Review of EVA Air flight from Shanghai to Taipei in Business

Routing

Check-In Experience

I arrived to PVG T2 at 16:45 with less traffic to the airport than expected on a Friday afternoon. After clearing the explosives checkpoint it was off to find the BR counters.

Reaching BR's counters, they were closed with a long queue already formed. The sign says that counters open 3h before departure for the flights to TPE/KHH that depart around the same time. So I opted to wander the check-in hall for 30 minutes to kill time.

FIDS this afternoon. Those poor passengers on HO1031 to LFQ still waiting for their flight with a 07:15 departure time…

A look out over the apron from the check-in hall.

Heading back to the check-in counters at 17:20, I was led into the Priority lane, which had a queue of ~8 people ahead of me, which took ~15 minutes to clear. My bag was checked to SFO and I was handed my boarding passes with instructions to use either the CA or MU Lounges.

Immigration was surprisingly a short line at this hour with most TPACs having already departed. I went straight up to the CA Lounge.

Air China Business Lounge (No. 71)

Scanning my boarding pass, I was shown in. This is one of my least favorite lounges at PVG. Downstairs was very quiet.

Downstairs has a bar area, but no food. There are also self-serve fridges throughout.

Upstairs, the lounge has vast seating, but it is very dimly lit.

The buffet is large, but I did not partake in anything having had a large lunch.

My basic offering.

China Eastern Lounge (No. 77)

After 45 minutes in the CA Lounge, the UA passengers started showing up so I left to go to the quieter MU Lounge, which is used by most of the *A carriers

Upstairs, I was scanned in.

The lounge is long and skinny, but has more lighting throughout and a nicer ambience.

Plenty of empty seating areas with charging ports.

Free pour drinks on offer.

Boarding

20 minutes before the boarding time, I left the lounge to walk down to the end of the terminal where our flight would depart from. PVG has been under going a lot of renovation with new restaurants and stores so it is slowly modernizing.

FIDS tonight. As shown, BR operates flights to KHH and TPE at this hour.

UA B789 to LAX.

Our BR A333. Tonight we will get B-16337, a 9 year-old frame.

Boarding was eventually called at 19:40 and the process is orderly as expected on BR with the Priority line being strictly enforced.

Down we go to our plane where we would board through 2L with a warm greeting from the crew.

Seat Tour

A rather familiar seat at the back of the cabin awaited me. These Parallel Diamond seats are not my favorite, but acceptable for these short 90-minute regional routes.

Pre-placed on the seat were pillow and headphones.

The crew came down the aisle handing out slippers after boarding completed.

Blankets were also offered.

The very glossy screens, whose proximity shows the lack of privacy from your neighbor.

Seat pitch is of course not an issue.

Over your shoulder is the only in-seat storage area. I had put my half-drunk water bottle from the lounge back there on boarding and when the purser came to welcome me on board later, I saw her eyes glance over with a disconcerting expression. She thought it was left during the cabin cleaning, but I reassured her I had put it there. She confirmed that the seat next to me would be empty so invited me to enjoy the extra space and use both seats as I saw fit.

The other side contains the reading light and literature compartment.

Behind the right armrest is the IFE remote, USB-A port, and audio jack.

The other armrest contains the seat controls.

On the front of the center console are a pair of 110V universal outlets.

There is a small cut out for shoes.

The tiny foot cubby.

Pre-Flight Service

Menus were distributed along with welcome drinks and hot towels. For some reason, I didn't take a picture of the welcome drink, but it was the standard offer of water, sparkling water, sparkling wine, juice, or smoothie. I had opted for the green smoothie again.

The offering is excellent for the short flight time.

In addition to the 3 options in the menu, there are 2 pre-order meals available. I pre-ordered my meal online, which is available starting 21 days before departure.

View of the cabin as we prepare for pushback and the crew comes down the aisle taking meal and drink orders.

Push Back, Taxi, and Take-Off from Pudong

The safety video played as we started our preparations for departure.

A shiny new ZH A321neo next door as we push back and start our taxi out.

QR B77W.

LH A359.

A view of PVG T2 as we turn off towards the runway.

The always present W5 A340 at PVG preparing for its return to Tehran later that night.

We eventually completed our long taxi down to runway 34L and took off at 20:31.

Beautiful views over Shanghai as we loop out of the airport and start our turn south.

Aerial of PVG at night.

Meal Service

The crew was quickly out for the meal service. The tray table is large and sturdy, but no linens will be laid, an area of inconsistency on BR.

The tray is laid down, which contains all meal elements. Wines were then poured at the seat by a second FA.

Along the back we have the starter, Sichuan-Style Spicy Garlic Chicken and Prawn, and a fruit cup.

I had pre-ordered the Rack of Lamb with Thyme and Morel Mushrooms. This was very tender and flavorful and much better than the disappointing lamb I had SHA-TSA.

Warm breads were offered via basket.

The dessert was an Opera Cake.

After the meal, the FA provided a hot towel, proposed a refill of my wine, and offered coffee/tea.

A cup of oolong and another pour of the Spanish red.

Entertainment and Amenities

The A330s have the older version of Star Gallery, which is not as easy to navigate. Content remains average.

The advantage of no seat mate is the ability to have two different programs on the screens.

There is also complimentary Wi-Fi on the flight for all passengers.

The A330 lavatories are nothing special, but very clean and have the standard Ideology products.

Arrival in Taoyuan

As we prepared for arrival, another tea was provided.

The purser then came through to thank me for flying with the standard selection of candies from a tray.

The standard pre-arrival videos played for Taiwan Customs and Immigration.

Making landfall over Taiwan as we make our turn to approach Taoyuan from the south.

Taoyuan in the distance as we start our short final.

We landed on runway 05R at 22:00, slightly ahead of schedule.

We had a short taxi and then pulled into a remote stand.

Down the stairs we go.

Onto the awaiting bus.

A last look at our steed. The bus departed after all business class passengers were boarded.

Reaching the terminal just 3 minutes later.

Arriving by bus means that we are deposited right next to the transfer security point.

I am through security instantly, and it took just 10 minutes from exiting the plane to reaching the escalators back up to the terminal so very little inconvenience arriving at a bus gate.

I'll leave off this series here as I start my layover in Taoyuan, thanks for stopping by!

Flight Information

EVA Air, BR721
Equipment: Airbus A330-300 [B-16337, delivered December 2016]
Departure: 20:10 (ATD: 20:31)
Arrival: 22:10 (ATA: 22:00)
Flight time: 1:29