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EVA offers a first class experience in a business class seat. They give you pjs, Krug or the like, and offer impeccable service. The seat currently offered on their 777s is a reverse herringbone design not unlike you’d find on AA, Cathay, China Airlines, Air France, etc. It’s head out, feet in, lie flat with aisle access for the win. I find them private, roomy, and hand’s down my most preferred design. I’m not alone – they’re universally favored amongst enthusiasts. Here’s what it looks like.
Today…EVA has released a video featuring their new dreamliner business class.
No doubt, the cabin is drop dead gorgeous. The colors, lighting, controls, IFE, everything is eye catching and uber attractive. I love it from an aesthetic perspective. However…they chose to install Thompson Advantage XL seats. Comfort is subjective, but from this blogger’s vantage point, they are certainly inferior to the current seat and setup.
Here’s a look at what Vantage seats look like on Qantas.
While the dimensions of width, length, and footwell may vary somewhat from design to design, the privacy that reverse herringbone represents is practically universal for every passenger on a plane. It is not with these seats. You can see below, the seat on the far left is a window seat with exposure to the aisle, whereas the seat on the far right is a window seat whose armrest buffers the aisle from the passenger. The same effect is repeated with the middle seats.
To compare: look at EVA’s current reverse herringbone
The cabin photo shows how universal the seat design is, and on the left you have an overhead perspective of the seat that should give you a better idea of how the seat angle provides privacy, work space, storage, etc. Every passenger knows they will enjoy these attributes regardless of the seat assigned.
Overall sentiment
EVA is an outstanding airline that offers truly world class service. While I’m excited to review the new dreamliners from a blogger perspective, the pivot to the Thompson Vantage XL seat is a big miss in my book. I’m not sure what their long term plans are with their current fleet of 777s, but if they’re phased out and the fleet is repped by Vantage XLs, it not only drops down the list of best business classes, but will offer the 2nd best business class to Taipei ( China Airlines offers a GORGEOUS Super Diamond biz). With all that being said…I do want to try it out 😉
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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