BR68 LHR-BKK

March 14th, 2023

Posts in this series:

Introduction - A Long March To China

Review - United Airlines Business Class B767-400 Newark to London Heathrow

Review - EVA Air Business Class B777-300ER London Heathrow to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi

Review - Thai Airways Business Class A350-900 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Chengdu Shuangliu

Review - JW Marriott Singapore South Beach

Review - Singapore Airlines Business Class A380 Singapore to London Heathrow

Review - United Airlines Business Class B777-200 London Heathrow to Newark

In-transit:

My layover was roughly 8 hours at Heathrow before my EVA Air flight. The thought of heading into town crossed my mind, but eventually I decided to just be a bum at the lounge. While I frequent LHR, I had only been to Terminal 2 (aka the Queen’s Terminal) once before. T2 is the hub for all Star Alliance member airlines, and there are four lounges, including the Lufthansa Senator/Business Lounge, United Club, Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge and Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge.

Lounge:

I settled in the Air Canada Lounge as it wasn’t as crowded as the others, and it also featured a small napping area.

Ok here’s the thing - do all the lounges in T2 kinda suck or what? “It’s giving mid”, as the kids would say. I mean, the Air Canada Lounge might look modern, but it was actually quite filthy upon closer inspection. The food and drink selection was downright trash - a mere upgrade from a Delta SkyClub. When I asked one of the staff if I could use the shower, she told me the showers were closed for the day. I asked her why would the showers be closed when the lounge was still open, she told me to go to the reception. Lol. You know how sometimes you deal with customer service people, and their only answer to everything is just “no”? Like what is the point of your existence? Back to my grievances about the other lounges, the United Club was essentially a zoo at all times with how many flights United operated daily out of Heathrow. It wasn’t particularly clean either. The Lufthansa Lounge was stereotypically sterile and predictable, and the SilverKris Lounge was as past-its-prime and overrated as the airline that ran it.

The younger me would have just given up on the shower, but not the older, more cynical me. I stormed to the reception ready to demand what’s rightfully mine, only to have the receptionist offer me a shower key without resistance. Well, I guess I’ll save my anger for the next person who’s watching TikTok without headphones.

Like I mentioned earlier, while the shower suite might look trendy and modern (with Molton Brown toiletries even!), if you look closely though, there’s hair and stains all over.

Boarding:

After 8 hours of torture at Heathrow’s T2, it was eventually time for me to transcend. And transcend I did. I had not flown in EVA Air business class before, but all reports suggested a stellar experience. Funny enough EVA’s business class was dubbed as the royal laurel class, which reminded me of China Airlines’ call sign “dynasty”. Still reminiscing when they ruled China😉?

If you think the US government is poorly run, you should have witnessed the boarding process of this flight - 20 minutes after the posted boarding time, business class was invited to board first. Halfway down the jet bridge, though, everybody was called back to the gate and congregated there for another 15 mins or so for no obvious reason.

Once on board, I was reborn. Ok, the cabin didn’t look the most energizing, I’ll give you that. But neither did watching a bunch of Heathrow gate agents all confused and failing marvelously at the basic task that they’re paid to do on the daily.

The seats were admittedly a bit dated, but they were well-maintained and felt fresh. From the upholstery to the hard surfaces, there was no visible tear or scratch. One thing I should note, when I opened the tray table, it was still wet from being sanitized by antiseptic wipes. EVA Air knew how to make a germophobe girl (me) fall head over heels.

As you can see, Eva Air used reverse herringbone seats in its business class, which was the same seat type on a countless number of other airlines.

Awaiting at my seat were a pair of headphones, Jason Wu-designed slippers and some daytime linen for lounging around.

I had selected my meal options online, so here is a look at the digital menu and wine list:

The flight attendant serving my aisle stopped by once I got situated. She asked how she should address me, introduced herself and confirmed my meal and beverage selections. We conversed in Mandarin, and she spoke with that classic Taiwanese drawl. Although I’m not Taiwanese, the exchange made me feel right at home after not seeing my parents for three years.

For pre-departure drink, I chose champagne, which was the 2006 Duval-Leroy Clos des Bouveries. I love the non-vintage Duval-Leroy, so this was a step up.

Inflight:

On our taxi out, the crew turned on the mood-lighting in the cabin, which was nice.

Shortly after take-off, the crew sprung into action and handed out more amenities. Similar to the slippers, the pjs were Jason Wu branded as well. The amenity kit was from Ferragamo. Have I mentioned I’m allergic to Tuscan Soul?

30mins into the flight, the table was set for dinner service. The canapés for the evening were a cauliflower tart garnished with caviar and a bresaola cone with boursin cheese and melon. These were nice to have, but nothing memorable.

While perusing the IFE system, I came upon my favorite casual viewing of all times, so I put on an episode to accompany my dinner.

For starter, a chicken, porcini and beef bacon terrine was served with prosciutto crisp. This was quite good - a salty appetizer on a plane never hurts. For vino, the 2015 Chateau de Ferrand Grand Cru was on offer. It was excellent.

In the meantime, a freshly baked (reheated) bread basket was presented. I obviously went for the garlic bread, as well as another dinner roll.

Moving onto the main course, I had pre-ordered the poached lobster and pan-fried Chilean sea bass with cream sauce. I had mixed feelings about this one. The sea bass was divine, flavorful with a nice golden crust on the outside. The lobster however, was on the chewier side, and the cream sauce was a tad heavy. On top of that, the presentation wasn’t the neatest. I expected a bit more from EVA.

To conclude the meal, I was treated with a trio of desserts, fruits and cheeses. I’d say this was probably the highlight of evening. All of the cheeses were great, the fruits were sweet and fresh, and the desserts were of high quality and the perfect portion. The best part? You didn’t have to choose!

Post dinner, I immediately requested the turndown service, as I had been traveling for well over 20 hours at this point.

Thanks to the accumulated exhaustion and the elevated comfort of proper bedding and pajamas, I managed to sleep all the way till breakfast. I went with the Chinese option, which came as a set, including plain congee, egg cake with vegetables, green chili stuffed with minced pork and an assortment of traditional side dishes. This definitely hit the spot. It doesn’t get more comforting than a bowl of hot congee first thing when you wake up.

To balance the meal, the FA brought me another plate of fruits and a cup of pu’er. I guess this must be the royal life EVA Air had in mind.

On Arrival:

13hrs flew by when you were well fed and rested. I can think of one word to describe EVA Air’s business class product, and that is F-L-A-W-L-E-S-S. Was it over the top? Nope. Was it Instagram-worthy? Not terribly so. But everything was perfectly pieced together and well thought out. The service flow, the amenities and the hospitality were effortlessly comfortable. EVA is one of those airlines that you can fly over and over with and never get tired of.

The biggest takeaway from this flight, though, is I really need to plan a trip to Taiwan.