Review: EVA Air Royal Laurel Class, Bangkok-Taipei

Summer Trip Flying EVA Air Business Class on 777 & Hello Kitty Jet, Singapore Airlines Suites & Cathay Pacific First Class

Last summer, I traveled to the Philippines for the 70th birthday celebration of my father. It was a very short visit since I needed to be back home for work. I've always wanted to try EVA Air's Hello Kitty Jet so I booked my flight from Stockholm to Fukuoka using Avianca Lifemiles. From Fukuoka, I flew on a budget carrier to Tokyo, and from Tokyo I flew on Singapore Airlines Suites to Singapore, and then first class to Manila using my Kris Flyer Miles. On my way back to Stockholm, I flew on Cathay Pacific First Class and Finnair Business Class using my AA Advantage Miles. This trip allowed me to test EVA Air Hello Kitty, Singapore Suites and Cathay Pacific First Class all for the first time and I couldn't be more satisfied.


SAS Summer Pop Up Lounge, Arlanda T5 (ARN)
SAS Plus Stocholm-London
Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge, London (LHR)
United Club, London Heathrow (LHR)
EVA Air Royal Laurel Class, London-Bangkok
New EVA Air Lounge, Bangkok (BKK)
EVA Air Royal Laurel Class, Bangkok-Taipei
Hotel Novotel Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge Taipei (TPE)
EVA Air Premium Laurel Class Hello Kitty Jet, Taipei-Fukuoka
Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk
ANA Suite Lounge Satellite 5 T1 Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class, Tokyo-Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room, Changi Airport (SIN)
Singapore Airlines First Class, Singapore-Manila
Top Attractions in the Philippines
Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge, NAIA (MNL)
Cathay Pacific Business Class, Manila-Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge, Hong Kong (HKG)
Cathay Pacific The Wing First Class Lounge, Hong Kong (HKG)
Cathay Pacific First Class, Hong Kong-Frankfurt
Air France-KLM Lounge, Frankfurt (FRA)
Finnair Business Class, Frankfurt-Helsinki
Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa
Top Attractions in Finland
Finnair Premium Lounge, Helsinki Airport (HEL)
Finnair Business Class, Helsinki-Stockholm

EVA Air Boeing 777-300ER bound for Taipei

Flight: BR68
Departure in Bangkok: 16:25
Arrival in Taipei: 21:10
Equipment: Boeing 777-300ER
Flight duration: 3h 45m
Date of flight: July 7, 2015
Seat: 5A
*This is an award travel, Business class flight #85

After enjoying my short stay at the new EVA Air Lounge, I headed to the boarding gate which was gate F6.

Seat, 5A

This was the same aircraft I flew on from London so I felt like more or less "home" to it.

Moments after settling in, a young female flight attendant offered me something to drink. There was a choice between orange juice and water but I thought I'd ask for a glass of water with a slice of lemon which was promptly served.

Meal

I was also offered some newspapers, arrival form cards and lastly the menu card/wine list.

The Bangkok-Taipei dinner menu read as follows:

STARTER 

Seafood Salad Thai Style

MAIN COURSE 

Pan Fried Chicken Thigh with Red Capsicum Sauce, Seasonal Vegetables, Fresh Potato Gnocchi
Braised Beed Short Ribs in Five Spice Sauce, Mixed Vegetables, Fried Noodles
Pork Fillet Cooked with Yellow Curry Sauce Thai Style, Mixed Vegetables, Steamed Rice

DESSERT

Cheese, Fruit, Sweet

COFFEE & TEA

EVA Air Royal Laurel Class wine list with the Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame as the champagne on board

A few minutes after the seat belt sign was turned off, the flight attendants started serving snacks and I ordered a glass of guava juice to go with it.

Seafood Salad Thai Style

Pan Fried Beef Tenderloin (pre-ordered from the website)

Fruits

Green tea and dessert

Entertainment

From the movie selection, I ended up watching "The Cobbler" which I thought was a simple and yet touching movie.

CONCLUSION

Travelling between Bangkok and Taipei in business class on a direct flight doesn't give you much choice. There is Thai Airways based in Bangkok and of course there is EVA Air based in Taipei. Between the two (and based on my experience on this flight) I think EVA is a better choice. The food on this flight was really good and the fact that I was able to pre-order my main course was excellent. Of course, Thai Airways also lets you pre-order your meal when flying in business class. The service was also very friendly although the best part of the flight in my opinion was the seat. The seats were just so comfortable since this is the same aircraft they use from London, meaning you get the comforts of a long haul business class seat. You can turn your seat into a flat bed if you want! To all the crew on this flight, thanks a lot 😉


Related Posts:

EVA Air Premium Laurel Class HELLO KITTY Jet, Taipei-Fukuoka

EVA Air Royal Laurel Class, London-Bangkok