Review: Eva Air Royal Laurel Class, London-Bangkok

Summer Trip Flying EVA Air Business Class on 777 & Hello Kitty Jet, Singapore Airlines Suites & Cathay Pacific First Class

Last summer, I travelled to the Philippines for the 70th birthday celebration of my father. It was a very short visit since I needed to be back home for work. I've always wanted to try EVA Air's Hello Kitty Jet so I booked my flight from Stockholm to Fukuoka using Avianca Lifemiles flying with SAS and EVA Air. From Fukuoka, I flew on a budget carrier to Tokyo, and from Tokyo I flew on Singapore Airlines Suites to Singapore, and then first class to Manila using my Kris Flyer Miles. On my way back to Stockholm, I flew on Cathay Pacific First Class and Finnair Business Class using my AA Advantage Miles. This trip allowed me to test EVA Air Hello Kitty, Singapore Suites and Cathay Pacific First Class all for the first time and I couldn't be more satisfied.


SAS Summer Pop Up Lounge, Arlanda T5 (ARN)
SAS Plus Stocholm-London
Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge, London (LHR)
United Club, London Heathrow (LHR)
EVA Air Royal Laurel Class, London-Bangkok
New EVA Air Lounge, Bangkok (BKK)
EVA Air Royal Laurel Class, Bangkok-Taipei
Hotel Novotel Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge Taipei (TPE)
EVA Air Premium Laurel Class Hello Kitty Jet, Taipei-Fukuoka
Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk
ANA Suite Lounge Satellite 5 T1 Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class, Tokyo-Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room, Changi Airport (SIN)
Singapore Airlines First Class, Singapore-Manila
Top Attractions in the Philippines
Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge, NAIA (MNL)
Cathay Pacific Business Class, Manila-Hongkong
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge, Hongkong (HKG)
Cathay Pacific The Wing First Class Lounge, Hongkong (HKG)
Cathay Pacific First Class, Hongkong-Frankfurt
Air France-KLM Lounge, Frankfurt (FRA)
Finnair Business Class, Frankfurt-Helsinki
Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa
Top Attractions in Finland
Finnair Premium Lounge, Helsinki Airport (HEL)
Finnair Business Class, Helsinki-Stockholm

Eva Air Boeing 777-300ER bound for Bangkok

Flight: BR68
Departure in London: 21:35
Arrival in Bangkok: 15:05 (+1day)
Equipment: Boeing 777-300ER
Flight duration: 11h 30m
Date of flight: July 6, 2015
Seat: 5A
*This is an award travel, Business class flight #84


After visiting the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge and United Club, I slowly made my way to gate B47 where boarding started around 9pm.

Boarding, gate B47


Before boarding, I grabbed a copy of Daily Mail from the newspaper trolley located before the door.

Cabin


Eva Air business class cabin in a 1-2-1 configuration, with 23 seats in a larger forward cabin and 16 seats in the smaller cabin located at the back.


Seat


Welcome to my seat, 5A!


Entertainment controls (picture taken from my previous flight)


Seat controls (picture taken from my previous flight) 


Spacious legroom


Moments after settling in to my seat, I was offered something to drink which was a choice between a glass of water and orange juice. I chose a glass of water (although every seat has already a bottle of Fiji mineral water waiting for the passengers).


I was also offered a refreshing towel, and afterwards, another flight attendant came to welcome me on that evening flight to Bangkok.

Entertainment


The inflight entertainment screen is not the biggest but probably in par with other airlines offering. 


The Thunder headphones were already on my seat ready for use.

Amenity kit


And the most awaited part of the flight: The Rimowa kit containing comb, eyeshades, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, and Harnn body lotion and lip balm. As far as I know, Lufthansa and ANA used to offer Rimowa kits in first class but not anymore so Thai is the only one offering them for now. Having Eva Air offer them in business class (they don't have first class) is really awesome so kudos to Eva Air for that!


I was also given a very nice set of sleep wear in brown color which pretty much reminded me of my Emirates first class pajamas. Presently, I believe Eva Air is now offering blue and gray pajamas instead of the brown ones. I have to add that very few airlines offer pajamas in business class, (I can only think of Qatar Airways, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic) so receiving these pajamas from Eva Air was impressive.


They also offer slippers which were very comfortable to use.


Eva Air inflight magazines and safety on board card

Lavatory


The lavatory amenities featured skin care products from Harnn which has one of my favorite scents.


Lavatory

Dining


In between my inspections of the amenity kits and seat features, I was given the menu card and wine list which were presented in very nice folders.


The champagne on board was Veuve Clicquot LA GRANDE DAME 2004. Back in June, Eva Air announced that they will be offering Krug champagne in business class although the only fortunate routes who got them are New York, Paris and Houston. And since I don't drink alcohol, I settled for a glass of guava juice.


Eva Air drinks list


Eva Air London-Bangkok menu


Eva Air meal order confirmation on their iPhone app

The flight attendant also confirmed my order from the internet which was a guarantee that this service really works. Shortly after, the purser came to welcome me and confirm of my onward flight to Taipei. She also informed me of our arrival time in Bangkok which is 14:50 and that I could use the Eva Air Lounge there before my onward flight. 


Eva Air Royal Laurel Class table cloth


Octopus Salad and Avocado Mousse


Eva Air Royal Premium class bread and butter


Stewed Pork Belly with Lotus Root and Burdock/Mixed Vegetables/Steamed Rice


Cheese, fruit and Häagen Dazs ice cream


My usual green tea

The meal tasted very good and although not in par with the likes of Qatar Airways and Emirates, I still think it was much better than what other airlines in business class offer. I was able to have a goodnight's sleep while watching "Kingsman" and "Home" and being offered something to drink in between.


About two hours before landing, I was offered some juice and I chose a glass of apple juice.


Eva Air Royal Laurel class fruit plate


Eva Air Royal Laurel class, natural yogurt


Eva Air Royal Laurel class, cereal


Eva Air Royal Laurel class, chocolate muffin


Banana Brioche with Berry Compote (from the meal order service)

The breakfast meal was very good and my main course which I pre-ordered from their website was surely a very healthy choice. Fresh towels and mints were also offered after the meal service and before I knew it, we were already landing at the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, ten minutes ahead of schedule.

CONCLUSION

Eva Air's Royal Laurel class is definitely one of the best business class I have experienced. I love the fact that they are the only airline to offer Rimowa amenity kits in business class since these kits had only been exclusive to first class passengers of Lufthansa, ANA and Thai. Currently, Thai Airways is the only airline offering this kit although still only in first class. The seat that turns into a fully flat bed, the nice headphones and average size monitors, and the friendly service all contributed to making this flight a great one. The fact that they offer pajamas in business class is impressive since there are very few airlines offering them nowadays. Being able to change into pajamas on long flights specially if it's a night flight makes sleeping a lot more comfortable so I really commend Eva Air for that. The food offering may not be the best there is but still better if not in par with other airlines. Overall, Eva Air is one airline that satisfy my needs most when flying in business class. To all the crew on this flight, thanks a lot! Until next time 😊