Find cheap EVA Air flights

If you’ve ever spotted a plane with Hello Kitty painted on the side and wondered what that was all about, allow me to introduce you to EVA Air. This Taiwanese airline is famous for its quirky pop-culture collaborations, but don’t let that fool you. It’s also consistently ranked by SKYTRAX as one of the world’s few 5-Star airlines, putting it in elite company.

So, what’s the story? EVA Air is part of the massive Evergreen Group (you’ve probably seen their shipping containers) and has built a reputation for excellent service and a strong safety record. It’s a premium, full-service carrier that’s a solid option for crossing the Pacific, especially if you’re heading to Asia. If you’re thinking about booking a flight, here’s the inside scoop on what to expect.

Cabin class, seats & legroom

EVA Air, a Taiwanese carrier and Star Alliance member, connects Europe and North America with Asia through its Taipei hub, making it a useful option for UK travellers heading east. The airline offers three main classes of service: Business, Premium Economy and Economy. However, EVA offers different business class products (Royal Laurel Class and Premium Laurel Class) depending on the aircraft, and not all aircraft have Premium Economy cabins.

Royal Laurel Class

Royal Laurel Class is the flagship business class product from EVA Air, available on all 777-300ER, 787-9 and 787-10 aircraft. Every seat features direct aisle access in a 1-2-1 configuration, though the seat types differ between aircraft families.

On the 777-300ER, you’ll sit in a reverse herringbone seat that angles away from the aisle. The 787 aircraft use a staggered configuration, with seats either on or set back from the aisle depending on your row.

To enhance my Royal Laurel Class experience, I always select my seat in advance. I prefer a window seat, and when flying on the 787 I make sure to choose one in an even-numbered row, as they’re set back from the aisle. I also make sure to pre-order my meal, as this is the only way to be able to enjoy dishes such as the airline’s signature rack of lamb, which is not available to order in-flight.

Note that while these planes do serve some intra-Asia routes, the in-flight service is a bit more streamlined compared to what you’d get flying to Europe or North America.

Premium Laurel Class

EVA Air offers Premium Laurel Class exclusively on the Airbus A330 aircraft as its secondary business class product. These are angled-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, so only half the seats have direct aisle access. Although I love looking out the window, I usually select an aisle seat in advance for convenience on these flights.

Premium Economy

Not to be confused with Premium Laurel Class, EVA Air’s Premium Economy is similar to the seat you might find on a domestic first-class flight in North America. In fact, EVA was the first airline in the world to introduce this cabin class. Seats are arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration on 777-300ER aircraft and 2-3-2 on the 787-9 and 787-10, Premium Economy seats feature a shell design, which allows you to recline up to 121º without disturbing the person seated behind you.

If you’re flying on one of EVA Air’s A321 aircraft, be aware that the eight “Business Class” seats on this plane are actually more akin to what you find in Premium Economy on longhaul aircraft than they are to the Royal Laurel or Premium Laurel products.

Economy Class

Economy Class on EVA Air offers between 31 and 33 inches of pitch, depending on the aircraft. The 777-300ERs feature a 3-4-3 configuration, the 787s use 3-3-3, the A330-300s have 2-4-2 and the A321s offer 3-3. As is common, seats in the last rows of each cabin may not recline fully, so choose wisely.

Extra Legroom and Preferred Seats

EVA Air offers two upgraded economy seats: Preferred and Extra Legroom. Extra legroom seats are in the front row of each economy class cabin, as well as the emergency exit rows. Preferred Seats allow you to sit closer to the front of the cabin, but don’t offer any extra legroom. I usually just buy Preferred seats since they’re cheaper, and getting off the plane quickly matters more to me than room to stretch out.

Basic and Discount Economy

Although EVA Air sells economy seats in ‘Basic’ and ‘Discount’ fare classes, passengers who purchase these are not considered a separate class of service, as they sometimes are in some airlines. You won’t board later or have your cabin bags restricted or scrutinised, for example. The main difference is you'll have lower mileage earning (with Discount fares earning 0% and Basic fares earning 50%) and more restrictive conditions for changes and refunds.

Pre-flight experience

Here’s what you need to know about the airport experience when flying with EVA Air.

Baggage policy and fees

Compared to US carriers, EVA Air offers generous baggage allowances. All short- and medium-haul passengers get at least one checked bag weighing 23 kg (about 50 lbs), plus one carry-on and one personal item, even on Basic and Discount Economy fares.

Long-haul passengers with Standard or Up fares can check two bags free of charge, while those with Basic or Discount fares are limited to one free checked bag.

If you need to check extra or oversized bags, EVA Air offers a Prepaid Excess Baggage option and provides a Baggage Calculator through their Optional Services & Fees page. Keep in mind that if you’re flying in Business Class or have elite status with EVA or a Star Alliance partner, you might get an additional free checked bag.

Check-in

EVA Air offers two airport check-in options: Premium and Standard. Passengers in Royal Laurel and Premium Laurel business classes get Priority check-in, plus elite travellers with Gold or Diamond status in the EVA Infinity MileageLands programme or Gold status with a Star Alliance partner.

When I fly economy on EVA Air, I usually just check in online. It’s quick and gives you a convenient mobile boarding pass. Passengers who’ve checked in online, can use dedicated bag drop lanes at airport check-in counters.

Onboard experience

Here’s what you can expect onboard an EVA Air flight.

Wi-Fi & entertainment

EVA Air offers Wi-Fi across its entire widebody fleet (777-300ER, 787-9, 787-10 and A330-300), powered by Panasonic Avionics. EVA Air is offering complimentary unlimited web browsing on these flights to all business class passengers and Infinity MileageLands members. In my experience, the speed is good for answering emails and doing basic web browsing, though more data-intensive activities (like streaming, or even scrolling social media) can be slower than I’d like.

All aircraft with Wi-Fi also have seatback screens, though the size and resolution vary. The newer 787-9 and 787-10 aircraft will feature the largest and most high-resolution screens, while those on the 777-300ER are slightly smaller and maybe have slightly reduced image quality. Screens are much smaller and lower resolution on the A330-300. As you’d expect, premium passengers get bigger screens with better image quality.

Compared to long-haul flights operated by other airlines, I find the entertainment selection on EVA Air to be lacking. You’ll only be able to choose from a couple of dozen films at most, as well as individual episodes of TV series, instead of the full seasons many airlines offer. Understandably, Taiwanese and other Asian programming makes up a significant portion of the movies, TV shows and music available onboard EVA Air.

Amenities

The amenity kits for Royal Laurel Class are legendary among frequent flyers around the globe, due to the airline’s frequent collaborations with luxury brands like Giorgio Armani and Salvatore Ferragamo. Passengers in Premium Laurel and Premium Economy also receive amenity kits with similar products inside (including toothbrushes, facial mist and body lotion), albeit with less opulent packaging.

Cabin crew provide pillows and blankets to all passengers in all classes. Royal Laurel Class passengers get premium bedding and turn-down service, which is a nice touch on a long flight.

Lounges

EVA Air operates six of its own lounges around the world. There are four at its main hub at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) near Taipei, one at Kaohsiung International Airport (KHH) in southern Taiwan, and one at Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) in Bangkok, Thailand.

The premium lounge at TPE is The Infinity, which is only for passengers in Royal Laurel Class or business class on Star Alliance carriers. By comparison, you can access The Club simply by being a Star Alliance Gold member (equivalent to Diamond status with EVA Air Infinity MileageLands) travelling on any Star Alliance flight, regardless of class. I personally find these lounges to be outdated by global standards, and also disappointing compared to EVA Air’s excellent onboard experience.

The VIP Lounge at Kaohsiung is also pretty basic, which makes sense given the limited international flights there. For me, the best EVA Air lounge is the one in Bangkok, which is stylish, modern and features incredible views of the terminal apron. EVA operates a lounge here as many of its flights to Europe stop in Bangkok due to China overflight restrictions.

Loyalty programmes, miles & credit cards

Infinity MileageLands is the frequent flyer program from EVA Air. Most travellers earn miles by flying on EVA Air and its Star Alliance partners, though some countries have credit card options for earning miles too.

Infinity MileageLands

All paid travel on EVA Air earns Infinity MileageLands miles, though you’ll get a reduced rate for Basic and Discount economy fares. You can also earn miles on Star Alliance partners like United and Lufthansa by adding your Infinity MileageLands number to your booking. In that case, the airline you’re flying determines how many miles you earn.

Unlike most US and European airlines, you earn miles based on the distance flown, not how much you spent on the ticket. Percentages range from 50% for Basic Economy Class fares, to 175% for full-fare Royal Laurel Class fares. You can redeem miles for flights on both EVA Air and its Star Alliance partners.

While I personally find the Infinity MileageLands online interface to be clunky, availability on EVA’s own flights is much better than what you find booking with partners like Air Canada or United. Moreover, rates tend to be competitive, with Royal Laurel Class seats between Europe and Asia available for as little as 75,000 miles each way.

Credit cards

EVA Air offers co-branded credit cards primarily to citizens and residents of Taiwan through Cathay United Bank. However, there are two main exceptions for international travellers. If you’re in Australia, you can get an HSBC Star Alliance credit card that allows you to earn and convert points to Infinity MileageLands. If you’re based in the US and have a Citi credit card that earns ThankYou points, you can also transfer these directly to Infinity MileageLands.