TAIWAN — Welcome to this special trip report on board EVA Air (BR). In addition to their ordinary color schemes, some airlines can be easily identified with special liveries.

For example, ANA (NH) became synonymous with the Pokémon jets, Icelandair (FI) with the stunning glacier and aurora liveries, and EVA Air (BR) with the Hello Kitty collaboration. The Taipei-based airline counts six aircraft featuring its partnership with Sanrio, comprising an A321, three A330-300s, and two Boeing 777-300ERs.

EVA Air makes the routes of these aircraft known ahead of time. On flight BR87, departing TPE for Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, the airline flies its Boeing 777-300ER “Lolly Jet.”

Its other Boeing 777-300ER, featuring the “Besties Jet” livery, flies three times a week to Chicago (ORD) while its A330s and A321s can be seen in various Asian airports. After a long day of visits to EVA Air’s facilities, it was time for me to board flight BR87 for a 14-hour overnight hop to the French capital.

At the Airport

I arrived at the airport after visiting the Evergreen Sky Catering Corp. BR uses Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) and is the largest airline out of the airport, with 4148 flights in September and almost 300,000 additional seats over its nearest competitor, China Airlines (CI), according to data from Cirium.

Here I could use the Royal Laurel check-in desks, where I received my Hello Kitty-themed boarding pass before heading to the south terrace for some plane spotting. The terrace is situated before security, adjacent to an aviation store filled with souvenirs and memorabilia.

The dedicated Hello Kitty area was not in use during my visit. However, it featured branded gifts and items available for purchase on board.

After some quality time admiring the widebodies and departing traffic, it was finally time to clear security and passport controls and head to the lounge. Security and passports took only a few minutes, and I was airside in no time. BR features four different lounges at T2, three of which are accessible to Royal Laurel passengers.

I walked to “The Infinity”, the lounge dedicated to passengers flying in Royal Laurel. The staff scanned my boarding pass and asked if I wanted to shower soon, to which I gladly agreed. I received a restaurant-like shower queue ringer and waited for my slot. In the meantime, I checked out the lounge, which features plenty of relatively private seating spaces, an extensive buffet, and some unusual views overlooking the non-airside check-in area. Overall, the lounge is a good area to prepare for a fight, but I would not come here much before departure.

The design is relatively modern and spacious, and the lounge was not too busy on my arrival. My shower slot came in around 30 minutes, and I enjoyed some much-needed refreshments before a 14-hour flight back to Europe. The shower facilities were excellent and stocked with all the amenities one could need.  

Welcome on board

Around 30 minutes before boarding, I headed to my gate, C2, mentally prepared to board the Hello Kitty-themed Boeing 777-300ER. The gate area is also Hello Kitty themed, adding to the vibe. Flight BR87 operates daily to France’s busiest airport, CDG, and usually features the Lolly Jet livery.

However, upon checking the view from the gate, I noticed the livery was actually a standard one, and the aircraft ended up being B-16738, an 8.3-year-old Boeing 777-300ER, delivered to BR in June 2017, equipped with C39W56Y258. At the gate, I was told by the ground staff that some amenities on board would still be Hell Kitty-themed; however, they confirmed the last-minute swap.

Pre-departure Seat Tour

I pre-selected seat 1A, the first seat at the beginning of the front business class cabin, and the best seat on board. BR‘s fleet includes 33 Boeing 777-300ERs equipped with three different cabin arrangements.

Tonight’s features 39 seats in Royal Laurel in a 1-2-1 layout, 56 premium economy seats in a 2-4-2 layout, and 258 economy class seats in a traditional 3-4-3 layout. However, the airline remains one of the very few to feature a 3-3-3 configuration in economy class on some of its Boeing 777-300ERs.

The business class cabin is equipped with the Zodiac Cirrus seat arranged in a reverse herringbone pattern. A total of three dedicated lavatories are available for a good ratio of 1:13.

Headphones, an amenity kit, bedding, and Hello Kitty slippers were already at my seat. I immediately received a welcome drink and the loungewear, designed by Jason Wu. BR remains one of the very few airlines in the world to hand out complimentary pajamas in business class and just announced its latest amenity kits and pajamas, which I tried on the inaugural flight from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) to Taipei (TPE).

EVA Air has a rich history of luxury amenity kits, and on flights departing from its hub in Taipei, guests will receive a black pebble-grain hard case. This contains skincare products from Australian brand Jurlique as well as an Armani-branded coin purse. The overall feeling is definitely on the higher end, consistent with the more-than-high-end overall experience so far.

We pushed back on time, taxiing to the runway past the EGAT facilities, which I visited just a few hours before the flight. The sound of the mighty GE90-115B powered us through the night. We immediately turned around, flying past TPE airport and heading south to avoid airspace limitations.

Dining

A dinner and breakfast service are offered on this flight, in addition to several all-day dining options. BR allows passengers to pre-book their meals up to 24 hours before departure. Through the booking management portal, I could access the dining and beverages menus as well as the “online exclusive” meals, consisting of five additional options.

The booking portal also allows passengers to select a special meal; from diabetic to gluten-intolerant, passengers have a total of 25 options for dining on this flight. Needless to say, I returned to the management portal multiple times during the week before my flight, ultimately electing to order the Kanpai Classic Japanese A5 Wagyu Deluxe Steak as my main course.

The beverages and wine list must be mentioned here. BR offers arguably the most premium wine selection of any other airline in business class. On flagship routes like this, it includes the Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle, retailing at over US$200 per bottle.

The wine offer is not as extensive as on other carriers in the region; however, given the quality of choice, there really is no reason to include more options. In fact, these are bottles that passengers should expect in international first class, and beat the offerings of some first class cabins around the world.

Dinner service started immediately after take-off with an aperitif consisting of mixed nuts and a glass of champagne, after which the entrée was served. I opted for the Royal Laurel Dining, which consisted of seared spice-crusted tuna, goose liver mousse, and red wine apple as an appetizer. This was a rather unusual course, but one that I really enjoyed and that definitely felt on the high end of in-flight dining.

I pre-selected the Kanpai Classic A5 Wagyu deluxe steak, which came with rice and vegetables. This was simply mouth-watering; the meat was tender, flavorful, and perfectly cooked, making it the best steak course I have ever had while flying. The dining experience ended with a layered raspberry pistachio mousse cake and fresh fruit.

At this point, I was genuinely tired from a rather long day, so I got changed into my pajamas and reclined my seat for a good six-hour nap. The cabin temperature was just perfect, although the seat’s legroom wasn’t as good as on the Boeing 787 product in Royal Laurel.

IFE, Amenities

After waking up, I explored the in-flight entertainment system in depth. As this is BR’s old Royal Laurel iteration, the in-flight entertainment screen is not as good as on the airline’s Boeing 787 fleet. The LCD panel is a 15.4” retractable touchscreen, which can be controlled by a touchscreen remote stored next to the seat.

The system was, however, very responsive and presented the same interface as on the Boeing 787. Complimentary WiFi was also available from departure and worked perfectly throughout the whole flight, allowing me to chat, upload media on social networks, and stream some videos.

The seat comes with a universal power outlet, USB-A charger, a reading light, and good storage on the side. The large console table can hold most of the items one could access during a flight, such as laptops, cameras, amenity kits, and other essentials.

I resumed the dining experience with a crab burger, which was served surprisingly fast, and more snacks from the rear galley before going back to sleep. Around two hours before landing, breakfast service started; however, I was still full from dinner, and I decided to skip the meal.

Approach, Landing, Conclusions

We began our approach with a stunning sunrise over France, taking in the breathtaking views of the clean wing and the world's most powerful engines. We landed in a thick layer of fog before heading to Terminal 1, where we deboarded through door 2L.