EVA Economy - update.

[Butch 3,456]

Hi

In case anyone is interested I'll recount our experience on one of EVA's 777's Economy LHR-BKK-LHR.

 

Now, depending upon the routing and schedule with EVA you can cop either a half decent ( fairly newish ) 777, or a clapped out piece of shit. The curse of Butch strikes again and we copped the crap one on both trips, as opposed to the trip in May when I flew on the newish one.

 

EVA has declined terribly in the last few years. I still fly out on their BR068/067 flights simply because the timing suits me perfectly going out, but coming back it really is a ball ache.

 

Anyway, our flight left 1 hour late, but arrived on time at SVB. The plane was tired, the seats are still clean but getting "firm", the tables are becoming worn, the plastic is yellowing and the windows getting more and more scratched. The worst thing was the AVOD/ IFE. Fucking abysmal. There were only 3 films worth watching, and the usual problem that plagues a lot of systems, whether it be the headphones or the jack into which they are plugged, only one ear worked. The "sky compass" which gives flight info and duration , altitude etc only displayed the position, nothing else, whereas the Flight I took in May actually had an HUD like a "fighter plane" has, superimposed on the screen, and gave everything from altitude to the colour of the pilots underpants. The May flight was much more comfortable and enjoyable, the AVOD fantastic and all in all the experience was 100% better than this one.

 

Food on the way out was actually half acceptable, but coming back it was absolute fucking shit. I ordered a kids meal for Butch Jr, it ended up being badly cooked chicken nuggets and cold chips, I ended up giving her my meal of chicken and rice, but when I asked for a replacement was told I couldn't have one!. This didn't endear me to the cabin crew who all seemed to be having their period at the same time. "Service with a scowl".

 

The only redeeming aspect was that the bloke at BKK let us off with 6 kgs over on the 60 kg allowance. My way of compensation was to steal 4 blankets, 2 on the way out and 2 coming back, one of which I snaffled from the Elite class.

 

Now, I know that economy air travel is exactly that, and realistically I should be grateful I actually had a seat and a blanket. I only paid 515 for each adult plus a bit less for Butch Jr , but it was still the thick end of 1500 quid all said and done.

 

Bottom line is that for a single male traveller, EVA is probably good enough, cos we're guys and we can handle it. The whole EVA service and experience though is beginning to wane.

 

Now lastly, some people might have noticed others getting called up when you're at the gate and being asked to make themselves known to the cabin crew. This happened to us waiting at BKK. I (mistakenly) thought that it was upgrade time, but it wasn't. what they actually are doing is asking passengers to move seats because some of the equipment in them is fucked. we were moved forward because the seat was "dirty", apparently the previous passenger had reported that it was not useable. After some gaffing around, we were moved from 54HJK to 53HJK. The smell of disinfectant was obvious, but my sympathy was felt for the bloke who had been moved there on the pre tense of a "booking mistake". He had every right to be pissed off.

 

When I compare EVA to Cathay there simply is none, in any of the available classes. My next trip will probably be Thai.

 

We also were given the VIP transfer in BKK by our friend, so it was on the golf buggy and thru immigration VIP channel. It's the second time I've used it and I'm beginning to think that the advantages far far outweigh the cost. We had our bags off the belt (along with loads of others put on the floor) while the passengers were just getting thru. The girl told me the queues are very very bad these days.

 

Anyway, my basic rant is that sometimes EVA are shit, sometimes they're good, but mostly, they're shit.

 

[Bullfrog 2,224]

I guess in retrospect this will be a dream flight if you are going THAI next time......... if they are still operating....

 

 

EVA and BA suit my timings and I normally fly premium economy .... but BA have pissed me off too many times by closing the bar ...

[firth1974 2,659]

Good review Butch. Must admit, i haven't flown on EVA for about 6 years now, but from what i have been told by others, and confirmed by you now, that it seems ever since they joined Star Alliance, their service has gone down hill!

 

Its almost like SA have set them a bench mark to achieve, a mark lower that what they set themselves many many years ago. Such a shame.

Edited October 25, 2015 by firth1974

[Baht Man 26]

They have an excellent sale on, though think it finishes tomorrow night.

 

£461, which is a great price.

 

http://www.evaair.com/en-gb/london/london-to-southeast-asia-sale.html

Edited October 25, 2015 by Baht Man

[firth1974 2,659]

They have an excellent sale on, though think it finishes tomorrow night.

 

£461, which is a great price.

 

http://www.evaair.com/en-gb/london/london-to-southeast-asia-sale.html

 

If i wasn't going to Austria in January, i would snap that up tonight.

[ajsp9 18]

 

If i wasn't going to Austria in January, i would snap that up tonight.

Pretty good price and I doubt that could be beaten - I may look at this tomorrow for a break

[yselmike 393]

Hi

In case anyone is interested I'll recount our experience on one of EVA's 777's Economy LHR-BKK-LHR.

 

Now, depending upon the routing and schedule with EVA you can cop either a half decent ( fairly newish ) 777, or a clapped out piece of shit. The curse of Butch strikes again and we copped the crap one on both trips, as opposed to the trip in May when I flew on the newish one.

 

EVA has declined terribly in the last few years. I still fly out on their BR068/067 flights simply because the timing suits me perfectly going out, but coming back it really is a ball ache.

 

Anyway, our flight left 1 hour late, but arrived on time at SVB. The plane was tired, the seats are still clean but getting "firm", the tables are becoming worn, the plastic is yellowing and the windows getting more and more scratched. The worst thing was the AVOD/ IFE. Fucking abysmal. There were only 3 films worth watching, and the usual problem that plagues a lot of systems, whether it be the headphones or the jack into which they are plugged, only one ear worked. The "sky compass" which gives flight info and duration , altitude etc only displayed the position, nothing else, whereas the Flight I took in May actually had an HUD like a "fighter plane" has, superimposed on the screen, and gave everything from altitude to the colour of the pilots underpants. The May flight was much more comfortable and enjoyable, the AVOD fantastic and all in all the experience was 100% better than this one.

 

Food on the way out was actually half acceptable, but coming back it was absolute fucking shit. I ordered a kids meal for Butch Jr, it ended up being badly cooked chicken nuggets and cold chips, I ended up giving her my meal of chicken and rice, but when I asked for a replacement was told I couldn't have one!. This didn't endear me to the cabin crew who all seemed to be having their period at the same time. "Service with a scowl".

 

The only redeeming aspect was that the bloke at BKK let us off with 6 kgs over on the 60 kg allowance. My way of compensation was to steal 4 blankets, 2 on the way out and 2 coming back, one of which I snaffled from the Elite class.

 

Now, I know that economy air travel is exactly that, and realistically I should be grateful I actually had a seat and a blanket. I only paid 515 for each adult plus a bit less for Butch Jr , but it was still the thick end of 1500 quid all said and done.

 

Bottom line is that for a single male traveller, EVA is probably good enough, cos we're guys and we can handle it. The whole EVA service and experience though is beginning to wane.

 

Now lastly, some people might have noticed others getting called up when you're at the gate and being asked to make themselves known to the cabin crew. This happened to us waiting at BKK. I (mistakenly) thought that it was upgrade time, but it wasn't. what they actually are doing is asking passengers to move seats because some of the equipment in them is fucked. we were moved forward because the seat was "dirty", apparently the previous passenger had reported that it was not useable. After some gaffing around, we were moved from 54HJK to 53HJK. The smell of disinfectant was obvious, but my sympathy was felt for the bloke who had been moved there on the pre tense of a "booking mistake". He had every right to be pissed off.

 

When I compare EVA to Cathay there simply is none, in any of the available classes. My next trip will probably be Thai.

 

We also were given the VIP transfer in BKK by our friend, so it was on the golf buggy and thru immigration VIP channel. It's the second time I've used it and I'm beginning to think that the advantages far far outweigh the cost. We had our bags off the belt (along with loads of others put on the floor) while the passengers were just getting thru. The girl told me the queues are very very bad these days.

 

Anyway, my basic rant is that sometimes EVA are shit, sometimes they're good, but mostly, they're shit.

they always use the crap planes on the Heathrow flights cos they have been known to be full of pissed up chaves thats why the seat was messed up.

 

[Butch 3,456]

 

they always use the crap planes on the Heathrow flights cos they have been known to be full of pissed up chaves thats why the seat was messed up.

 

Not too sure about that Mike, when I flew in May it was a very nice, relatively new 777. I think it's the routing and scheduling which dictates the plane. BR068 goes onto Taipei then moves forward onto a local route , so it isn't the same plane which makes BR067. Can't say I've seen any pissed up chavs, the flights these days seem to be more full of Asians from Taipei than farangs heading out or back from SEA. Probably seasonal though, October is low season for LOS.

 

Either way, I've fired off a snot-o-gram to EVA and their reply was that it is being looked into.

[yselmike 393]

 

Not too sure about that Mike, when I flew in May it was a very nice, relatively new 777. I think it's the routing and scheduling which dictates the plane. BR068 goes onto Taipei then moves forward onto a local route , so it isn't the same plane which makes BR067. Can't say I've seen any pissed up chavs, the flights these days seem to be more full of Asians from Taipei than farangs heading out or back from SEA. Probably seasonal though, October is low season for LOS.

 

Either way, I've fired off a snot-o-gram to EVA and their reply was that it is being looked into.

It was a joke!

[Nightrider 340]

I always use EVA and have never had a problem like you encountered Butch , i use the premium economy cabin as i think it's worth the extra money and i have always had good flights , i think i may be lucky but i always seem to bag the newer model planes , i have also had 3 upgrades to biz class in the last 4 years so i will be sticking with EVA for the foreseeable future......

[Gus 97]

The baggage allowance in Economy is a meagre 20Kg, any board members know how strict they are at LHR since T2 opened?

I believe that it is not Eva staff who work on the baggage check ins?

 

Thanks for the info Butch.

[Butch 3,456]

Mike sorry mate, it went over my head lol, probably the jet lag catching up!.

 

Gus, I've departed from T2 twice this year, once the bloke didn't bat an eyelid when I went out with 23 kg, but this time the girl was very strict. There were 3 of us and we were nowhere near the 60 kg allowance , but she had previously made 3 guys pay excess baggage for being just a few kg over, so I think it's hit and miss. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of the T2 experience ,paper boarding cards which you can easily lose, counter staff who have nothing to do with the airline , and then only a few at the gate, poor boarding practices ( called out quietly in broken English ) and almost always late.

 

Night rider, yep I totally agree the elite class is much , much better all round, when I first started flying with EVA it worked out at £150 extra over economy so it was well worth it, but in May it worked out £340 over the price of econ which I couldn't justify. I'm often in 2 minds as to whether to pay for it,even these days but I tend to not bother because I use the saving for our trips to the PI which are sometimes done in Biz on Cathay. I don't think I'll be flying with EVA in economy again, I'll give Thai a go next time, the A380 appeals to me, as they say a change is as good as a rest.

[marleyboy 140]

Ive flown mainly with Thai or Eva over the last 18 years,

Next time (in January) I will be flying with Qatar. Every time Ive flown Eva (and Thai!) the planes are always full! Ive never had a "bad" plane with Eva though? Maybe you were just unlucky.

 

I also thought Eva weren't as good as they used to be,,,,,,,,,,,,,thought it was just me . Cant put my finger on why I thought they were going downhill................it just seemed as if the staff were going through the motions to me?

 

The last few times, I flew with Thai (prefer their flight times) found them to be better than Eva.......However, as they charge quite a bit more, for trips of over a month............I am using Qatar next time......

 

You say you would probably use Thai next time,,,,you say you like the flight times of Eva.......so I assume you would fly out on the evening flight with Thai? If so, as far as I know, Thai use the 777 for their evening flights out of Heathrow.

 

I also thought Terminal 2 was.......well shite really!!

 

Ive been looking online for a "fast track" out off Suvarnbhum (I fly economy...........do don't get a fast pass sadly!). EVERY!!! time Ive gone to Thailand..............Im in the worlds longest bloody queue.......so am looking for a decent priced fast pass ..............cant seem to find anything though!

[yselmike 393]

I fly Eva as it's a direct flight from Amsterdam and the timing and price

Are good 587euro return,the other choice is China or klm,not much better in economy and China arrives at 06:30.the best price for a fast track that I have seen is 850baht sorry the link is on my pc.

[Gus 97]

marley

Have you looked at bangkokflightservices.com then scroll to premium airport service, it is 1600thb with a buggy and fast track + 400 for additional pax, without a buggy it is 850 and 600.

 

I too go back to the old Evergreen Class but Elite fares are just so ridiculous these days, I can't go on Thai because my trip is over 30 days and TG charge a lot more than BR.

 

I think that Eva and Thai secretly depart from Gatwick cos after passing through security at T2 it seems like you walk to Gatwick before reaching the aircraft. Never thought that I would miss T3, but I do now. :)

 

Just out of interest any idea how much passengers on BR are charged for extra Kilos, I always take a lot of clutter with me?

[yselmike 393]

marley

Have you looked at bangkokflightservices.com then scroll to premium airport service, it is 1600thb with a buggy and fast track + 400 for additional pax, without a buggy it is 850 and 600.

 

I too go back to the old Evergreen Class but Elite fares are just so ridiculous these days, I can't go on Thai because my trip is over 30 days and TG charge a lot more than BR.

That's the 850 link that I have saved

 

I think that Eva and Thai secretly depart from Gatwick cos after passing through security at T2 it seems like you walk to Gatwick before reaching the aircraft. Never thought that I would miss T3, but I do now. :)

 

Just out of interest any idea how much passengers on BR are charged for extra Kilos, I always take a lot of clutter with me?

That's the 850 link I have Edited October 27, 2015 by yselmike

[CyberSpud 6]

The baggage allowance in Economy is a meagre 20Kg, any board members know how strict they are at LHR since T2 opened?

I believe that it is not Eva staff who work on the baggage check ins?

 

Thanks for the info Butch.

 

My last trip ... I ended up booking through West East Travel because they had a deal with EVA doing 30kg with economy tickets. It cost me £12 more than going through the normal Opodo, etc ..... but worth it for the extra 10Kg ..... weight never a problem going out ... but always (well) over 20Kg coming back!

 

So always worth checking prices with them too ....

 

 

Spud

[Gus 97]

spud

Everyone has much heavier baggage on their return, usually by around 45Kg.

[Gus 97]

I have just returned after 6 weeks in Hua Hin. BR067 and 068 were 98% full both ways even for Tuesday out and Wednesday return.

Standard Eva service/food /movies very average.etc etc

My suitcase was 21.4 out and 21.1 return (didn't bring one back) :) with no problems.

At BKK I went through the VIP channel, I just told the girl I was Jet Sip, for the return no need as the queues were light.

I invested 1600thb in the Evergreen lounge at BKK, twice as much as when I last used the lounge but it has had a huge refit, including warmer for the toilet seat.There were several buttons as well but I thought it best not to touch those, anything could have happened.

[Butch 3,456]

Hi,

EVA are offering £448 econ LHR-BKK if purchased / booked between 23rd Dec to 4th Jan and fly out before 30 June. Not bad for a direct flight at all.

I checked a few dates in May, Econ from 02 thru 18 May is £449, Elite £843 and business £1612 (although I had to change the date to one day earlier for the cheapest biz fare.

 

I didn't chose those dates for any particular reason, other than that they represent a fairly random but nonetheless decent time to visit after the madness of songkran etc.

Edited December 26, 2015 by Butch

[ajsp9 18]

Got the same email as Butch - cracking fare prices

[Billions 687]

Hi,

EVA are offering £448 econ LHR-BKK if purchased / booked between 23rd Dec to 4th Jan and fly out before 30 June. Not bad for a direct flight at all.

I checked a few dates in May, Econ from 02 thru 18 May is £449, Elite £843 and business £1612 (although I had to change the date to one day earlier for the cheapest biz fare.

 

I didn't chose those dates for any particular reason, other than that they represent a fairly random but nonetheless decent time to visit after the madness of songkran etc.

Thai had a 460 GBP fare but that vanished without trace a month ago.Now offering 520 for 30 day return trip....still a steal. Thai are giving 30 kg baggage plus 10 extra if you join their free Orchid flyer club making it a good proposition.

[whynotme 0]

i will update next week as i am flying out of yyz to bkk thru taipai on eva air

awesome flight times leaving at 1 am and arriving at noon

as a 1k member i get to carry as much baggage as i need