Review: EVA Air 787-10 Business Class Taipei-Seoul
- Konrad Tillman
- May 5
- 7 min read
Intro
The next stop on the series “5 nights on a plane” would see me heading on an EVA Air 787-10 in Business Class from Tapei to Seoul. After flying with the airline in the morning from Bangkok to Seoul, I was a little dissapointed in the onboard service, and hoped to find that this flight was better.
While the seats were quite good, the service still wasn’t up to par for carriers in the Eastern Asia region. Let’s jump in.
Route- Taipei (TPE)-Seoul (ICN)
Flight Number- BR160
Seat- 7K
Aircraft- Boeing 787-10
Date- August 18th, 2024
Flight Time- 2 Hours and 26 Minutes
Price Paid- 663$ (BKK-TPE-ICN)
How I Booked
With my Aeroplan adventure coming to an end, I had to get up to Seoul for dinner the next evening. Seeing as direct economy flights were around 400$ and business was about 900$, I decided to book a connecting flight with EVA Air from Bangkok-Taipei-Seoul for 660$. This also helped me secure 1K for the year, as this credited two more PQFs to my United account.
However, these flights can easily be booked through ANA, United, and Aeroplan at reasonable award costs (United is a bit more now).
Boarding
Finishing up at the Singapore Airlines Lounge and the EVA Air Lounge, I headed off to the gate around 2:30 for the scheduled boarding time of 2:45. I have to say, Taipei airport is well-designed and efficient!
Waiting at gate C3 was a beautiful 4-year-old 787-10 with the registration code B-17807
Heading downstairs (once again, another very good aspect to Taipei), boarding was just getting ready to commence, at which point I took my place at the front of the line thanks to my group 1 boarding with business class.
At 2:47, 28 minutes prior to departure, boarding commenced with business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members offered to board first.
The Seat/Cabin
Stepping onboard, I was pleased to find the same cabin that had taken me over from Bangkok that morning. Seats are laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration, with a staggered setup. If you can, I recommend snagging one of the true window seats if traveling solo, and if you are a couple, the center seats work perfectly.
Unlike the last flight, I was thankfully able to secure the last available “true window” seat, which offers the utmost privacy. I won’t touch on the cabin details too much due to my extensive review from last flight, but each seat features a side console, a remote control, an IFE screen, and seat controls.
Additionally, a small privacy screen slides out.
Now, the one complaint I have with the design of this seat is how narrow the footwell is. Other than that, it is a good product for a long-haul flight, and an excellent hard product for an interregional flight. Top marks, EVA!
Departure
Settling into my seat, boarding was somewhat chaotic with plenty of people strolling through the business class cabin.
Eventually, 13 minutes after settling in, the flight attendant came around to ask if I would like a pre-departure beverage, and I requested a glass of champagne. These are just the small details I pick up on after flying quite a bit, but it was interesting to see that I was the last business class passenger to be offered a PDB, even though I was first on the plane. Huh…
Around 3:10, boarding was wrapped up, and the captain came on to announce our flight time of 2 hours and 10 minutes over to Seoul. He mentioned that it was a beautiful day to fly and we should only be a couple of minutes behind schedule.
9 minutes later, we pushed back and made our way on the short taxi to Runway 23 for departure. Is it just me, or is Taipei actually quite efficient with taxi times?
By 3:32, we were wheels up to Seoul with some gorgeous views out of Taiwan.
Amenities
Upon boarding, I was pleased to find one of the most beautiful pillows I have ever seen in my life. Honestly, how cool is this? However, for some reason, EVA Air doesn’t provide blankets on these flights unless you ask for them. Eventually, after inquiring, one was brought over, and it was oh so plush for a 2-hour flight.
In addition, passengers were provided with a nice pair of noise-cancelling headphones. Not bad, EVA, not bad.
IFE
In the last report, I extensively touched on the IFE angle to EVA, so I’ll just provide a brief overview.
Each passenger in business class has a large IFE screen located in the seatback in front of them. There are plenty of options, ranging from new releases to classics, and some TV shows thrown in there as well.
Wifi is also offered, but seeing as this flight is only two hours, I think I can do without… Considering it is data-capped as well, that’s a big no in my book.
Meal Service
Upon boarding the aircraft, I was pleased to find not one, but two menus waiting next to my seat. Can I just say, EVA Air does an exceptional job in terms of dining on inter-Asia flights. To have a full wine list, and adding calories to the menu (not sure if I want to know 😉) is the attention to detail that makes this airline's soft product great in certain regards.
Not only was the menu good, but the service was efficient on today's flight. 20 minutes after takeoff, the cabin crew came through to set up the meal service, and a few minutes later presented the black pepper duck starter. Extremely delicious!
10 minutes later, my main course was presented: Steamed chicken in plum sauce. Another lovely dish. Fantastic!
The one thing I will mention is that the sparkling water was flat. Considering we had just taken off, this bottle must have been left over from the previous flight. Sure, it’s not that big of a deal, but it sums up the service overall.
Service
On the previous flights, I let my voice be heard about how I felt regarding the service, and honestly, I still feel somewhat the same way. While I appreciated the efficiency of the service, it felt as if this service could have been on a US airline. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t mind, but seeing as there is so much competition in East Asia, I think EVA Air could work on their short-haul service (long-haul service is very different).
Here are a couple of aspects that stood out to me:
No welcome onboard or smiles, unlike the likes of SQ, TG, GA
Flat sparkling water
It seemed like a burden to ask for a blanket
Didn’t have that overall warm feeling, which I came to love about the EVA long-haul service
Look, I am not going out here to say that the service was bad, since it wasn’t; it just wasn't warm and welcoming. In any other continent, that would typically fly, but with the fierce competition, I would personally seek out another airline.
Arrival
After 4 nights straight on a plane, it got to the point where I was absolutely shattered. With an hour and 10 minutes left in the flight, I somehow passed out and woke up as we were right next to a Turkish Airlines 777 at Incheon.
According to data, we ended up getting in about 10 minutes behind schedule, and from there it was another 35 minutes wait at immigration. Honestly, Seoul is one of the least efficient immigration ports of entry in East Asia.
Ehh, whatever, time to go see a friend I have known for 19 years!
Final Thoughts
EVA Air offers a decent hard product, good meals, and plenty of variety across IFE selection on their intra-Asia flights. However, would I fly them again? I am not so sure. I found the service to be unpolished, lacking the small touches which you find on their long-haul flights, and it honestly missed the mark. For a lot of people, this might not be that much of an issue, but to me, service is what makes or breaks a flight.
For a long-haul flight, I would certainly fly them again. However, if I had to do this routing all over again, I would have rather taken Thai Airways or Singapore Airlines in a heartbeat.
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