I was super excited to try Eva Air's Royal Laurel Class (Eva Air's business class) for the first time on our trip to Thailand. There are no direct flights from Los Angeles to Thailand so we had a three hour layover in Taipei. Our flight was departing at 10:40 am on a Thursday and checking in at the business class international line was a breeze, we went right up to the attendant.
Getting past security took a bit more time, but we were moved into the expedited/priority line so it wasn't too bad. We were a bit early for the flight so we stopped by the Eva Air LAX Lounge before our flight.
For the flight, the Royal Laurel Class passengers are routed into a separate line from economy to access the business class cabin.
I chose to sit next to The Director, so we had seats in the middle. What's great about the seats is that they are super private, so I actually had to really pull forward and lean over the side to talk to him. I think that the window seats are the best in this business class cabin, I chose the window seat on the flight back from Taipei to SFO.
The flight attendants at Eva Air are all so pretty! They are also super attentive and come immediately after you press the service button.
Unfortunately the wifi was down for this flight so I wasn't able to check it out but I did try it on the flight back and it was pretty slow. The wifi is $21.95 for 24 hours.
Here's the Eva Air Royal Laurel Class welcome drink. I chose orange juice but Eva Air has it's own cold-pressed pineapple juice, you should definitely try it out!
Below are the seat controls for the lie flat seats. It was my first time trying out lie flat airplane seats and I am so addicted. They are super comfortable and you can program the chair to lie completely flat or tilted at many different angles, in order to watch tv or eat.
Eva Air's complimentary pajamas. I didn't use them on the flight, Eva Air provides a super thick blanket and I was super warm, the pajamas would've been too hot. I wear them at home now and they are super comfy. The pajama top is just like a regular long sleeve black shirt, so I actually wore the top to work last week.
Eva Air's Rimowa Amenity Kit. I always thought that these boxes were metal but they are made of a nice plastic material. The inside of the kit wasn't super impressive, just some lotion, socks, toothpaste, eye shades, socks and egg plugs.
The meal service starts pretty immediately after takeoff, once we are settled into the air, the flight attendants bring over another hot towel for you and the appetizer comes out soon afterwards.
The meal was delicious!
Medjool Date and Cream Cheese and Crab and Avocado
Here's the bread plate that comes out, the flight attendant comes out again with a bread basket with even more bread to choose from. I recommend the garlic bread, super buttery and hot!
Fois Gras Terrine with Ginger Bread and Rhubard Strawberry Compote
Eva Air's Royal Laurel Class Meal Service: Pumpkin Soup
Eva Air really excels at their Chinese dishes, in fact I would only recommend ordering Chinese dishes on an Eva Air flight. I ordered a western meal with duck on the flight back and the duck was super overcooked and basically inedible.
Also, I recommend signing onto Eva Air to check out what other meal options are available. There are quite a few entrees that you can order in advance of the flight, which are only available in advance. I ordered the lobster below and it was tender. The fried egg rice was super hot and tasty and the veggies were tender. I ate every last bite!
I didn't want to Chocolate Brownie with orange so I opted for the cheese plate and Haagan Daas.
There are several hot snacks available on the flight. A couple hours later I tried the Glutinous Rice Taiwanese Style. It was too dark to take any quality photos but it was not bad.
For some reason the return flight from Taipei to SFO does not have any hot snacks. I was incredibly disappointed as I wanted to order the burger and I was actually kind of hungry before breakfast rolled around.
I opted for the Chinese breakfast which included
Chinese Plain Porridge, Traditional Delicateseens, Egg Pancake with Shrimp, Stir Fried Vegetables with Gingko Nut Fruit.
I liked this so much that I ordered it again on the return flight. The porridge has unlimited refills. The egg with shrimp was super luxurious.
Here's the rest of the menu
I don't drink alcohol but I was super excited when I saw the mixed cocktails menu. I tried ordering a mojito but the drinks are pre-mixed with alcohol and Eva Air doesn't have a bar.
Eva Air definitely has one of the best Business Class products in the sky! I would jump at the chance to fly with them again. Also I was stuffed! With the lounge found prior to the flight, the two meals plus a hot snack, lounge food after the flight on the layover in Taipei and the full meal served on the Taipei to Bangkok flight, I had to roll myself out of the airplane.