Post-pandemic airfares have been obstinately high this year due to increased demand and limited supply. Travelers have been willing to pay for these astronomical prices just so they can get away after being stuck at home for 2 years. Premium economy prices on transpacific flights have now doubled. Round trip business class flights now cost $5-8k per person depending on the demand. Fortunately, we got into the points and miles game just in time, and managed to use 190k membership rewards points + $525 for the 2 of us to fly round trip from New York to Taiwan.
After our recent experience on Qatar QSuites, we thought air travel would be all downhill from there. Luckily, our experience on EVA’s Royal Laurel business class proved that to be wrong. In fact, I believe EVA has Qatar beat in every category except for the space and entertainment selections. Qsuites are especially spacious when four people are traveling with all the dividers down. Qsuites also have a lot more storage space in the individual suites. For someone who prefers to stare at the flight map, entertainment selections don’t factor much into my equation. Everything else, EVA wins.
The food and wine selection is where EVA shines. The food is actually tasty, and not overly salted. Having tried lobster thermidor on both flights, Joe said EVA’s was way better without a doubt.
Even the PJs provided on board were of better quality. The material is soft and not scratchy.
One huge plus on EVA (and one that made the biggest difference in comfort in my opinion) was the ambient temperature of the cabin. Qatar’s cabin was overly warm, which made sleep fitful.
After this experience, I look forward to booking our next EVA flight next month for next year’s trip back to Taiwan.
FIRE'd @ 47 