People were gathering in a massive queue at the gate almost 45 minutes before departure. The gate agents were having a hell of a time telling everyone to stand back and not get in the way of pre-boards and to observe their boarding zones. Closer to 1:45, people were getting more and more agitated as they weren't ready to commence boarding.

In the business class line, the lady in front turned and saw my boarding pass, saying "Oooh, that's a nice seat you have there, is that Business Class?" I, somewhat awkwardly returned a smile. To this day, I don't know if that was the world's most awkward pickup line or not.

Psst... I saw you with an Air Canada 100K baggage tag, you were seated in the high row 60s, we were complaining about how long this flight is and how those pre-boards were going to take your overhead space - if you read this, send me a PM. (We need a FT Missed Connections board it seems.)

Tonight's aircraft to Taipei (the angle of the gate didn't allow me to grab any good pictures)


2014-05-11 01.25.57 by jurastudent, on Flickr

EVA Air Flight 35
Toronto Pearson to Taipei Taoyuan
Boeing 777-300ER
May 11, 2014
Scheduled: 01:45-04:30+1
Actual: 02:06-04:49+1
Seat: 3A (Royal Laurel Class)
Load: ~80%

EVA uses the Cirrus seat that is spreading like wildfire in business cabins all around the world, with CX, AA, AC, US, and most recently, AF being converts to this seat. I have only flown in a herringbone seat four times before in my entire life, 2 times being the CX "coffins" before they converted to the Cirrus reverse herringbone seat and both BA F & QF F.

After having flown so many segments in F, I had expected that this would be a notch down, but how big of a notch would it be?

First impression of the seat and cabin was good, but definitely not the "wow" that SQ Suites or QF F gave me. There was lots of room to stretch out, but the seat was not nearly as wide as most F products (it was very close to BA F though!)


2014-05-11 01.27.15 by jurastudent, on Flickr


2014-05-11 01.27.21 by jurastudent, on Flickr

Although many complain that the BA F seat is similar/same as the Cirrus J seat, that is somewhat incorrect. The angle of the Cirrus J seat is quite a bit narrower than the one in BA F, which results in a overhead "foot cubby" underneath the TV screen, whereas there was no such thing in the BA F seat (and believe me it does make a substantial difference in space.) The seat was well padded and not too soft or too firm, unlike the BA F seat which was just plain uncomfortable as the cushion had lost most of its springiness.


2014-05-11 02.29.34 by jurastudent, on Flickr

Everything was ready at our seats - headphones, a bottle of water and a pillow/blanket.


2014-05-11 01.31.04 by jurastudent, on Flickr

The seat was also infinitely more adjustable than BA F:


2014-05-11 01.31.07 by jurastudent, on Flickr

The cabin is quite sterile, and I'm not a fan of the green siding. But there was plenty of privacy. With only 5 rows of business class in the front cabin, it didn't feel cramped at all.


2014-05-11 01.31.21 by jurastudent, on Flickr

One of the attendants came by and offered a tray of PDBs. I took the orange juice, and was presented with a hot towel as well.


2014-05-11 01.34.22 by jurastudent, on Flickr

Another attendant came by and distributed the Rimowa kit, the ones that everyone on FT seems to go ga-ga over. Aside from using one to store my cables while travelling, they're not that useful to me. But to get a high-quality amenity kit in business class was fantastic, especially as many airlines are "enhancing" that away. ^


2014-05-11 01.46.11 by jurastudent, on Flickr

A third attendant came by to take meal orders, confirming that I had pre-ordered the stir-fried lobster with fried rice. Awesome. ^

Captain came on the PA and announced our flight to TPE would be just around 15 hours, expecting an on time arrival in Taipei. At this moment, all I could really think about was whether I would make it back in time (and that was the most agonizing part of this entire flight.)

At about 2am, we pushed back and taxied towards a very deserted runway. The only other departure at this time of night was CX825 to Hong Kong tonight. Oh, how I wished I could have been on that flight tonight as every minute was precious (I would have gladly traded my seat for an economy seat there to get in 4 hours earlier)


2014-05-11 02.05.18 by jurastudent, on Flickr

Our takeoff in a westerly direction, right over my house below:


2014-05-11 02.07.25 by jurastudent, on Flickr

Next part: Meals and Bedtime