Review - EVA Air Royal Laurel Business Class B787-10 Hong Kong to Taipei Taoyuan
BR872 HKG-TPE
February, 2026
Check-in:
After spending Chinese New Year at home with family, I needed to head to Paris. As luck would have it, there was business class award availability on EVA Air from Hong Kong to Paris via Taipei. Better yet, I was able to book it on Avianca LifeMiles for just 67,500 miles. What an astonishing deal! I don’t remember the last time I felt this great about using miles on a trip.
The check-in area for EVA Air was pretty busy when I arrived. Thankfully, priority counters were wide open. People outside of Asia are often surprised to learn that the Hong Kong - Taipei route is the busiest international flight in the world. 7 carriers offer 6.8 million seats annually. I reviewed EVA Air’s fifth freedom flight between London and Bangkok on the B777-300ER a few years ago, but our flight today will be on its new B787-10.
Similar to my ANA flight from Pudong to Haneda last year, there was a porter at business class check-in who loaded my suitcase onto the belt. I love Asia, and I don’t deserve it.
EVA Air Check-in at HKG
EVA Air Check-in at HKG
Lounge:
EVA Air is a member of Star Alliance, meaning you could use either the United Club or the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Lounge at HKG. Interestingly, EVA Air sends its business class passengers to the Plaza Premium First lounges, so I went there instead. In the future, I probably will choose the United Club, as the Plaza Premium lounges were completely overrun.
Boarding:
EVA Air boards 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time, regardless of B77W or A321. I spotted this vintage EVA Air Rimowa suitcase at the gate. The amount of money I’m willing to spend on one of these I swear…
Where Can I Buy One???
Not to be creepy, but this little kid’s haircut deserves a shoutout also.
Random Kid at HKG
Historically, EVA Air was known more for its soft product. That’s because the backbone of its long haul fleet is comprised of B77Ws, which are configured with reverse herringbone seats. While they’re sufficient, EVA Air started taking deliveries of B787 Dreamliners. These new birds come with enhanced Thompson Vantage XL seats, and EVA Air’s finishes are possibly the nicest I’ve ever seen.
Upon boarding, I was greeted at the door and directed to take a left. Even with it being dark outside, the cabin felt sleek and fresh.
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Cabin
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Cabin
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Cabin
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Cabin
I was seated in the bulkhead row. The amount of overall space, not to mention the space around your feet, was simply incredible. I don’t think the QSuite or JAL’s new business class seats are markedly better.
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Seat
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Seat
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Seat
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Seat
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Seat
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Seat
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Seat
I figured I got lucky and rode on one of the newer deliveries, although the plane didn’t have that new plane smell. The cabin was truly spotless. Planes are generally better maintained in this part of the world, but this was next level. As soon as I sat down, I hated that I wasn’t flying this plane all the way to Paris, grrrrr!
A welcome beverage was offered, with the choices being sparkling wine, water or a pineapple peach drink. The latter was oh so yummy. It’s tropical yet reserved, perfect for Taiwan being an island but also in Asia.
EVA Air Business Class Pre-departure Drink HKG-TPE
Of course the headphones were sanitized. This isn’t American Airlines, duh. Actually, the plane was so clean I didn’t even wipe the seat down with Clorox…
EVA Air Business Class Headphones HKG-TPE
Awaiting at my seat was a full set of menu and wine list. Keep in mind this flight is blocked for less than 2 hours with actual flight time of 50 to 75 minutes.
Prior to takeoff, stars appeared on the ceiling. Again, what a sleek and cool cabin. EVA really did a great job with the new cabin design.
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class Cabin
Inflight:
Once airborne, I connected to the inflight wifi, complimentary for business class passengers. To be balanced, I do think it’s rather disappointing that EVA installed Panasonic wifi on such a new plane…
EVA Air B787-10 WiFi
EVA Air B787-10 WiFi
Given the short duration of the flight, service had to start quickly. A round of apéritif was still offered ahead of dinner. I just had some sparkling water. This was served with a cold towel, on a towel dish, naturally.
EVA Air Business Class Dinner Apéritif HKG-TPE
Then came the dinner tray. There were two choices for main course: grilled spiced chicken thigh with creamy mushroom sauce and mushroom risotto, or steamed shrimp stuffed with minced shrimp in superior sauce with stir fried noodles. I asked for the shrimp on shrimp, and it was unbelievably delicious. If you swapped the shrimp with lobster, you could serve this dish at Duddell’s. I reckon this route gets so many frequent flyers that the airlines had to make catering interesting. I mean, from the Normandy butter to the red bean panna cotta to the Thai milk tea soft roll from the bread basket, there were just so many unique little touches.
I washed everything down with a glass of Pessac-Léognan - call me a rebel I guess. The champagne on offer was the Laurent-Perrier brut, for those who are too lazy to flip through the menu. On my connecting flight to Paris, EVA served LPSG, which British Airways also serves, but only in first class.
EVA Air Business Class Dinner HKG-TPE
I was then offered coffee or tea, which I declined. Not long after dinner service concluded, the pilot informed the cabin crew to prepare for landing. The flight attendants came through the cabin with some farewell candies.
EVA Air Business Class Candies HKG-TPE
I couldn’t help but notice (probably because there were like a dozen of them) that the IFE played all these videos about entering China. The big one, not the island one.
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class IFE
At first I thought the Taiwanese must be referring themselves as China, but then I noticed everything was in simplified Chinese, and the website had a .cn domain.
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class IFE
EVA Air B787-10 Business Class IFE
I did also consider that the crew might have played the wrong videos, but to play ten of them in a row and not realize..? I know no Taiwanese carriers paint the Taiwanese flag on their planes, but this one seems more confusing…
On Arrival:
For such a short flight, I thought EVA did impeccably. I genuinely could not name one flaw. Service was efficient yet warm, the seats were top of the line, and catering was thoughtful and tasty. People in Asia are so spoiled. We landed at Taoyuan Airport slightly ahead of schedule, and I headed to the EVA lounge before my connecting flight to Paris.