We’re not often impressed by airline customer service in economy class.
But paying the equivalent of only $900 USD per ticket for return EVA Air flights from North America on a couple of trips to Asia turned out to be a bargain – and a pleasant flying experience to boot.
Writing this EVA Air review therefore wasn’t as difficult as we thought it might be.
Contents: Review of EVA Air Economy Class
EVA Air inflight entertainment
EVA Air review: Public health and safety plan
Before we get started on our EVA Air review, you’ll want to know EVA Air’s safe travel plan for passengers. The guidelines change, as the situation changes around the world, so do read this information.
EVA Air flights from North America
In North America, EVA Air flies from Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver – offering non-stop service to Taipei, Taiwan.
From Taipei, you can then connect to scads of cities in Asia.
After people started to travel again in 2021, EVA Air began ramping up (in August, 2021) the number of its weekly flights from North America, as follows:
- Chicago – 5 flights
- Houston – 1 flight
- Los Angeles – 7 flights
- New York – 4 flights
- San Francisco – 7 flights
- Seattle – 7 flights
- Toronto – 1 flight
- Vancouver – 5 flights
Since we live in Victoria, Canada, we’ll focus on the departure cities closest to us – Seattle and Vancouver.
EVA Air Seattle to Taipei:
EVA Air operates several flights a week from Seattle.
Until recently, the planes used for the Seattle to Taipei flights were Boeing 777-300ERs.
In 2021, however, the airline started using the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner for flying between Seattle and Taipei.
Seattle-Taipei schedule (as of August 15, 2022)
- Seattle to Taipei: Departing every day of the week at 12:20 am (arriving the next day at 5:20 am)
- Taipei to Seattle: Departing daily at 11:40 pm (arriving the same day at 6:10 pm)
EVA Air Vancouver to Taipei:
On our first EVA Air flight, we flew from Vancouver via Taipei, Taiwan, to Bali.
Our second EVA Air trip was from Vancouver to Bangkok, also via Taipei. (From Bangkok, we flew on to Yangon, Myanmar.)
As with the flights from Seattle, the EVA Air planes formerly used for the Vancouver to Taipei flights were Boeing 777-300ERs.
But EVA Air has since swapped out these planes for the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
The Dreamliner was supposed to be in for just a “trial” period. But it looks like it will replace the 777-300ER going forward. EVA Air is apparently banking on the Dreamliner in its future plans as flying returns to normal (and it has more Dreamliners on order).
Vancouver-Taipei schedule (as of August 15, 2022)
- Vancouver to Taipei: Departing on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 am (arriving the next day at 4:40 am)
- Taipei to Vancouver : Departing on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 11:55 pm (arriving the same day at 7:25 am)
EVA Air Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner:
The airline has configured its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to carry 304 passengers, with 26 in Royal Laurel (Business) Class and 278 in Economy Class.
What’s especially nice about these EVA Air planes is that the Economy seats are ergonomically designed and feature upgraded 12-inch HD touchscreen TV screens.
The Dreamliners also boast quieter cabins and cleaner air (with a higher concentration of oxygen, which helps you feel less tired).
EVA Air review: Check-in
It started with the ginger tea…
Both times, while waiting at the gate in Vancouver, EVA Air had a table (decorated with a large vase of fresh lilies) with complimentary help-yourself hot ginger tea and coffee.
That’s the first time we’ve ever seen this service offered.
Other airlines, take note!
Hey, we got slippers!
Okay, so we didn’t get the really nice EVA Air amenities you get in EVA Air’s Business Class – like the Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kits and comfy pyjamas by Taiwanese-Canadian designer, Jason Wu.
But as we settled into our seats, we discovered green disposable slippers (really nice touch for Economy Class!), down cushions with washable cotton (not synthetic disposable) covers, and thick blankets that don’t create annoying static.
The sleep masks you get in Economy aren’t very good though. They’re a carry-on flight essential, so you should bring your own. (We like the Eagle Creek Sandman brand – soft, really good coverage and they black out all light.)
EVA Air Economy seats
EVA Air legroom:
Boeing 777-300ER legroom
The seat pitch on the Boeing 777-300ERs is between 32 and 33 inches.
(Seat pitch is the term used to measure the distance from the back of your seat to the back of the seat in font, i.e., a technical airline term for how much legroom you get.)
Basically, this means you get 32 to 33 inches of legroom.
We liked that the seat configuration was 3-3-3 on our flights.
Some of EVA Air’s 777 planes have extra Economy seats, however, and they’re configured 3-4-3, with four (not three) seats in the middle row. (See here for details of the different EVA Air plane configurations.)
That means a tighter fit. Too bad…
We hear that at least one North American carrier has reconfigured their 777s on their Asia routes to squeeze in over 100 additional seats in Economy, so Economy passengers are stuffed in like sardines.
And on Rouge (Air Canada’s leisure brand), the seat pitch is only 30 inches for European flights that we checked. No thank you…
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner legroom
Interestingly, the Economy Class seats on the new Dreamliners have less legroom than on the Boeing 777s. Their seat pitch is 31 to 32 inches.
And it’s surprising how much difference an extra inch can make!
But there are only nine seats in a row (not ten), configured 3-3-3.
Best economy seats on EVA Air:
When selecting your seats, check SeatGuru.
Nice loos!
The loos are also set far apart from the food preparation galley areas. And they’re kitted out with hand lotion as well as foaming soap.
The larger loos in the economy cabin got us smiling with cute vases of flowers and baby change areas too.
As well, we noticed that the flight attendants freshened the toilets constantly and kept them spotlessly clean (in contrast to flight attendants on U.S. and Canadian carriers, who won’t deal with any lavatory freshening).
EVA Air food
The EVA Air meals in Economy Class on our flights were nutritionally balanced and fairly healthy (as airplane meals go).
For dinner – a choice of fish and noodles or teriyaki chicken and rice, with an accompanying salad, hot bun and plate of fresh fruit slices (plus the requisite dessert cake).
For breakfast – perhaps a cheese omelette with sausage and potatoes or pork congee, plus no-fat yogurt, a bowl of cubed melons and hot croissant.
EVA Air inflight entertainment
Boeing 777-300ER:
Economy seats on EVA Air’s Boeing 777-300ERs have touch-screen TV displays 11.1 inches in size.
The movie selection is good and includes all the latest Hollywood blockbusters.
Dreamliner:
Entertainment screens in Economy Class are 12 inch HD touchscreen, with USB charging capabilities.
In Royal Laurel Class (aka Business Class), you can watch the latest hits on 18 inch screens with ergonomically designed, noise-cancelling headphones.
EVA Air Premium Economy
Want to treat yourself a bit?
If you can’t spring for lie-flat beds in Business Class (called Royal Laurel Class on EVA Air), you might want to try its Premium Economy Class.
We hear this class of service is pretty good – if you’re not in the middle row.
These EVA Air Premium Economy seats are available on flights using the Boeing 777-300ERs, but not on the Dreamliners. This means you can’t fly Premium Economy between Vancouver or Seattle and Taipei (because these routes only use the Dreamliners).
The configuration is 2-4-2. Ergonomic seats are 19.3 inches wide and have a 38-inch seat pitch and extra-wide armrests.
Along with an upgraded food service, other onboard Premium Economy perks include noise-cancelling head phones, Erno Laszlo or THANN amenity kits, large down pillows and soft quilts.
If you can swing it, check out Premium Economy on EVA Air.
Price? Can you use points?
EVA Air is a Taiwanese international airline.
For our flight to Bali (with a connection in Taipei), we had a choice of China Airlines (less expensive), Cathay Pacific (more expensive) and EVA Air.
On EVA Air, we could have flown for about $100 USD less than what we actually paid.
But we chose to pay more to earn more Aeroplan points on Air Canada, which is a Star Alliance partner of EVA Air’s (hoping to earn enough Aeroplan points to earn back our Silver Prestige status on Air Canada – any perk is a blessing when flying these days.)
So, yes, you can use Star Alliance partner points to book EVA Air flights.
EVA Air rating and flight safety record
Other travelers like EVA Air too.
The 2021 Skytrax World Airline Awards rated EVA Air one of the 10 best airlines in the world (in the #7 spot).
Travel + Leisure readers went further, voting EVA Air the world’s 3rdbest international airline in 2021.
In 2022, EVA Air also again made the list of 20 safest airlines to fly in the world, according to AirlineRatings.com.
China Airlines vs EVA Air?
Both airlines are based out of Taipei in Taiwan.
But China Airlines has a 4-star airline rating, according to Skytrax.
EVA Air, on the other hand, has a 5-star airline rating for its onboard product and service (e.g., cabin and seat cleanliness, food and beverages, entertainment and attention to cabin safety).
We had a choice, and we picked EVA Airlines.
EVA Air ticket cancellation, changes and refunds
If you need to cancel your ticket (or your flight is cancelled), see EVA Air’s cancellation policies.
You’ll find links to information on EVA Air refunds and ticket changes due to flight cancellations and/or schedule changes.
EVA Air Economy review: Bottom line?
So, is EVA Air good?
EVA Air won our loyalty, and we’d definitely fly with them again.
Have you flown EVA Air?
What was your experience? Do you prefer flying on Asian airlines rather than North American carriers?
Read more or our airline reviews!
Qatar is another great airline to fly | See what it’s like to fly Economy Class on Qatar.
Are you interested in flying with Emirates? | Check out our review of Emirates in Economy Class, and then decide.
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We paid full fares for our economy tickets both times we flew round-trip with EVA Air and didn’t receive any special discounts. Nor has the airline paid us to write this EVA Airlines review or influenced us in any way here. This post consists simply of our own independent unbiased thoughts and views. Images are courtesy EVA Air.
About the authors:
Luxury travel journalists and SATW, NATJA and TMAC “Best Travel Blog” award winners, Janice and George are the publishers of Sand In My Suitcase. Between them, they’ve traveled to all 7 continents.
Find destination guides, global food-and-wine stories, luxury hotel reviews, articles on cultural explorations and soft adventure trips, cruise reviews and information, insanely useful travel tips and more!
Kommanat
Tuesday 23rd of August 2022
If I'm traveling to Thailand from Canada on Oct 5th, do I still need a Covid test before travel?
Janice and George
Tuesday 23rd of August 2022
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), as of July 1, 2022, travelers to Thailand must either be fully vaccinated against Covid, or if unvaccinated, have a negative Covid test. As these rules are constantly changing, you should check the TourismThailand.org site before you go for the latest entry requirements.
Trevor
Sunday 14th of August 2022
Interesting review, especially since we are from Victoria!
Since my wife is Thai, we travelled every year to BKK between 2014-19. Now that Covid is no longer a big concern, we are off to BKK between October 31 and February 28 (ideally).
All our trips were on EVA Air and I can second all your positive remarks. However, we were then travelling Premium Economy and (once) Business Class.
I was just (August 14) attempting a mock booking and found that Eva Air seems not to offer Premium on the YVR-Taipei route. This may be because it is (as you note) no longer using the 777-300ER. So you only have a choice between Economy ($1266 round trip) or Business ($5795).
I am not 100% convinced that paying that much extra for Business is worth it for a 12-hour flight. What do you think?
I note that Air Canada are (at least they have announced it) introducing a NON-STOP flight from YVR-BKK as of December 1st. Econ will be $779. Premium Econ = $2064. Biz = $6092.
Regards, Trevor
Janice and George
Monday 15th of August 2022
Very good information! Thanks for sharing :-).
We're with you. For long-haul flights (unless an airline covers our flights, which they occasionally do!), we usually suck it up in Economy and prefer to spend the money on the actual trip. Staying in a Four Seasons or other luxury hotel can go a long way to helping you get over jet lag and forget the pain of flying in Economy! The $4,500+ difference between EVA's Economy and Business can buy many nights of luxury hotel upgrades, blow-out dinners, memorable tours and more.
If your trip is really short (and it sounds like it won't be), then Business class can help you get off to a faster start when you arrive. But for longer trips (and we tend to do long 3- and 4-week trips these days), we're over jet lag and ready to go full-blast within a couple of days (especially after staying at a great hotel).
We do spend the money on selecting our Economy seats in advance though. At least that way, we don't get stuck in middle seats at the back of the plane by the toilets :-).
Have a great trip to Thailand!
Alex Thompson
Thursday 27th of May 2021
I am a frequent traveler. My personal experience is that conditions aren't always favorable for traveling by air. Sometimes conditions caused by nature and sometimes caused by our problems result in modification or cancellation of flight tickets. I always prefer to go with Eva Air because it's easy to understand their cancellation and change policy and they offer much more flexibility.
Janice and George
Thursday 27th of May 2021
Thanks for chiming in! It's good to know you've found EVA Air's change and cancellation policies clear and flexible :-).
Anide
Wednesday 22nd of April 2020
I flew with EVA last year November from Toronto to Taipei, round trip, business class. Without a doubt, the service was excellent. Can't compare with any North America airline, not only because it was business. I had flown with EVA on Economy also two years back and service was also also impressed. Crews were polite and always with pleasant smiles, just made you feel relaxed and the trip more enjoyable. I would definitely fly with EVA again.
Janice and George
Thursday 23rd of April 2020
Thanks for letting us know – next time, we'd like to try their business class! Though, like the rest of the world, we'll likely have to wait a little while before traveling again :-).
Jim Williams
Saturday 13th of July 2019
Check the seat layout of the 777-300. You will see that the Premium (extra) Economy Seats are 2-4-2 vs 3-4-3. Which makes for more room than regular economy.
Janice and George
Sunday 14th of July 2019
Thanks, Jim! The Premium Economy seats look much nicer than the regular economy seats. They would naturally be more comfortable! We'll update the post to add this information. Thanks for alerting us :-).