them regularly substituting a 74E for the 74W/777 in Seattle.

In any case I strongly suspect this was a one-off situation, and not a case of them regularly substituting a 74E for the 74W/777 in Seattle.

From what the Chief Purser/Instructor told me, yes this was a "one time" substitution. However, most airlines have at least one aircraft based at their hub which is a "hot spare," and for EVA, the hot spare is usually a 74E.

74E is regularly serving AMS, SFO on long haul and HKG on short haul.