Seat 2A

I was in Australia when this report was published and somehow managed to miss it. Glad it got resurrected as the photos are very nice and the dialogue entertaining. Hainan's economy class menu reads like a US airline Business Class menu. Very nice report!

dat4life

Thanks for reading, guys! Work got in the way yet again, but I'm finally finished!

dat4life

After an early lunch with family in Tsim Sha Shui, I took a walk around the Avenue of Stars for exercise and to admire the view. No matter how many times I’ve been to Hong Kong, the view from Kowloon never gets old.



One of the best features of the Airport Express is being able to check bags in town up to 24 hours before departure. It’s perfect for anyone with a late flight out looking to maximizing time in the city like me. I took advantage of this the night before and got rid of my massive bags. So the only thing I had to store at the hotel was my backpack, which I retrieved after quick jaunt back to Hong Kong Island on the Star Ferry and a 20-minute walk back to the JW. Then it was a short wait for the Airport Express shuttle bus, and I was on a train bound for the airport not long afterwards.

Although EVA doesn’t operate their own lounge in Hong Kong, there several Star Alliance Lounges I could use. The best of the bunch is Singapore’s Silver Kris Lounge (of course), which also happened to be the closest lounge to my departure gate. Easy enough. I was welcomed into the Business Class side of the lounge after a quick scan of my boarding pass. Nothing changed since my last visit in December 2015, which is a good thing. Other than being a bit dark, the lounge is spacious with plenty of comfortable seating and a decent spread of vittles and booze. Excuse the shamelessly recycled pictures from my previous visit.







After a quick drink, I headed back into the terminal to stretch my legs some more and partake in one of my favorite activities, place spotting. And Hong Kong is one of the best airports in the world for doing just that. My first visit to the current “new” Hong Kong International Airport was back in 2003. At that time, 747s and other assorted heavy aircraft comprised the bulk of traffic at the airport. Fast forward to the present day, the Queen of the Skies is mostly gone from the tarmac of Hong Kong, save for some cargo aircraft, and the vast majority of heavy traffic consists of twin engine aircraft like the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330. Four engine passenger aircraft are pretty much limited to a handful of A380s. Narrow bodies, once relatively few in Hong Kong, now take up the majority of parking spots. It just doesn’t seem quite right without seeing a hulking heavy parked every gate in Hong Kong.

Still, there’s plenty of interesting traffic to see with aircraft from all corners of the globe frequenting the airport. With my flight delayed an hour, I had plenty of time to indulge.













EVA Airways 856
Hong Kong (HKG) – Taipei (TPE)
Depart: 5:00 PM
Arrive: 6:50 PM
Aircraft: Airbus A321-100
Seat: 1K (Business Class)
April 2, 2017



I was really looking forward to this flight. It would be my first flight with EVA. As wtcmor noted upthread, there relatively few EVA trip reports compared to a number of Asian airlines like Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Asiana, and ANA. But the few reports I have read have been very positive, and I so was looking forward to it. Also, EVA offers one of the most favorably timed itineraries between Hong Kong and Houston. From Houston, EVA’s departure to Taipei leaves close to midnight and arrives in Taipei in the early morning allowing for a full day of work and a mid-morning arrival in Hong Kong. On the eastbound, the late afternoon allows for a nearly a full day in Hong Kong and a late evening arrival in Houston on the same day. Both ways, just a single relatively short connection in Taipei is required. I love flying Cathay Pacific, but timing of the EVA’s flight is hard to ignore and it sure beats having to put up with one or two domestic American Airlines flights to a Cathay Pacific gateway.

Boarding began about 30 minutes late. A smiling forest green clad flight attendant was waiting for me at the doorway, and escorted me all of 4 feet to my seat, 1K. She offered to help stow my carry on, which I declined as I can easily manage on my own. Nevertheless, the offer was appreciated, and it was nice introduction to EVA.

With just 8 seats, the Business Class cabin of EVA’s A321 is a bit small and reminded me of First Class on American’s and United’s A319. However, that’s where the similarities end. EVA’s seats are leaps and bounds better than those other carriers. First off, the seat padding was fantastic as was the back support. The seats were also equipped with a footrest, and seat pitch appeared to be substantially more than what is found in US domestic First Class.







The flight attendant appeared again and welcomed my seatmate and me onboard individually and asked each of us whether preferred to be addressed in Mandarin or English. While my Cantonese is passable, my Mandarin is a few shades short of awful. So English it is! She also offered pre-departure beverages of still water, sparkling water, pineapple juice, or sparkling wine. I chose pineapple juice, which was served with mint leaf. It was delicious and refreshing and served with a hot towel. After receiving countless towels resembling gauze pads that were either scalding hot or bone dry and smelled like a 20 year old potable water tank, it was refreshing to get a hot towel at an acceptable temperature, sufficiently moist, and pleasantly scented.

Hot towels were followed by slippers and menus. Menus? Taipei is just 501 miles from Hong Kong. Back home, the most you can expect for a flight of this length is a drink and a pass of a snack basket. That is, if the flight attendants decided to actually do it. I can’t tell you how many flights I’ve flown of similar length back home, on American mainline and American Eagle, announce the suspension of service prior to takeoff because of turbulence, only spend the flight playing on their phone and enjoying the glass smooth ride. Even in First Class. But not on EVA. This 1 hour and 20 minute flight rated a full hot dinner and even the aforementioned menus upfront. And physically, the menu itself was beautiful with a thick colorfully embossed card stock cover and quality paper on which all available food and beverages were printed. .

Amazingly, the cabin door was closed 15 minutes after boarding began despite the completely full A321. And the flight attendants didn’t have make multiple announcements “asking for your cooperation to ensure an on time departure”. Imagine that.

Runway 7R was our departure runway that evening, requiring taxiing to Macau and back. Or at least it felt like it. At least setting sun painted the sky with beautiful red, pink, and orange hues making a nice backdrop for pictures along the way.















Just before we reached the threshold of Runway 7R, we passed the HAECO facility where three American Airlines 777s were parked. I’m sure everyone here is familiar with the fight legacy US airlines are putting up against the Middle East 3, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways. The heart of the legacy airlines’ argument is that growth of the ME3 is or will cost US jobs. Ironically, in 2012 American closed their Fort Worth Alliance maintenance base, which previously maintained their 777s, eliminating over 1,000 jobs. Heavy maintenance for the 777 fleet was then outsourced to HAECO in Hong Kong.

Now, I’m not knocking HAECO, who is well respected in the airline industry. In fact, both United and Delta have outsourced quite a bit of work to HAECO. What I am criticizing is the hypocrisy of the legacy airline executives who peddle claims of loss of US jobs due to the growth of the ME3, while having no problem eliminating US jobs in favor of outsourcing to foreign companies to help their bottom lines.



About an hour behind schedule, we lifted off of Runway 7R and soared in the hazy skies.





The appearance of another round of hot towels well before we reached cruising altitude signaled the beginning of dinner service. I really liked the refreshing pineapple juice served on the ground, so I ordered another glass of that.

Shortly after, the flight attendant returned to carefully place a colorful table cloth on each table.



Drinks were topped off and coffee and tea was offered prior to meals being served. I asked for green tea which was served with my meal. Dinner was a one tray affair understandably given the short flying time. For my main course, I chose the fish with fried rice. It tasted fine, although the fish was a little dry. I particularly liked the vegetables which were perfectly cooked. The fruit was tasted fresh, and dessert was delicious. Overall, the meal was very solid and very much appreciated.



By the time meal trays were cleared, the pink and orange of the setting sun gave way to the darkness of night.



Cabin lights were then dimmed, and mood lighting was turned on for the remainder of the flight.



I passed time exploring EVA’s excellent entertainment system. The interface was intuitive and easy to use, and there was a wide variety of content. It was more than sufficient for a longhaul flight let alone this short flight. While browsing the music selection, I got a good laugh when I saw the Backstreet Boys were filed under “Oldies” when I was browsing the music selection. The boy band craze reached fever pitch back when I was just starting high school, which wasn’t all that long ago. I think. As if I needed another reminder I’m getting old.



Landing at Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport was smooth. The gate we pulled into was just steps away from transit security, which was quick and painless.

With a couple of hours to kill, I set off looking for EVA’s lounges which are clustered in the same area right above the check in counters. My boarding pass did indicate I had access to the Infinity Lounge, but since I was flying Business Class I figured I had access to any of EVA’s lounges. I was wrong. For no reason other than it was maybe 100 steps closer than the Infinity Lounge, I tried to access the EVA lounge located just at the top of the escalators, but I was rebuffed and sent 100 steps down the hall to the Infinity Lounge, which looked identical as the lounge I was turned away from. Once there, I was welcome warmly by an attendant. After a day of wandering around Hong Kong and then Hong Kong International Airport, I requested and immediately led to a large, clean, and well equipped shower room.





While the shower room looked white and sterile, the lounge itself was rather colorful and futuristic from a 1980s Tron perspective.



Plenty of seating was available.



There was an okay looking buffet available with Asian and western options available. Nothing to get excited over, but it was a decent spread overall.



I packed up and left a little under an hour before departure in weary anticipation of my final flight on this lengthy journey.

EVA Airways 52
Singapore (SIN) – Hong Kong (HKG)
Depart: 10:10 PM
Arrive: 11:10 PM
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 10K (Business Class)
April 2, 2017

My boarding pass was inspected and scanned before I was allowed into the gate area, which was packed with a couple of hundred tired folks. I wasn’t in much better my shape. This flight was my third redeye in a week and fifth overall this trip. Though, I’m not sure if this is technically a “redeye” as BR 52 departs Taipei at 10PM and arrives in Houston at 11PM. Anyways, the recent spate of late night departures was really starting to take its toll. All I wanted to do is get on board as quickly as possible and get some rest. But I perked up at the sight of the beautiful EVA 777-300ER parked outside.



I’m not typically the one to be gate lice. But I was really tired, and there were only a few minutes until scheduled boarding time. Plus, there were maybe two seats open in the gate area. So I parked myself right in front of boarding lane, only to be shooed me away moments later by an overly excited gate agent who wanted to keep the lane clear for… wait for it... Business Class passengers. Yeah buddy, I know I don’t look the part right now, but that would be me tonight. He wasn’t having any of it. So I moved two whole feet to the side, which satisfied him.

A couple of gentlemen were seated off to that side, one of whom looked very familiar. They were friendly and struck up a conversation with me. Despite chatting with them for 20 minutes, I could not remember why that guy looked so familiar. Then it hit me as soon as I sat down on the plane. He was the city councilman representing the district where I lived in New Orleans. I confirmed that when I saw him on the plane as I finally noticed he was actually wearing a campaign shirt with his name embroidered. And upon further review, the other guy traveling seemed to be his handler, so I surmised he might be on official business. Why a New Orleans City Councilman needs to be in Asia, I don’t know. But hey, more power to him.

Boarding began right on time, and I was being escorted to my seat by yet another smiling forest green clad flight attendant moments later. Though she didn’t have the flair or poise of the Cathay Pacific crew I had a couple of nights ago, she was perfectly friendly and nice. Speaking of Cathay Pacific, EVA also uses the same reverse herringbone seats on their 777-300ERs with the biggest difference being the different color finishes and a touchscreen IFE controller. At the seat already were a nice fluffy pillow, blanket, and an amenity kit.







There was plenty of storage.







Crowning the whole setup is the same 15 inch-ish IFE screen that’s found on just about every airline with this type of seat. The picture quality is reasonably good, though not outstanding.





Although I was originally assigned seat 10K, I moved back to 11K as someone took up residence in 9K. The load was really light in Business Class with just a handful seats taken in the rear cabin and not many more seats taken in the forward cabin.

The symphony of pre-departure service began soon after I sat down, beginning with the flight attendant returning with a bottle of Krug and a champagne flute a top a silver tray. Needless to say, I gratefully accepted without hesitation. The flight attendant elegantly poured the Krug in the flute and gently placed it on my side table along with a Godiva chocolate and another perfect hot towel.



I knew beforehand that EVA really upped the ante with respect to Business Class champagne. But I still took a little double take when I saw the bottle of Krug, which I don’t think I’ve seen anywhere else except on Cathay Pacific or Singapore First Class and the side of the liquor store I can’t bring myself to set foot in. But it was included in the price of admission tonight, and I was determined to enjoy it. And that I did.

Champagne was followed by menus, pajamas, slippers, and headphones. While they are not branded by a well-known company like Bose or Sony, the sound quality of the headphones was good as was the noise canceling capability.





Just a few minutes after scheduled departure time, we rocketed down the runway and climbed into the pitch black night sky bound for the Lone Star State. Drink orders were taken just moments after takeoff, which was much appreciated given the late hour. I decided not to mess with a good thing and stuck with Krug. In the meantime, I started browsing through the entertainment system to find something to pass time. The selection of movies and television shows were identical to what I found on my flight from Hong Kong to Taipei. Not wanting to thinking too hard, I settled for watching Rogue One once more.

A flight attendant soon returned with another glass of Krug and a plate of delicious looking canapes. They were indeed very good, and it was a nice way to kick off the meal service.



I made short work of the champagne and canapes, but no worries the flight attendant dutifully refilled my glass just moments after depleted. This was followed by a crisp colorful table cloth carefully laid on my tray table, signaling the commencement of the main event.




Impressively, table settings were individually placed on the tray table of each passenger unlike most airlines that still serve everything on a tray in Business Class. The bread plate, salt and pepper shakers, and silverware were placed precisely on my tray table, something American can’t even manage in international First Class. I’m sorry. Flagship First Class.

This was followed by the beautifully presented appetizer consisting of grilled shrimp and fois gras. The fois gras was smooth, and the shrimp was plump and fresh. Both were very tasty and by far the highlight of the meal.











While the color scheme of EVA’s tablecloths looked cool, I can’t say the same for the construction cone (or prison) orange colored napkins.



I was looking forward to having some of awesome looking Chinese meals I’ve seen on past EVA trip reports; however, those meals have either been discontinued or not offered on my flight. So I ended up settling for the almond crusted shrimp, fried rice, and stir-fried vegetables. The dish was very nicely presented, but it tasted bland. Which may not have been a bad thing as I was getting pretty full anyways and only had a couple of bites.



Dessert consisted of a custard tart with fresh apple, which was fine. I asked for a cup of green tea along with it.



I finished the meal with a Krug nightcap along with another cup of tea.





As the cabin lights were dimmed, a flight attendant offered to make up the one of the center seats as my “bed” so I could have this seat to “watch TV”. I gratefully accepted. Once I finished up Rogue One a short time later, I moved across the aisle. The pillows were fluffy and the sheets crisp. And most importantly, the “bed” was very comfortable. I conked out in no time.



I woke up six hours later after a solid round of sleep, which is a testament of how comfortable the seat is in bed mode. Apparently, sleeping on a plane is hard work because I was really hungry when I woke up. Moving across the aisle, I ordered a cheeseburger along with another glass of the really tasty pineapple juice. Impressively, even a snack rated laying a now familiar blue and orange tablecloth on my tray table. The cheeseburger itself was really tasty, but the fries were so-so, which wasn’t unexpected as it was reheated in an airplane oven. What’s a snack without a show, so I fired up the entertainment system and settled on Fences, which was really good.



By the time I finished Fences, we had already gone feet dry over the coastline of California and was speeding over the desolate deserts of eastern California toward the Nevada state line. As it was just about 6pm local time, I decided to be a rebel and pop open my window shade to have a look at the outside world.



With a little more 90 minutes left until arrival in Houston, the sounds of a meal being preparing began emanating from the galley, and flight attendants began to filing through the cabin offering hot towels to those of us awake. The familiar ritual of the laying of tablecloths began shortly after.



The first course was smoked duck with a (very) small salad. The duck breast was ok at best, but the salad was impressively crisp and fresh considering it was sitting in an airplane galley for the last 12-ish hours. Not wanting to miss out on my last opportunity for a glass of fine champagne in a long while, I ordered a glass of Krug which was poured with a smile.



That was quickly followed by the second course. The menu was looked rather boring, so I chose the most boring dish I could on it: the seafood pasta. It was really bland, though nothing a little salt and pepper couldn’t fix. Most importantly, the seafood was fresh.



By the time I finished eating and my tray table was cleared, we reached the top of the descent just to south and east of Austin. The bright lights of Austin faded away to the more sparse lights of the Texas countryside, but before long we reached the sea of light that is the ridiculous urban sprawl of Houston. With how fast both Austin and Houston are growing, it wouldn’t surprise to me to see a continuous sea of lights between the two metropolises in just a few years.

In the latter stages of descent, I spotted the very welcome sight of some familiar roads. The last couple of weeks have been amazing, but I was more than ready to be home. Above the suburb of Tomball, our pilots dipped the plane into a graceful turn to line ‘er up with Runway 9R. The purser made it to my seat for the usual “thank you for flying with us” spiel. She scurried back to her jump seat as the distinctive sound of the massive landing gear being lowered resonated through the cabin. Moments later, our 777 gently thumped down on the concrete of Runway After 11 days and 22,951 miles, I was finally home.

Thanks everyone for reading, and for putting up for my one year writing schedule!