Over the course of several flights between Munich and Taipei, I put EVA Air’s onboard products to the test – from the carrier’s acclaimed Business Class to its new Premium Economy on the Dreamliner 787-9. I also examined the Economy experience in detail. After logging a total of 33,000 kilometers, here’s how the airline performed.
The Taiwanese boutique airline EVA Air is part of the Evergreen Group, one of Asia’s largest conglomerates. Since November 2022, EVA Air has been flying nonstop from Munich to Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei with the 787-9 Dreamliner. I had the pleasure of being on the inaugural flight. Here is my complete EVA Air review covering all three booking classes.
EVA Air Receives Top Marks for Safety
EVA Air has received the IATA Operational Safety Audit with the outstanding result of „no findings“ since 2005. Additionally, according to the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Center, the airline with over 90 aircraft is among the 20 safest airlines in the world.
EVA Air flies four times a week from Munich to Taipei and from there continues to eight destinations in Japan such as Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Okinawa, and Sendai. Furthermore, the boutique airline serves exciting tourist destinations in Asia such as Macau and Hong Kong, Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Bali and Java, as well as Hanoi, Saigon, and Da Nang.
This makes a stopover in Taipei appealing for all Asia fans. 24 hours is enough to get a good impression of this pleasant city, which I’ve had the opportunity to visit and experience three times already.
The Boeing 787-9 offers a total of 278 passengers seating across 26 seats in Royal Laurel Class (EVA Air’s name for its Business Class), 28 seats in the new Premium Economy Class, and 224 seats in Economy Class. I was able to test all classes for this EVA Air review over recent months.
EVA Air Review: The acclaimed Business Class
The EVA Air Business Class cabin in the 787-9 is exceptionally high, even though overhead compartments are also installed in the center section. These overhead compartments are so large that each Business Class guest could easily store two carry-on suitcases.
Bleed air from the engines is not used, which eliminates the risk of aerotoxic complaints. The cabin pressure corresponds to the air pressure at an altitude of 1,600 meters (6,000 feet), which helps prevent fatigue and jet lag.
The playful mood lighting makes stars twinkle on the cabin ceiling at night and is supposed to reduce susceptibility to jet lag. It worked for me! After landing early in the morning in Taipei, I was well-rested and full of energy.
The 26 EVA Air Business Class seats are over 58 centimeters wide, and the entire „compartment“ measures a good 75 centimeters from the aisle to the privacy screen. The seats have a pitch of over 1.90 meters and convert at the push of a button into a completely flat bed measuring 1.93 meters long. Neither my feet nor my head bump into anything or have to be twisted into any tight „footwells.“
The 1-2-1 arrangement of seats in the Business cabin gives each guest direct aisle access. This is wonderful – nothing annoys me more than nighttime climbing expeditions over neighbors‘ legs, not to mention constantly being „stepped over“ and jostled awake myself.
EVA Air Review: Japanese Flavors Fit for Business Class
For the Business Class menu, I have a choice between Chinese, Japanese, and Western Cuisine. The Japanese Kyo-Kaiseki dinner above the clouds was created by three-Michelin-starred Japanese chef Motokazu Nakamura.
He is one of six international chefs with whom EVA Air collaborates and is the sixth-generation chef of the traditional restaurant „Isshi Souden Nakamura“ in Kyoto, founded 180 years ago. Nakamura has made it his mission to promote Washoku, authentic Japanese haute cuisine, worldwide.
As a fan of Japan, my mouth starts watering just from reading the menu — and it doesn’t take long before the dishes arrive. The Nakamura palate-teaser? Goose liver marinated in rice wine, paired with a smoked oyster in sesame oil. Politically incorrect, of course, but absolutely divine in taste.
Behind the „Zensai“ course is a wonderful tofu made from egg and dashi with soy sauce. Then comes the Mukozuke bowl with smoked salmon, radish, cucumber, and salmon roe. The crowning glory? Hassun, featuring monkfish with Sansho pepper, plus Nigiri Maguro with Ponzu and abalone with seaweed.
After these delicacies, two films, and two glasses of the wonderful Kavalan Single Malt Whisky from Taiwan – with its delightfully exotic hints of mango and coconut – the inevitable drowsiness begins to set in. Or should I… perhaps… have another? Just one more small glass of Kavalan, please! And xièxie! Then it’s seat back, blanket pulled up, and off to sleep, deep and undisturbed.
For those who can’t sleep, EVA Air’s In-Flight Entertainment System helps. The 18-inch HD touchscreen monitor (46 centimeters diagonal) is razor-sharp, and the noise-canceling headphones are extremely good. However, the film selection could be somewhat larger for my taste when it comes to current European and American movies.
EVA Air Review: Business Class Lounges „Infinity“ and „The Star“
Those connecting in Taipei, as I did on my trip to Fukuoka, can spend their time most pleasantly in two lounges as Business Class passengers: have a bite to eat, enjoy a drink, or relax with a power nap.
I thoroughly examined both lounges on my outbound and return flights. The Infinity Lounge has an original design with elegantly curved walls. Good Chinese and Western cuisine and four spacious shower rooms with separate wet and dry areas are available. If no shower room is currently available, you receive a pager that alerts you as soon as a shower has been cleaned and is ready for the next guest.
Most seats are equipped with power outlets, and there’s fast WiFi everywhere. Access is available to EVA Air Business Class travelers (Royal Laurel or Premium Laurel) and Star Alliance First Class and Business Class guests.
The „The Star“ lounge across the way is bright, airy, and significantly larger. Various seating options from classic armchairs to pods and four rest cabins provide variety and enable me to work concentratedly on my laptop. It’s spacious with plenty of room. The long conference table is original. The restroom capacity is somewhat limited — six men’s toilets seem borderline when the lounge is at full capacity.
I look in vain for a place to change – after all, muggy 32 degrees await me on Kyushu. In the end, there’s nothing for it but a bit of pants-off acrobatics in one of the relatively narrow, yet spotlessly clean, lavatories.
Access to „The Star“ lounge is available to Gold Card members of EVA Air’s „Infinity MileageLands“ frequent flyer program and travelers with „Star Alliance Gold“ status traveling on Star Alliance flights. Premium Economy passengers without one of these cards, however, are left on the outside…
EVA Air Review: Premium Economy Class
A few weeks after the introduction of the new Premium Economy Class, I’m sitting in an EVA Air Dreamliner, heading to Taiwan once again. First impression? Wowzers, this is a huge step forward.
The new EVA Air Premium Economy seats from French manufacturer Safran are generously wide at around 49 centimeters (19.5 inches) and arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration between the 26 Business Class seats (Royal Laurel) and economy class with space for 224 passengers.
The spacing between seat rows is generous: 107 centimeters provides significant legroom. I can really stretch out my legs without bumping into any seat frames or the life vest under the seat in front.
The 28 EVA Air Premium Economy seats recline nearly 20 centimeters backward. The cradle function is ingenious: the seat cushion shifts forward simultaneously with the reclining backrest, so that the backrest itself moves only a maximum of 15 centimeters into the airspace of the lady behind me. In this position, I can even think about sleeping. Normally, I only manage that when I’m sitting – or rather lying – in Business Class.
In front of me gleams an apparently meticulously cleaned, absolutely fingerprint-free HD touchscreen with a 39-centimeter diagonal. My phone, charging cable, and glasses just barely fit in two small compartments. The tablet goes into the overhead bin after use.
What else does my seat offer? Reading light in the headrest, phone holder on the tray table (the purpose of which escapes me when you have the XXL screen in front of your nose), plus USB-A and USB-C connections. There’s free WiFi too, even for Economy Class guests!
Those flying Premium Eco or Eco who absolutely want lounge access: starting at 32 euros, you can buy three hours of access to the „Plaza Premium Lounge“, it’s even cheaper through GetYourGuide than booking directly.
EVA Air Review: Economy Class: 2 x 23 Kilos Checked Baggage!
EVA Air’s Economy Class customers find themselves in german made Recaro seats. The seat pitch of just under 80 centimeters provides important legroom for long flights. The HD touchscreens are 12 inches (30 centimeters) in size.
What’s exceptional and worth highlighting is that Economy Class passengers can check two (!) pieces of luggage of up to 23 kilograms each starting from the Basic fare. This makes it interesting for golfers, surfers, or cyclists heading to Asia.
EVA Air Review: How Do the Economy Class Fares Differ?
Think carefully about what’s important to you: easier cancellation or rebooking? Or primarily comfortable sitting and lying? It pays to calculate precisely.
The Economy Up booking class can be more than 100 euros more expensive than Premium Economy Class in the „Basic“ fare, with the latter offering significantly more comfort. However, rebookings and stopovers then cost extra.
EVA AIR Review: Practical Test and Price Comparison of EVA Air Booking Classes
Oneway Economy Up ticket from Munich to Taipei on February 10, 2026 costs 996.06 euros in our test booking — 577 euros more than Economy Basic and even 112 euros more than Premium Economy Basic.
Economy Basic ticket price: starting at 419,06 euros oneway
Rebooking: 110 euros
Cancellation/Refund: 260 euros
No mileage upgrade
No-show: 210 euros
2 x 23 kg baggage
Stopover: not possible
Economy Standard ticket price: starting at 579,06 euros oneway
Rebooking: 60 euros
Cancellation/Refund: 160 euros
Mileage upgrade allowed
No-show: 160 euros
Stopover: 50 euros
Economy Up ticket price: starting at 996,06 euros oneway
Rebooking: free
Cancellation/Refund: 60 euros
Mileage upgrade allowed
No-show: 160 euros
Stopover included
Premium Economy Basic ticket price: starting from 884,06 euros oneway
Cancellation: 260 euros
Rebooking: 130 euros
No-show: 210 euros
Bookings, Rates and More: evair.com
