BR9
YVR-TPE
Boeing 777-300ER
3K
I arrived at the gate just before boarding, where BR had a hot beverage station for coffee and tea. Like many of their flights from North America to TPE, this flight was scheduled to depart around 2AM, with a 5AM arrival at TPE. I boarded soon after when boarding was announced, grabbed a grabbed a newspaper, and settled into the seat. On their 77Ws BR uses the well-known reverse herringbone seats. The seats themselves are relatively roomy, with intuitive seat controls and IFE controls places near the elbow. At the seat is a Salvatorre Feraragamo amenity kit (with the Rimowa kits now being ex-TPE only), a pair of "Thunder" branded headphones, a pair of slippers, and some bedding. While I didn't do any research into it, I have no idea where the headphones are from. To be honest they were just ok and I only used them when I was using the IFE.
Seat from behind
Legroom shot
Too short to reach the seat
Seat controls
Amenity kit
Amenity kit bag
Amenity kit contents
Within a couple minutes an FA appeared at my seat and offered me a welcome beverage and chocolate. Given that my western given name is my legal name the confirmed that the service could be conducted in Mandarin. While my Chinese is generally ok, I would admit that this service was more difficult to understand than my
pervious F flight with CA. This was especially true during boarding, since the FAs asked a fair amount of detailed questions regarding meal timings, service requests, and the like to try to make the flight a better experience. This attention to detail was generally very apparent during the entire flight. I would say that the BR FAs are somewhat personable and relatively warm, but again this may be different for passengers who have the service performed in English. In the J cabin it seemed that almost all of the passengers were Chinese speakers.
While still on the ground, pajamas were passed around the cabin. The pajamas are from the recent partnership between BR and designer Jason Wu, with the design being much more "fashionable" than anything I would generally wear.
Photo from EVA Air
Additionally, menu orders for both supper and breakfast were taken on the ground. BR is known for their catering in J and I would generally have to agree even just by looking at the menu. The food and wine menus follow below:
Soon after we were ready for take-off. BR's safety video is mostly an odd interpretive dance video with narration over the video.
what o.o
Once in the air, the service begun in earnest to try to maximize sleep. For my supper meal I ordered the "Star Special", which is more of an express service compared to the standard service to maximize sleep. I elected for a glass of the Vevue Cliquot La Grand Dame 2006 as well. EVA is not particularly known for their IFE system, so I settled in for more episodes of the airplane staple Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Showtime
Amusette with celery crab salad
Pesto bocconcini with roasted tomato and basil leaf
Nine Nine!
Traditional delicatessens (already forgot what they were in the back left...)
Dan Zai noodles (a traditional Taiwanese dish)
Fruit
Valrhona chocolate cake
Overall the meal was very good and paced appropriately quickly for an express service. The cabin lights were dimmed and I went to change into the provided pajamas while my seat was being turned into a bed. Once I returned from the lav the seat was in bed mode and a bottle of Fiji Water was placed at the seat. I plugged in my ear plugs and slept pretty soundly for a few hours until just before the breakfast service. Something I noticed about the bed was that the mattress pad slipped over the top of the seat to better secure it to the seat, making it another small thing that EVA further does right for their premium passengers.
PJs + lavatory amenities
Bed mode (after I slept in it)
Cabin lighting
Goodnight!
Mattress pad on the seat (post-flight)
Once I woke up, I called a FA and requested a cup of jasmine tea and waited for the breakfast service to commence. For the breakfast, I choose the Chinese breakfast option substituting the egg pancake with the turnip option from the snack menu.
Breakfast showtime
Chinese plain porridge
Traditional delicatessens
Egg pancake with tomato and spring onion
Braised eggplant with garlic pork ragout
Fruit
Stir fried turnip cake with pork julienne and vegetables, beef burger
I thoroughly enjoyed all the dishes and would say that it was one of the best breakfasts I've had on any flight. Soon after we were preparing for landing, with FAs handing out small candies as we approached TPE, and we landed before 5AM. While I understand that the early arrival is great for connecting passengers, it's still sooooooo early in the morning. Soon after we were deplaning and I was stamped into my first country of the trip. Overall EVA is a fantastic experience in business class with excellent soft and hard products.
Coming up: 3 days in Taipei!