Dear all,
Here is the beginning of a series of report and it begins with a Chinese New Year trip to LA via Taipei, and I flew Cathay Pacific to Taipei and then connect to American Airlines flight to LA (codeshare operated by EVA Airways). I purposely select to fly CX to Taipei, as it is the beginning of the year and I need to get more EQM for my AA account, as well as transit at Taipei is simple and I am very familiar with the airport. Of course this trip ended up being colorful, as I experienced two things: first, having dinner on the ground, and second, having stranded at Taipei due to fog that surprisingly began in the early afternoon. Service wise, both CX and EVA Airways (BR) have introduced many changes for 2007. The Internet pre-book meal service (similar to SQ Book the Cook, but only limited to online) by EVA Airways is amazing and the catering out of Taipei is of excellent quality.
February 6, 2007
CX 420 HKG-TPE Lv1435 Arr1610 Airbus A330-300 B-HLG
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The day began with an uneventful ride to Hong Kong International Airport, and as an Oneworld Emerald passenger, I headed straight to Cathay Pacific’s special first class counters, and the new enlarged First Class check-in area is not that different from before, except with more booths. The check-in bags were taken away within minutes and everything was taken care of, and my mother was impressed. The agent immediately checked us in, gave us our bag tags, boarding passes, as well as invitation to the first class lounge. Since our gate this afternoon was gate 4, we used the legendary Wing. I took a few pictures of the interesting decorations for the upcoming Chinese New Year. The lounge itself was pretty busy. We headed to the dining area, and then relaxed a bit at the lounge area.
There was an aircraft change from the typical larger Boeing 777-300 to Airbus A330-300. The flight was not full at all in business, but economy looked about 60% full. Boarding began at 2:05pm, and we were immediately escorted to our seats. The usual pre-takeoff routing took place – beverage, headsets, blankets, newspapers, and then menus by pursuers. The purser was very kind, and she is a Korean, as the flight was continuing to Seoul. Most of the crews were HK based with a few Korean F/As. The first new thing that I noticed was the brand new updated safety card and then the second thing was the new animated safety demonstration video, as well as a new type of blanket. Boarding was completed at 2:33pm and we pushed back five minutes later. The weather forecast expected to be excellent at Taipei as well, and we took off from R/W25L at 2:47pm for our hour and eleven minutes flight over to Taipei at 37,000feet.
Appetizer trays (along with dessert) were passed out ten minutes later and after the pilot signaled the crew it was safe to stand up and work. Beverage trolley was rolled out quickly, and then the personal television was turned on (with this short flight, we could not even finish one cycle of short subjects). Of course, the entrée was served on the new updated business class casserole dish, which was still pretty un-Business class if you ask me, but better than before. At least, it was less coach class look alike and for regional flights, they were acceptable, but for long haul and at least the first main meal, entrées should still be plated individually in the galley, just like a top world class airline should do. For all J casserole dishes, I actually still think Finnair has the nicest one, which is nicely designed, large in size and very proper premium class alike. The food wise was okay. The appetizer was a bit plain, but my mother really liked the cheese, and the entrée was excellent as usual, as I often had this shrimp dish, which was not overcooked, and both the melon and the shrimp tasted fresh and crisp. The dessert was nice, so a pretty above average meal flight! Here is the wine list and menu transcript:
Wine List
Champagne
Billecart-Salmon Brut Champagne
White Wines
Arthur Barolet & Fils Saint Veran 2004
Climbing Chardonnay 2005
Red Wines
Kirrihill Companions Clare Valley Shiraz 2004
Vieux Chateau Landon, Cru Bourgeois Medoc 2003
Port
Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2000
400, 402, 406, 408, 462, 464, 466, 468, 470, 472 1-2-2007
Refreshment
Starter
Bocconcini Cheese with tomato and lettuce rocket
Main Courses
Sautéed Shrimps and Jade Melon with Marinated Pork
Steamed Rice
Or
Garganelli with Olive, Caper and Tomato sauce
Dessert
Opera Cake with Raspberries
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
400/408/420/462/464/470/472-1862J/C1 <F~A/07>
I watched a bit of Hong Kong television program, which is a plus for local Hong Kong like myself. Descent soon began at 3:28pm (ironically, also the duty free service began… which showed the short length of the flight), and we had a beautiful view of the Western coast of Taiwan and I did not even detect a trace of fog, till final approach. The gear was dropped at 3:55pm and there was still a layer of cloud, I thought, but soon I realized, it was fog, and we literally did not see anything till the runway, where I spotted a lucky China Airlines’ A330-300 waiting for takeoff. We landed on R/W05 at 3:58pm and taxied all the way towards the end of the runway, which was very unusual. Then the pilot made an announcement that due to this unexpected fog, we had to taxi all the way to the end of runway to wait for some maneuvers of traffic at the airport. Fortunately, it did not take long and we taxied to gate B6 twelve minutes later, next to another CX’s A330-300 B-HLJ at gate B5. As we taxied, I told my mother, “well, there might be some delays later!” and of course, that ended up happening.
As I said, transit was so easy at Taipei International Airport and my mother was impressed. After leaving the gate, instead of turning right to immigration, we turned left towards the “air train” station near B6 (what a good gate) and headed up to the train station. Within a few minutes, a train arrived, which was only used by mostly staff and a few passengers, and we headed towards Terminal Two (C Concourse) and after deplaning, the EVA Airways transit counter was just located conveniently, as we turned right. With no line and a separate first and business line, we checked in quickly (well the staff had problems with the magnetic strips of my passport) and then given the lounge invitation and boarding passes. With a good two hours to spare, we first looked around the duty free shops and bookstores, before heading up to the Premium Laurel Garden/Evergreen First Class lounge. The lounge was not too busy, and we sat near the dining area and in front of the television. The buffet was pretty impressive with all kinds of the usual stuff, as well as a full hot buffet featuring various Chinese buns, dim sums, fried noodles, rice, two kinds of soup (Mushroom or Spare Ribs), some pasta dish, various salad, and a dessert/fruit station, as well as a noodle station with six kinds of Chinese noodle soup, as well as fresh steamed dumpling. Since I knew we had some good food waiting us at the plane, I only had a small bowl of shredded pork and preserved vegetable noodle soup.
February 6, 2007
BR 12 TPE-LAX Lv1840 Arr1405 Boeing 747-400 B-16410
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We headed towards the gate around 6pm, as there was a secondary check for flights heading to the USA, which was severely downgraded from last year. First, two BR agents checked passport and boarding passes, and all the USA bound planes seem to use gates C7-C10. Then, they basically had another X-ray machine to screen the carry on bags, and not even making you taking off your jackets, but the focus was once again on the cosmetics and bottled waters. EVA Air already set up a secondary station behind it for “additional” check-in bags, which was a pretty good idea and I can’t think of any of US airlines doing the same. Anyway, with Taiwan adopting USA security measure, I assume this secondary station will become history. Also for now, duty free wines, liquors, and cosmetics will deliver to you in person at the gate. I assume that will become standard beginning March 1 for all flights. The gate was not terribly chaotic or full, despite a full passenger version was used today. Boarding began at 6:18pm and there was a separate line for first/business and then Evergreen Deluxe/Economy passengers.
Once onboard, we were lead to our seats, 2HK, and the really nice flight attendant, Michelle, immediately took my jacket and hung it in the forward closet. A nice EVA Air duvet and pillow was placed on each seat, as well as headsets (noise-canceling) featured in a nice leather case and a pair of slippers. The second F/A, Anita, immediately offered us a pre-takeoff beverage of OJ or water. No champagne was offered though and not sure why! Then Michelle came back with the menus, and nice La Prairie white amenity kit (uni-sex), which had the usual contents, as well as four travel size lotions, lip balms, eye gels and moisturizer. She greeted each pair of passengers before heading to the galley to get another set for the next pair of passengers. It was definitely more personal, and then later she came back to verify our last name and welcome us on board, followed by making sure that she took our main meal orders and after takeoff beverage. Throughout the ordeal and the flight, Michelle always quietly approached each passenger and kept us informed about the fog and delays! She was always soft spoken and maintained the very personal and friendly approach to each passenger, and it made the situation so much more relaxed. That is what I called great service. Door was closed at 6:45pm and the pilots gave us the usual pre-takeoff stuff: ten hours and twenty-one minutes of flying time, a brief weather report at LA, and we were still waiting for some last minute cargo loading. Of course, I noticed the fog, but usually that did not affect takeoff too much, except the clearance would be slower. About thirty minutes later, the pilots came back and gave us that due to busy traffic, we would be slightly delayed and there was an update about fifteen minutes later. Then Michele and Anita sprung into action and proceed to serve the beverage (and yes, Dom Perignon 1998 for us), and a plate of mixed nuts and Japanese crackers. Michele and Anita kept on checking each passengers, and then often before the pilots or purser made an announcement, we would be given an update, and finally Michele told us that the airport was currently closed for both takeoff and landing, and the delay would expect to last up to 4 hours, so they were told to start the dinner service. Ten minutes later, the pilot made an announcement informing the passengers about the closure of the airport, but nobody seemed to be too bothered, and the pursuer announced that dinner would start now, as well as the entertainment system would switch on. Here is the wine list and menu transcript:
Wine List
Cocktails
Bloody Mary
Evergreen Special
Gin Martini
Gin Tonic
Highball
Red Eye
Screwdriver
Vodka Martini
Liqeurs
Kahlua
Bailey’s Original Irish Cream
Midori
Plum Liqueur
Choya Yoshu Dento
Spirits
Barcardi Light Rum
Bombay Sapphire Gin
Camus Extra Cognac
Royal Salute 21 Years Scotch Whiskey
Smirnoff Black Label Vodka
Beers
Gold Medal Taiwan Beer
Heineken Beer
Kirin Ichiban Beer
Champagne
Dom Perignon 1998
White Wines
Albert Bichot
Domaine Long-Depaquit
Chablis Grand Cru “Blanchot” 2002
C. Von Schubert Maximin
Grunhauser Abtsberg Riesling Spatlese 2003
Matua Valley Paretai
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005
Red Wines
Chateau Gruaud Larose 1999
Franciscan Oakville Estate Merlot 2003
Yalumba Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Barossa Valley 2002
Burdon Dry Fino Cherry
Graham’s LBV Port 2000
Dinner
Amuse-Bouche
Smoked Salmon Parcel on yellow zucchini
Shrimp and Baby Mozzarella
Vegetable Jelly and Duck Liver Terrine with Fig Compote
Roasted Beef Roll with Balsamic Pickled Onion
Caviar
Caspian Iranian Caviar
Soup
Double Boiled Beef Broth with Bamboo Broth
Or
Tuscany Bean and Country Vegetable Soup
Seasonal Salad
6yhn
Main Courses
Lamb Chops with Garlic-Thyme Lamb Jus and Apple Mint Jelly
Cherry Tomato with Herb and Vegetable Confit
Or
Prawn Chu-Chee with White Coconut Cream
Seasonal Vegetable, Steamed Thai Rice
Or
Pan Fried Fillet of Salmon with Sauternes Cream Sauce
Ratatouille
Buttered Red Skin Potato
Cheese and Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Dessert
Blueberry and Almond Cake with Whiskey-Cream Ice Cream
KEY COFFEE freshly-brewed coffee, selection of tea
Served with Godiva Chocolates
Well for the first time, I had an inflight meal while on the ground, and the dinner service was rolled out elegantly. Fresh linen was placed on each tray table, and of course, champagne was refilled once again. Each table was set up individually with the new updated china design – a more elegant use of green and various floral design, and a plate of canapés were setup as our first appetizers. The smoked salmon parcel was actually filled with pine nuts, and all four canapés were excellent quality, and the canapé plates were very nicely designed. After the first course, here came the Iranian Imperial Caviar. Unlike other airlines, each of us were presented with one plate of sides (chopped egg white, yolk, red onion, chives, sour cream, Mesclun, Roma tomato and mini bread/cheese crackers), and then each of us got our own small jar of caviar served on top of ice. Since not all passengers had the caviar, seconds could be offered to those who desired more caviar. After the caviar course, we had a nice bowl of hot soup. I had the Tuscany soup, which was more like tomato soup. The breadbasket featured garlic bread, potato rolls, and wheat rolls, and then a nice plate of salad was offered. The salad contained Mesclun, Iceberg, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, and two kinds of oyster mushrooms, and choice of dressings include Balsamic Vinaigrette, Italian, and Thousand Island dressing. At this time, I noticed the Airbus A330-300, who was ahead of us in the push off list, no longer had the refueling truck returned, and the front door was reattached to the jetbridge, and I grew a bit worried, as I had a separate ticket heading to New York on the same evening. I would not be protected at all, if there was a delay. Anyhow, then our entrees were presented, and our “special” BTC meals were excellent. The lobster thermidor was similar to SQ, with the same succulent chunky lobster meat with mushroom and I felt this lobster was more fresh than SQ BTC ex-LAX Lobster Thermidor dish, and the sides were different with steamed potatoes and greens, which I like SQ’s saffron rice (just personal preference). Then the other entrée was braised abalone with crab stuffed rice. The abalone was really nice (not the really expensive dry abalone for those Chinese or culinary experts… more like the fresh type), and the rice was presented on the original crab shell, which was flavorful and filled with crabmeat, minced pork and broth-cooked rice. They were both good quality. As of this point, I noticed the fog was not dissipating, and then Michelle slowly approached us and told us, we had to deplane with all our belongings in a few minutes. She told us to take all our belongings, as well as our amenity kits and slippers, just in case… My mother than asked, “Does it mean that we are most likely staying overnight here?” Michele just smiled and told us to take our amenity kits/slippers.
After deplaning, the airport was actually pretty busy with many folks, and many economy passengers took their blankets with them. We headed back to the lounge, which was very busy by now, but thankfully, all the passengers from the late bank were told to head home and given accommodations already (or did not go through immigration). We settled down next to the piano and called my dad and gave him the update, and then the lounge attendant, which was excellent, told us to get ready, as our flight was delayed till 10:40am the next morning. When it was ready, she would bring us back to the gate area. I immediately headed off to the computer and fired off a bunch of emails and canceling all my appointments. Then our ordeal began with lots of walking and waiting. First, we had to head back to the gate, and went downstairs, and then the situation was too chaotic, so we went back upstairs at the upper lounge. Then we were told that we were heading to Grand Hotel, Taipei. Finally we returned to the gate and I immediately gave the ground staff my duty free stuff to seal off at the gate (always remember to do that), and then after thirty minutes, we headed to the immigration waiting area, which we waited for more than an hour with no where to sit and limited updated. As of that point, EVA has already collected all our passports, which had to be locked up by immigrations. Now we were waiting for immigration to clear us in. First, we thought that they were just doing flight by flight and processing local passengers first. Then, when the counters were clear out, nobody was given any updates and some passengers began to get irritated and the folks with families were frustrated and the BR staff just told them that they were waiting for immigration and all the buses and hotel rooms were already setup. Then some folks just asked for their passports back and rather stayed put at the airport. Then some folks headed to immigration and asked them what were the holdups? The whole ground arrangement was chaotic and I was still not sure how they divided the passengers into groups. I felt that premium passengers should be taken care of, or folks who really did not need visa to enter Taiwan. Anyway, we finally got into the bus at 2am and headed to the hotel. Yes, the bus was really there waiting for us. Thankfully the process at the Grand Hotel was easier but the hotel definitely passed its prime, and the room was very dark and the facilities were unimpressive at best. But the bed is good enough, and one major complain was the lack of update regarding departure time by EVA Airways, and at 6:30am, there was a wakeup call, but no update was given. I finally called the front desk and told that the pickup time was push back till 9am.
During this whole ordeal, here is my critique:
Pro:
1. I really appreciate EVA Air providing ground transportation and overnight accommodations, even the delays are caused by weather.
2. Most of the ground staffs maintain their professionalism during these painful ordeals. The lounge attendants at the Evergreen Lounge went beyond the duty to take care of us, and all our problems were resolved accordingly. They also had to answer to many questions posted by irritating passengers.
Cons:
1. The whole arrangement is still very disorganized and the passport collection process could be better. Many problems are caused by the immigration and bureaucracy, which refuse to clear passengers for unknown reasons. I believe the best way is to collect the passports while we are still on the plane (so people can still watch television and enjoy the meals), and then most importantly, sort out all the Taiwanese citizens (which can return home immediately and no need to lock up their passports), folks with passports which do not need entry visa into Taiwan, and all the other nationals. Then the airline can immediately clear out the Taiwanese nationals. And no need to begin sorting out transit passengers near the immigration hall, and yelling out numbers randomly add more stress, rather than resolving matters.
2. The first and business class passengers are not well taken care of, after being handed off by the ground staff. I always believe it is under this kind of circumstances, the priority status of premium passengers should provided them the most benefits, and also we should be given slightly nicer accommodation. Grand Hotel just does not cut it, and I will rather go back to the Evergreen Laurel Taipei hotel.
3. The ground staffs need better English proficiency and BR needs to hear Togalog speakers, as well as Thai and Vietnamese speakers to assist those passengers.
February 7, 2007
BR 12D TPE-LAX Lv1310 Arr0800 Boeing 747-400 B-16410
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After experiencing some traffic jam, we arrived at the airport around 10:30pm, and people were in a hurry to get back their passports and headed to the gate. Of course the airport was still under much chaos (but better than expected). The fogs had further delayed the morning flight, as well as arrival of various flights that morning. No surprise here! As you could tell from my pictures, the board still had flights from the day before and the gate situation was very unclear. Thankfully the outbound process was much simpler and we got through security within twenty minutes, and my mom and I headed back to the gate, as I expected more delays. The lounge was more crowded, as there were passengers from yesterday flights, as well as the morning bank of flights heading to various Asian destinations. I had some congee and my mom also had some food, as we expected further delay. Around 11am, I approached the gate agent and asked if our flight would be on time, and she said, “yes.” Around 11:20am, she approached a few of us and told us boarding had begun at 11:20am. Of course, that was not true and our aircraft had not even arrived at the gate. We walked to Gate C-9, and I asked the ground agent, who told me that the previous flight had not left the gate and we were moved to gate C-3 now. The US authority would not be too happy, but no more secondary checks, as the airport operation was a mess, and the security agents did not know which US flights came out from which gate. The flight information board did not reflect the gate situation and/or up to date information. The ground agent told us we would delay for another hour, but no up to date time. My mother and I decided to stay put and to order some dumplings near C-9. Of course, the restaurant was overwhelmed, but the staffs were cheerful. We sat around a bit before heading towards the gate C-3. My mother stayed upstair and finally I saw our aircraft towed into this gate, but boarding did not begin till 1pm. The ground operation could be better with up to date information posted at the Information board, as well as near the gate.
Once again, we were welcomed by Michelle and her team, and they told us that they did not head home, but stayed at the EVA Air staff hotel at the airport, so they could stay at the crew limits. Despite a forced overnight, we maintained their kindness and the service was superb. Brand new amenity kits and slippers and headsets were handed out, and menus, too. Our same special meals were loaded, but they were more than happy for us to choose from the regular menu. Of course, without the bags loaded, we could not go anywhere. More waiting… Finally at 2:10pm, the door was closed and we pushed back from the gate. We took off from R/W06 at 2:28pm and our flying tijme was bit longer this afternoon at ten hours and forty-six minutes. The routing was first at 33,000feet over the Okinawan Islands, and then headed straight to the Pacific Ocean. We climbed to 35,000 feet and then further up to 37,000feet. We did not see ground till reaching the Catalina Island and Malibu.
Dinner service was the same as yesterday and I did not need to explain much. The fruit selection was nice with papaya, mandarin orange, apples, bananas and grapes, and the cheese board has blue, Brie, Emmenthel, and Cheddar with carrot and celery sticks, as well as Carr’s crackers. The dessert was fabulous and I love warm pastry with ice cream. With hot lemon tea, Godiva chocolate thins were passed out. I pretty much passed out after dinner till three hours prior to landing.
Breakfast began around 7am PST/11pm Taipei time, and hot towels, as well as juice passed out first. The fruit appetizer had melon, cantaloupe, dragonfruit, strawberry and apple, which was quite nice, and the congee was good as usual, and refillable. My mom had the Chinese dim sum selection, which was also good.
Breakfast
Cold Drink
Strawberry Energizer Drink, Champagne, Juice, Soya Milk
Yogurt Drink, Whole Milk, Low Fat Milk
Hot Beverage
Jasmine, Oolong Tea, Tan-Kuan Yin, English Breakfast, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Japanese Green Tea, Camomile Tea, Mixed Berries Tea, Soya Milk, Coffee, Espresso, Decaffeinated Coffee, Cappuccino, Coffee Latte
Fresh Fruit
Choice of Bread
Chocolate Brioche, Hazelnut Danish, Croissant and Steamed Bun, Served with Butter, Jam and Honey
Cereal and Yogurt
Corn Flakes, Muesli, Nature Yogurt, Strawberry Yogurt
Main Courses
Taiwanese Sweet Potato Congee
Preserved Beancurd
Dried Pork Julienne
Stewed Top Shell Slice with Bean Sprout
Stewed Pork Belly
Beancurd Skin Stuffed with Vegetables
Waffle with Mixed Fruit Compote
Pan-fried Canadian Ham
Roasted Tomato with Herbs
Scrambled Egg
Relish Chicken Soup
Delicate Seaweed with White Sesame
Vegetable with Pork Bun
Juicy Pork Dumplings
Crust Pastry with Sesame Filling
Decent began at 8:24am, and due to fog and ILS malfunction earlier that morning, our flight was slowed down a bit, and we did not land on R/W24R till 9:14am, and we did not park at gate 103 till 9:57am. A very busy morning, and here is a list of plane for those who care, LA 767-300ER CC-CWN & CC-CRH (which we had to wait for), TN 343 F-OSUN at 101, CI’s 744 (CI 8 from previous night) B-18206 at 102, KE 744 HL7489 at 104, KE 772 HL7715 at 105, and QF 744ER VH-OEH and OEE at 41 and 43, and NH77W JA734A and JL 744 JA8062 at the other end of TBIT.
Immigration and baggage halls were extra busy, but various INS agents and custom agents were pretty kind and understanding. We were out in twenty minutes and headed home after a long journey. The return report would be posted at early March. I will report on the Premium Laurel Class of BR’s new 77W. It should be a good trip, and hopefully their Business Class service would be the same as their First Class. I am curious if EVA Air really wants to eliminate their first class cabin, as our flight showed a decent load up front.
Thanks for reading!
Carfield