25 reviews and 112 photos of EVA AIR "Someone had to update this info as EVA Airlines is now flying from JFK and not from Newark Airport.
For those of you who don't know, EVA is one of Taiwan's main air carriers. Over the years I've flown primarily EVA or China Airlines (the other main Taiwan carrier, and traditionally the nation's flag carrier) back to Taiwan, and I have to say that as the years have gone by, EVA has most certainly eclipsed CA in terms of flight convenience, comfort, and price value.
What distinguishes EVA from CA and some other carriers is that they have a so-called "Deluxe Economy" class. It serves as an intermediary from their far more pricey first class or business class seats. Granted those seats are flat-beds and cost a ton, but in the DE class you basically get some of the comforts of traditional business class, like wider seats and a ton of legroom. This is key as a flight to Taiwan will eat up 14 to 17 hours of your life, so if you can afford it, it's worth being comfortable. I always fly DE back home because the price differential between DE and Economy is WAY less than between First/Biz class and DE. But even if you fly economy, I find that EVA's service is better than CA. I also like how they fly direct to Taipei, which is a huge. CA currently flies to Osaka then Taipei, and the departure/arrival times are seriously annoying versus EVA, which leaves late at night in the U.S. and arrives first thing the second morning in Taiwan. It's far easier if you're looking to maximize your time overseas (and here).
My flights back home have been for the most part on-time, though the arrivals in NYC have been spotty. Their boarding process is fairly efficient, if you can deal with some of the assholes who try and cut in front of the line at times. The flight attendants are professional and relatively friendly. The duty free selections are decent and it's nice how they have a license with Hello Kitty items/apparel. The food is, well it's airline food. It's not Nobu or Ding Tai Fong. But at least you are fed. The in-flight entertainment options are good. You get plenty of video-on-demand movies at your disposal, many of them are very recent Hollywood releases. You also get a nice list of Chinese, Korean, Japanese films and TV shows as well. The music playlists are good. The games are also fun, but a bit old/basic.
I don't really have any complaints other than the fact that the food is kind of dismal for Deluxe Economy. I know I'm not paying business class prices, but I'd still prefer to have something slightly better than Economy level food. They should take a cue from other airlines and consider establishing relationships with notable chefs or restaurants and mix up their food recipes/selections better. Otherwise, if you're looking for a good flying experience to Taiwan, this is a great choice."
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