EVA Air fare family changes

[Butch 3,456]

As of March / April EVA are rolling out new fare families withing exsisting fares, if that makes sense. Instead of the old fare rules designated by letter, they're now split into 3. Now whether this is a good or bad thing is anyone's guess, but they seem to be selling it as being full of advantages which it obviously isn't going to be for the end user.

Also, EVA WiFi has changed, instead of purchasing time you now purchase chunks of MB to use during the flight. I've added it as a youtube link rather than being embedded.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1bVvwR3PHs

 

[Bazle 1,357]

Thanks, Butch.

I listened to the whole video but can't really pretend to understand what they are saying. For instance, how can you upgrade your seat yet stay in the same cabin class?

I await with interest what this all means as I have already booked 3 return journeys with them. I guess I'll be given the most basic of what they are offering.

Edit:

It's all explained here - https://www.evaair.com/en-us/booking-and-travel-planning/fare-family/introduction-of-fare-family/#empty

Surprise, surprise - there's a good chance you'll be charged for seat selection!

Edited April 9, 2019 by Bazle

[CalEden 358]

I posted this in the other EVA thread, this is my experience with the EVA new fare family:

EVA's new fair structure, if you purchase discounted airfare you have to pay for seat selection. $40US Long-haul & $15 regional. The good all seats were open for selection in PE except the two window basinet sides, for a June trip. EVA's price structure appears to me to be more expensive now, even shopping the sales. Paid last 2 years for PE $1,100/$1,000US for PE, which included free seat selection though limited availability. This year for PE $1,600 plus $110 for seat selection. And oil prices are still down.   

Effective from 05 March 2019, if the Fare Family you have purchased does not include free seat selection, or if you can't select a seat of your preference for free, you can choose to pay the following fee, depending on the Fare Family purchased, to select a seat of your choice in advance.

Effective from 05 March 2019, the fee for Extra Legroom Seats (formerly Exit Seats) on the long-haul flights will be adjusted to USD150. The new seat zones will open for sales on all flights departing from 11 March 2019.

Premium Economy Class

Short-haul routes: $15 USD

Long-haul routes: $40 USD

Economy Class

Standard Seats

Short-haul routes: $10 USD

Long-haul routes: $30 USD

Preferred Seats

Short-haul routes: $20 USD

Long-haul routes: $50 USD

Extra Legroom Seats

Short-haul routes: $45 USD

Long-haul routes: $150 USD

 

Description:

Seat Selection Fees are charged per passenger, per segment.

Short-haul routes: Between Taiwan and Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China.
Long-haul routes: Between Taiwan and the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and between Thailand and Europe.

The amount payable may be different due to local currency fluctuations.

This off the EVA website. My understanding is if you purchase a discounted fare you do get free seat selection at 48 hours prior to departure.  If you want to select your seats at the purchase point of a discounted fare then the above seat selection fees apply. Below I have pasted the fare classes for PE off the EVA web page.

Premium Economy Class

Fare Family	Fare Family Types
	Basic	Standard	Plus
Features	The fare is just right for you	EVA Classic Value combos	Great flexibility Maximizing miles
Earn Infinity MileageLands Miles	100%	115%	125%
Free-Checked Baggage Allowance (Note 1)	By piece 2pcs/28kg each By weight 35kg	By piece 2pcs/28kg each By weight 35kg	By piece 2pcs/28kg each By weight 35kg
Seat Selection (Note 2)	Chargeable	Complimentary	Complimentary
Upgrade with Miles	Not allowed	Allowed	Allowed
Change fee (Note 3)	Chargeable	Chargeable	Complimentary
Refund fee (Note 3)	Chargeable	Chargeable	Chargeable
No-Show fee (Notes 3 & 4)	Chargeable	Chargeable	Chargeable
Note 1: For more information on baggage, please refer to Baggage Information. Note 2: Premium Economy Seats can be selected for free via online/mobile check-in within 48 hours prior to flight departure. For more information, please refer to Seat Selection. Note 3: Actual refund, change, and no-show fees may change without notice. Note 4: Passengers who not cancelling their reservations nor showing up for their flights will be charged for a no-show fee upon ticket reissue or refund.

If I had purchased a standard fare which includes complimentary seat selection it would have cost me $2,404 US RT ($700 more). I'll pay the fee. All this adds up when your paying for 3 seats.

Edited April 9, 2019 by CalEden
add more info

[CalEden 358]

I first switched to EVA about 2004 because of EVA's Elite Class (now PE), because I got tired of flying Cathay's slave ship class long haul. Few airlines offered a PE product at that time. EVA's Elite (was called something else then) product was great. EVA flew the 747 Combi and elite was in the lower deck front nose area. Which was great plenty of room and quite. Then Elite went for about $200 to $300 over economy class. Over the years depending on travel volume and oil prices I've paid from $700 to $2,100 for the most discounted PE fare. Always had free seat selection, limited selection offerings, but always was able to get seats by the window. The EVA's service/product was always outstanding considering the cost. That's when EVA was an obscure airline, now 3 decades later EVA is being recognized by the masses.

Given the recent recognition/awards and now significant demand for EVA's product EVA's new Family Fare Class is aligned to match up with it's competitor fares and price structure. This is a product of EVA's success.   

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by CalEden

[Butch 3,456]

17 hours ago, CalEden said:

I first switched to EVA about 2004 because of EVA's Elite Class (now PE), because I got tired of flying Cathay's slave ship class long haul. Few airlines offered a PE product at that time. EVA's Elite (was called something else then) product was great. EVA flew the 747 Combi and elite was in the lower deck front nose area. Which was great plenty of room and quite. Then Elite went for about $200 to $300 over economy class. Over the years depending on travel volume and oil prices I've paid from $700 to $2,100 for the most discounted PE fare. Always had free seat selection, limited selection offerings, but always was able to get seats by the window. The EVA's service/product was always outstanding considering the cost. That's when EVA was an obscure airline, now 3 decades later EVA is being recognized by the masses.

Given the recent recognition/awards and now significant demand for EVA's product EVA's new Family Fare Class is aligned to match up with it's competitor fares and price structure. This is a product of EVA's success.   

 

Yep, spot on. I also used to fly Elite (Evergreen deluxe iirc) on the 747 combi's out of LHR and it worked out at £75 extra each way (£150 total) over the economy fare which really was a no brainer. Better seats, better cabin and at the time a very unique offering when Thai only had the 3 class on their 747's as opposed to EVA's 4. Biz and first were in the upper deck and separated into 2 areas, back when the CC gave a bow and received a round of applause from the pax upon getting to the gate.

As time has moved on, other airlines have seen the value in this class and have adopted it. I remember filling in about 3 surveys for EVA online a couple of years ago, so it was evident they were doing the research to change something back then.

I pretty much always fly PE to LOS, and occasionally to the RP, but Cathays 777's are still 3-3-3 so it's not much of a ballache if I'm on my own, but with the family we always go PE or Business depending upon the deal we can get.

EVA have indeed built upon their success and deservedly so. Saying that their Customer service on the ground really sucks, in the air it's a different story though. With regards to their FF program, I've never been particularly enamoured with it, it has always struck me as being less than fair , especially in comparison to Marco Polo (although MP is a paid subscription so not really fair of me to make a comparison there). It is better than some and worse than others.

Thanks for the post Cal Eden, I remember you did post it elsewhere mate, and sorry I should have linked to that in my op.