ak333

OK, I admit it; I’ve gotten very spoiled when I fly internationally. The last time I had a trans-Atlantic flight in anything but J or F was 1996 (and there were plenty of them before that time) and the last time that I wasn’t in J or F trans-Pacific was in 1986. And that event was a special award UA was running for their then new trans-Pacific flights that included the flights and 4 nights hotel in TYO for 35K, which I grabbed. Those UA flights were empty, and food was plentiful. Definitely not the Y experience you have today.

Up until this year, I was a die hard CX flyer to Asia, almost always in J with the occasional F thrown into the mix. Flying CX got me my AA EXP status and lifetime PLT status, and I love to fly with them. Yes, I had a few trips with SQ, JL and BR, but give me CX J and The Wing/Pier any day and I’m a happy customer. However, recently, CX’s business class fares have risen to astronomical amounts, and the company that I do consulting for decided no more and if I wanted to continue to fly in J, it was EVA (BR) or nothing. I contacted EVA to see if I could get a status match, and they gave me the lowest elite level, Silver, which was better than nothing. Three round trips in J and I was bumped up to Gold and that is where this tale begins.

I got a call from a new client that wanted my services in BKK. However their travel policy only allowed premium economy travel over the water. My trips are short; I’m usually in Asia for only 4 days maximum. Could I fly in premium economy and still be alert, or would I be in pain for my entire trip? I did my research on BR’s Elite class which is their premium economy product. The seat didn’t look too bad, like a domestic F seat on an MD-80, 38” of pitch with an 18 inch width. I can sleep in domestic F, so that was going to be how I thought of it.

The day of travel dawns, and I am up early for a meeting. I set my alarm to give me an extra 15 minutes before I left the house so I can OCLI. My research told me that the best seats in Elite were the bulkhead, row 20, but those are only given to people traveling with infants or those with special needs. When I made my booking, the seat map showed almost nothing left, but I discovered the BR blocks quite a few seats for their Gold and Diamond members, so I ended up with my preferred window seat, and row 22 for all of my flights. At OLCI row 20 was full on both my upcoming legs, so I kept what I had.

My first leg, on Horizon from PDX to SEA was scheduled for 8PM. My wife would drop me off at the airport on the condition that we had dinner there (PDX has some eateries so that’s not a hardship), but we had to adjust for Friday traffic. We left our house at 4:15 and finally made it to PDX and 5:30. Decent dinner had, I cleared security fairly quickly and after a brief stop at the Board Room made it down to the A gates for my Horizon flight. I got to the gate about a minute after 7PM, and the 730PM had plenty of seats on it, so I moved up to that one.

15Aug AS 2618 Y PDX-SEA CR7 N608QX seat 10E

The gate agent when clearing my for the flight without me asking said “I’m blocking the seat next to you.” That’s always appreciated. There’s not much you can say about a 28 minute flight; water, apple juice, beer and wine were offered and we arrived a few minutes early. As I was getting of my regional jet, I saw my next ride, one of BR’s 777-300ERs landing.

Since I was a die hard CX flyer that meant always connecting at either SFO, LAX, or YVR. Even my first couple of BR flights had me connecting at LAX. It was only the last time that I flew that I managed to work out a SEA connection. I discovered that BR offers gate check-in four hours prior to departure, so no going back to the ticket counter and security again- score! My SEA flight was not scheduled to depart until 210AM, so the gate wouldn’t open up until at least 1010PM, so I went to the Board Room after getting off my PDX flight. I got quite a bit of work done before I headed out to BR gate.

BR uses the S gates at SEA which means a train out to the gate area. I left the board room at 10PM and was at my gat by 1015PM, which I didn’t think was so bad. No agents were at the gate yet, so I hung out in the book store until I spied the agent opening up, and headed over for check-in. A very good agent had me checked in with my lounge invite in no time. She gave me no hassle at all about my ginormous back pack or my roll aboard and gave me the “special” hand carry tags. Theoretically you are only allowed one carry on, but I have always been able to take on my carry on and personal humongous item. Last time my carry ons were both weighed (and of course both weighed more than the 7 kilos allotted), but this time no weight check and I was off to BR’s contract lounge which is the very pleasant BA Terraces lounge. I sit down in the lounge and have a good look at my Elite Class boarding pass. Does the class box really have a Y in it? I shudder inwardly.

Time passes pretty quickly in the lounge watching the Olympics and it’s time to head back down to the gate. BR does allow their Premium Laurel (J class) passengers to board first along with their Gold and Diamond members, so at least I’ll get a head start to get my stuff in the overheads, which is never an issue in the 77W.

16Aug BR 25 Y SEA-TPE 77W B-16706 seat 22A

I am one of the first on, so with the cabin fairly empty, I take a good look around. Elite is in a 2-4-2 configuration except for the bulkhead which is 2-3-2. There are 63 seats total and two dedicated lavs. I try out the seat, and the recline is pretty good, like one of the old cradle style seats. There is a video screen built into each seatback, and AVOD is standard. Every single seat is taken in Elite on this 12 hour flight. We leave right on time an that time of night there is no wait for departure, so we are in the air exceptionally fast. The service starts fairly quickly as well. No pre-dinner beverage run, just dinner. And that’s when the reality hits me. It is a single try affair, with everything from salad to dessert served all at once. BR does use crockery and a real (tiny) glass, so there were two pluses. Very nice for an economy cabin, but I’m definitely not in J. There were two options, seafood fried rice or beef. Both were served with some fruit, a salad, and key lime cheesecake for dessert. I had the beef; it was served with mashed potatoes and veggies and was actually very good. The cheesecake though was out of this world. OK, catering gets an A from me. After my movie finished I headed back to the lav and then the galley to get some water. To get to the galley I walked through standard Y, and let me tell you there is a big difference between Elite Class and regular Y, it looked very, very uncomfortable in Y. Elite Class was looking better and better. But now it was time for the big test, could I sleep?

I put my seat back as far as it would go, there was an AV box at my feet, so I had to shift my feet around to get comfortable. It took a while, but I guess I found my spot, because I did sleep for a good almost 6 hours. Of course, the Tylenol PM may have helped as well.
After another movie, it was time for breakfast. This time the options were Congee or scrambled eggs. Again there was a small fruit plate, but there was also a tiny plate of turkey and cheese along with some yogurt. I took the eggs and it turned out to be a very filling breakfast. One more TV show to watch, and we were touching down in TPE. Overall, the flight was a pretty nice experience. The only negative was that there were not many drink runs by the crew.

For me, TPE and HKG just do not compare as connecting points. This part of the trip is where I really miss CX and the Wing and Pier. BR’s home lounge is at best OK. There is one plus to the TPE connection though, TPE security is very easy to get through. No shoe carnival, and everything stays in your bag. I get to BR’s lounge at 530AM and ask for a shower kit (which is a towel, soap, and shampoo), and luckily get into one of only two showers that this particular lounge has right away. After I feel human again and get a little more work done in the lounge, I head out to the same gate that I arrived at and board the same 77W to BKK.

17Aug BR 211 Y TPE-BKK 77W B-16706 seat 22K

This leg is definitely not as full as the previous one. My seat mate spots an empty aisle seat as soon as the door closes, so I have two seats to myself for this leg. Maybe it’s because this flight is not as full, or maybe because it’s not an overnight, but the service on this leg was comparable to business class. Breakfast was offered fairly soon after take off, and this time we had a choice of a noodle dish or an omelet. I took the omelet which came with chicken sausage and hash browns. There was also a muffin, fruit and yogurt that accompanied the meal. Again a very nice breakfast and there were frequent drink runs from the crew this time around. After breakfast I read and snoozed, and before I knew it we were landing in BKK. This flight was a tad under three hours which is very quick for this leg. We had an early arrival into BKK’s new airport. Once off the plane, I make my way to immigration which is just teeming. The last three times that I flew in with BR, we managed to miss the crowds. This time, we were early and ran into CX’s first morning arrival along with a KU and a GF flight. Not pretty, but I did manage to get to my hotel still earlier than I was expecting; a little before noon.

As always, my three days passed quickly while in town. I did OLCI at exactly 24 hours out, and lo and behold, row 20 was available, so I grabbed it for myself. My wake up call was for a reasonable 7AM, and it was time to head back out to the airport. A quick taxi ride got me to BKK at about 930AM, and there was absolutely no wait at check-in. The agent put a new “special” hand carry tag on my bag again, and I left for the lounge. Outbound immigration was fairly quick this time which is not always the case, and I was in the BR lounge by 945AM. I hope that this wasn’t a cut back, but I did not see any packages of Oreos in the lounge this morning. That’s one of my treats I always look forward too.

All too soon I was off to the gate, but security decided there was something in my backpack that they had to check out. It turned out to be a small flashlight that I always carry with me. They were satisfied and I continued to my gate. Interesting sighting today, at the gate opposite ours was an Iran Air 747SP; I haven’t seen one of those for a few years now.

20Aug BR 212 Y BKK-TPE 77W B-16705 seat 20K

When I grabbed my seat in row 20, the aisle next to me was showing empty. I knew the plane wasn’t that full, and once boarding finished, I did have an empty seat again next to me. I thought that there was a little more leg room in row 20. The big difference in the seat is that your AVOD screen is a pop-out from the center arm rest instead of a wall mount like some other airlines do.

We left a couple of minutes ahead of schedule, and again there was no wait for take off. Service again was very nice, and lunch was served shortly after reaching cruising altitude. Choices were a fried fish and noodles or chicken with rice. I had the chicken and again a very tasty meal. Hmm, I seem to like Elite Class catering. It was served with a cabbage salad, fruit plate, and a fruit tart for dessert. I really felt like there was more room in the bulkhead row, and stretched out comfortably. I mostly read and listed to music on my AVOD screen, while I popped out the screen in the empty seat next to me and put on the airshow channel. The flight was again relatively quick, just three hours and 10 minutes until we landed in TPE. As I got off the plane, I vowed to check to see if the bulkhead was available on my SEA flight.

I made it through transit security again very fast, and popped into the lounge. This was to be a long visit; we landed almost a half hour early, making my connection time six and a half hours. I put my stuff down and went to the lounge agent and asked about row 20. She looked at her screen and said that 20A was available, but there was a passenger with an infant in 20B. I said thanks, but no thanks, how about 20K? She tapped away on her computer and made a phone call. Great I think, she is getting the seat unblocked for me. She ends her conversation with the only thing that I understood was her telling whoever was on the other end that I was a Gold member, and says to me, “the flight is very full today sir; we are upgrading you to Business class.” Ah, some of my favorite words spoken to me. She shows me the seat map (J isn’t very full) and I pick my preference, which again is the bulkhead, this time 6K. She scratches out my old seat assignment on my boarding pass and writes in my new one. She tells me that they have no printer, but to check at the gate for a new boarding pass.

I spend the rest of the time in the lounge having a light dinner and working on this report, until it’s time to go to the gate. At TPE, all flights bound for the U.S. have a passport check as soon as you enter the gate area. When I got to the agent checking passports, she said to me “I’m sorry sir, because the flight is so full, we upgraded you to business class. Please see the agent downstairs for a new boarding pass.” I don’t know why she was apologizing, and I didn’t mention that I already knew, but I thanked her, and headed to the podium to get my new boarding pass. At the podium, the agent looked around and said that she didn’t see any of the new boarding passes that she should have, and told me that she would call me up as soon as they came in. About 15 minutes later, they started calling seat numbers with seat changes. My “old” seat number, 22K was called, I went up, she stapled the passenger copy of my new boarding pass with INVOL written on it (really, I would have VOL for the upgrade) to BR’s part, and soon enough boarding started.

20Aug BR 26 J TPE-SEA 77W B-16712 seat 6K

I got on and stowed by bags, and looked around the cabin. Nothing had changed in the last 7 weeks: I felt at home again. My seat mate arrived a few minutes later; his boarding pass had an INVOL written on it as well. We left the gate just a couple of minutes behind schedule, but there was no wait at all for take off. About 5 minutes after take off, the flight attendants came by with menus and amenity kits. The menu was the same as July’s. Normally when I fly BR’s J class, I pre-order my meals; it is like SQ’s book the cook, but you can choose either one of the regular meals, one of their additional offerings or refuse meal service in advance. Dinner choices:

Hors D’oeuvre: Smoked Salmon Roulade

Mains: Pan Fried Chicken Breast on Fruit Salsa with Japanese Sushi OR
Wok Fried Prawn and Scallop with Spicy Lemon Grass Sauce, Mixed Vegetables, and Steamed Rice.

Fruit

Coffee/Tea and Godiva Chocolate

OR the quick meal:

Din Tai Fung Stewed Beef Shank with Noodle Soup

Fruit

Coffee/Tea and Godiva Chocolate

Last month I had the chicken breast, so I opted for the Din Tai Fung, which was very good. Since it was the quick meal, or the Star Special as it is called in the menu, I was served quickly and then my tray was picked up as soon as I finished. I then made put the seat into the bed mode that works for me, and slept solidly for about 3 hours which is all I want on this flight, otherwise jet lag kills me.

I woke up, watched movies, hit the snack bar for rice crackers and shortbread cookies, and watched more movies until we were about 2 hours out. This was to be a very quick flight today, under 10 hours. Soon it was time for breakfast er, make that “refreshing meal.” There were three choices, Congee with the works, a western style meal of Chicken with Linguini or a Steamed Salmon Tortilla. This time I went with the same choice that I took in July, the Chicken which again was very good. We made such good time over the water that we did have to make one orbit northwest of Seattle before our approach. We landed after a flight time of only 9 hours 57 minutes, which beat last month’s on time flight by an hour. I was third through immigration, and very quickly out to the transfer area and through the TSA check-point. I am amused that they do not ask to see any proof of onward travel here. Into the train I go and head off to the main terminal to try to get on an earlier flight to PDX; I had booked the 9PM departure, but it was now 650PM, our arrival from TPE was scheduled for 7PM. I checked the monitors and saw that the next flight was at 730PM, and headed off to the gate which was not in the normal C2X area, but this time at C10.

The Horizon agent looks at my record and says that the 9PM flight was cancelled, and then finds my record. I was protected on a 1055 PM flight to EUG with an overnight and then a 520AM flight the next morning EUG-PDX. Hmm, I think I could drive to PDX quicker than that. Anyway, she grabs a seat for me on the 8PM departure and puts me on standby for the 730PM. As I’m waiting for standbys to be called, both BA’s 777 service to LHR, and SK’s 343 service to CPH take off on 16C. Both leave the ground at the same point, but that 340 takes an awfully long time gaining altitude. This flight that I’m waiting for is a CRJ, and it is packed. At the end of boarding, there are a few seats left, and I get one of the last ones, literally. Row 17.


20Aug AS 2607 Y SEA-PDX CR7 N616QX seat 17B a/c in WSU livery

We push back about 10 minutes behind, but I figure that we’ll still arrive on time. Once we are airborne, the flight crew advised the flight attendants to stay seated, so no service on this flight. We did have a couple of bumps on climb out, but it did smooth out eventually. As I predicted we arrived right on time even with the delay in push back.

Overall, I was impressed with EVA’s ground handling. I also liked their Elite Class product and will have no qualms about flying it again, even if I have to see a Y on my trans-Pacific boarding pass.

violist

Congratulations.

Nice report.

TrayflowInUK

Great TR, shame about having "Y" on the BP, but sometimes a dose of reality is good

Great news about the op-up!

jimbo99

Very good report, it must have taken some time.

For anyone interested in BR68/67 (either LHR/BKK or LHR/TPE via BKK), this report gives a very good idea of what to expect from Elite and flight durations are similar.

Unfortunately, Elite only gets lounge access with the Silver card. First time EVA flyers will have a better appreciation of the "Y" on their boarding pass, at least whilst on the ground!

As for Godiva... that must now be a US thing. I've not seen Godiva in EVA's business class for years.

ak333

You are correct, I have had Godiva on all of my U.S.-TPE and v.v. Premium Laurel flights/Super First/Super Business flights, but never TPE-Asia at all.

ionlyflyupfront

JIm I had Godiva last wek on the LHR BKK TPE in C class, cant say it is anything to rave about but the tasty bit of stuff from Brazil next me enjoyed it !!

jimbo99

Not only did I speak too soon about OP-UPs, but also re. Godiva.

Yesterday on BR67 TPE-LHR EVA were serving Godiva in Premium Laurel class - the little 3-packs of varying strength they always used to serve.

However it was a little different. "Years ago" it was a standard thing whenever you got coffee. This time it was shown on the menu as part of the second meal service - and that was when we got it.

ionlyflyupfront

got to say the portion is small Jim

Wiirachay

Thanks for sharing your trip! So you kind of cheated, as you weren't in true "Y"; more like Y++ on the outbound and absolutely not Y on the inbound.

How did you feel on arrival in TPE and in your meetings, compared to the other times you flew in J?

- Pat

ak333

I didn't sleep as well as I usually do in J, but surprisingly, I still did OK for the time I was on the ground. Normally, I don't sleep at all on the TPE-BKK leg when in J, but I did take a nap on this leg which in hindsight must have really helped.