Eva & Thai Business Class Comparison

[davidge]

 

 

I've just returned from a trip where I used Thai Air. My previous trip was with Eva.

This is my personal opinion of how the 2 Business Class products compare based on my experience.

I think Eva are far superior in almost every respect.

 

 

Before Flying

 

I find the Eva website to be more reliable & easier to use. Easier to find fares & much easier to compare across a range of dates.

Once you book, whether direct or with an agent, Eva allow you to choose your seat. Thai only let you choose when you check-in online 24 hours before & most seats are pre-assigned so you get little choice.

Eva allow you to pre-book your meals from a couple of weeks before the flight with a wide range of options including meals not offered on board.

 

 

Check-in & Airports

 

No difference in check-in at LHR. At BKK Thai have their own section with 2 Immigration lanes just for their First & Biz passengers so just have the edge. Eva give a card for the Priority Lane so almost as good.

On arrival at BKK, Thai again have a dedicated Immigration lane but as Eva give a Priority Card there isn't any difference.

On arrival at LHR, Eva give a Fast Track card but Thai do not.

At LHR, Eva use the Air Canada lounge and Thai use the United lounge. I thought the United lounge was better.

At BKK, I was told to use the largest Thai lounge though there are other smaller ones. I thought it was poor. Very limited food options, no Sparkling Mineral water and grubby toilets. Eva have their own lounge which I found very good.

 

 

On Board

 

They both offer flatbed seats in the 'herringbone' configuration. Eva is 1-2-1 while Thai is effectively 2-2-2, though offset to give the impression of 1-2-1. If you are in an even numbered row you are right on the aisle and can hardly reach the window. An odd numbered row gives a greater feeling of privacy as you are next to the window and away from the aisle.

Eva have larger seats with more personal space and a greater sense of privacy. I was barely aware of other passengers. On Thai, I was VERY aware of nearby passengers.

I thought the personal monitor was better on Eva but there was very little difference in the choice of Entertainment.

 

The food was MUCH better on Eva. Even without pre-booking meals, there is a wide range of options with plenty of choice for each course which you can mix and match. Thai offer 2 Thai options and 2 Western options. You can't even choose a starter from one option and a main from another - they are fixed. The quality of food on Thai was very poor on both flights. I've had better food in Economy. On Eva, the food out of LHR was OK and the food out of BKK was excellent.

 

The service on Eva was excellent. Staff very attentive, went out of their way to help & make the journey more comfortable. Drinks replenished immediately, frequently asked if I wanted anything else and top notch service at meal times.

The service on Thai was a huge disappointment. Little interest in being helpful, very slow in replenishing drinks and very perfunctory at meal times. Part of this is probably due to there being more passengers per member of staff in Thai Biz than in Eva Biz. However, there was a clear difference in the attitude of staff on the 2 airlines.

 

 

In conclusion, Thai would need to be significantly cheaper than Eva for me to choose them for future flights. The only other direct option is BA, and I am reluctant to use them.

 

 

I'm actually flying indirect with Gulf Air at Christmas as they were VERY cheap. It will be interesting to see how they compare.

 

(If I think of anything else, I'll add it later)

[Gaztop08]

Good information.

[Short]

I have flown premium economy several times on both Thai and Eva.

 

Service:    Thai service was similar to American Airlines.      Ring the bell on Eva Air and they show up at your seat with a tray of drinks to choose from.

 

Food:    Thai food was enjoyable.   Did not like the Eva Air food.

 

Seats.   Thai was 2 3 2.  Eva was 2 4 2.   Eva was also several inches less on the pitch.

 

Flight:  Thai flew directly to BKK.   Eva caused an extra leg and Taiwan's airport has very little to keep you occupied between flights.

[fatjack1]

Thanks for the comparison.  I've been flying EVA biz/1st whatever they call it between LAX and BKK for 10 years.  I am very impressed with their service and pricing.  $3600 RT I can't find an equal to other than EVA.

[Nando9999]

You should be able to select seats in Thai immediately, just google "thai reservation" and itll pop up in google, enter surname and reservation code, then select away...ive never booked a flight from their website so im not sure how hard it would be to navigate to the seat selection directly.

 

But I definitely agree their food is disappointing, the best mea I had in Thai was an economy meal.. Penang curry.

 

Youre also spot on with their business lounges, ive used a couple at BKK and both were pretty bad considering it is their main airport, youd think theyd make them half decent.

[davidge]

You should be able to select seats in Thai immediately, just google "thai reservation" and itll pop up in google, enter surname and reservation code, then select away...ive never booked a flight from their website so im not sure how hard it would be to navigate to the seat selection directly.

But I definitely agree their food is disappointing, the best mea I had in Thai was an economy meal.. Penang curry.

Youre also spot on with their business lounges, ive used a couple at BKK and both were pretty bad considering it is their main airport, youd think theyd make them half decent.

I logged into my booking on the Thai website and there was no option to choose seat.

If I fly with them again, I'll do a search and see if there's a 'back door' way of doing it.

I do find the Thai website to be very poor.

[tt2008]

Just call the Thai office in London and they will reserve a seat for you.

[tt2008]

Having flown Thai, Eva and BA in business, I would agree that Eva is best, Thai second and BA a distant 3rd.

[chippysam]

I have used Eva business class thought it was excellent ,not tried Thai but would have to be cheaper for me to try now after your detailed review.

Coincidentally I am trying Gulf Air this xmas time ,not flown with them before

[Jack Frost]

I've just returned from a trip where I used Thai Air. My previous trip was with Eva.

This is my personal opinion of how the 2 Business Class products compare based on my experience.

I think Eva are far superior in almost every respect.

 

 

Before Flying

 

I find the Eva website to be more reliable & easier to use. Easier to find fares & much easier to compare across a range of dates.

Once you book, whether direct or with an agent, Eva allow you to choose your seat. Thai only let you choose when you check-in online 24 hours before & most seats are pre-assigned so you get little choice.

Eva allow you to pre-book your meals from a couple of weeks before the flight with a wide range of options including meals not offered on board.

 

 

Check-in & Airports

 

No difference in check-in at LHR. At BKK Thai have their own section with 2 Immigration lanes just for their First & Biz passengers so just have the edge. Eva give a card for the Priority Lane so almost as good.

On arrival at BKK, Thai again have a dedicated Immigration lane but as Eva give a Priority Card there isn't any difference.

On arrival at LHR, Eva give a Fast Track card but Thai do not.

At LHR, Eva use the Air Canada lounge and Thai use the United lounge. I thought the United lounge was better.

At BKK, I was told to use the largest Thai lounge though there are other smaller ones. I thought it was poor. Very limited food options, no Sparkling Mineral water and grubby toilets. Eva have their own lounge which I found very good.

 

 

On Board

 

They both offer flatbed seats in the 'herringbone' configuration. Eva is 1-2-1 while Thai is effectively 2-2-2, though offset to give the impression of 1-2-1. If you are in an even numbered row you are right on the aisle and can hardly reach the window. An odd numbered row gives a greater feeling of privacy as you are next to the window and away from the aisle.

Eva have larger seats with more personal space and a greater sense of privacy. I was barely aware of other passengers. On Thai, I was VERY aware of nearby passengers.

I thought the personal monitor was better on Eva but there was very little difference in the choice of Entertainment.

 

The food was MUCH better on Eva. Even without pre-booking meals, there is a wide range of options with plenty of choice for each course which you can mix and match. Thai offer 2 Thai options and 2 Western options. You can't even choose a starter from one option and a main from another - they are fixed. The quality of food on Thai was very poor on both flights. I've had better food in Economy. On Eva, the food out of LHR was OK and the food out of BKK was excellent.

 

The service on Eva was excellent. Staff very attentive, went out of their way to help & make the journey more comfortable. Drinks replenished immediately, frequently asked if I wanted anything else and top notch service at meal times.

The service on Thai was a huge disappointment. Little interest in being helpful, very slow in replenishing drinks and very perfunctory at meal times. Part of this is probably due to there being more passengers per member of staff in Thai Biz than in Eva Biz. However, there was a clear difference in the attitude of staff on the 2 airlines.

 

 

In conclusion, Thai would need to be significantly cheaper than Eva for me to choose them for future flights. The only other direct option is BA, and I am reluctant to use them.

 

 

I'm actually flying indirect with Gulf Air at Christmas as they were VERY cheap. It will be interesting to see how they compare.

 

(If I think of anything else, I'll add it later)

 

 

 

Thank you for this info & your opinion on these 2 direct Business class products.

 

 

[Jack Frost]

Any pics to add ?????

 

This would be a great added feature.

 

[davidge]

Any pics to add ?????

 

This would be a great added feature.

 

Be careful what you wish for :-)

 

1. Cabin from my seat on LHR-BKK flight.

2. My size twelves.

3. Menu on first flight.

4. Salad with plenty of brown lettuce!

5. 3 bread rolls but only 1 small piece of butter.

6. Very tough, heavy slice of cheap beef.

7. The best of the cuisine in Thai lounge at BKK.

8. View from my seat on BKK-LHR flight - I was first on.

 

[tt2008]

With Thai Business if travelling alone you probably want a window seat as the config is 1-2-1 on 777 and A380.

But also note that window seats are at alternate angles so if you want to be right by window with a little more privacy go for an A or K seat, rather than B or J.

See seatguru website for configs.

 

Eva doesn't have this problem as all window seats (A & K) on 777 face towards window.

 

A small detail but if you are paying the money you may as well get what you want - and I like a little privacy for a quiet flight.

[davidge]

With Thai Business if travelling alone you probably want a window seat as the config is 1-2-1 on 777 and A380.

But also note that window seats are at alternate angles so if you want to be right by window with a little more privacy go for an A or K seat, rather than B or J.

See seatguru website for configs.

 

Eva doesn't have this problem as all window seats (A & K) on 777 face towards window.

 

A small detail but if you are paying the money you may as well get what you want - and I like a little privacy for a quiet flight.

Yes. As I mentioned above, an ODD numbered row gives you the seat next to the window on the A380 which gives more privacy.

I was in 14 on the way out and felt as if I was stuck out in the middle of the plane, right on the aisle. Almost impossible to reach the small storage box under the window.

 

Talking about storage, I forgot to mention that the baggage bins at the side of the A380 are quite narrow. The ones in the middle are larger.

[Essexlad79]

For those that can't/won't stretch to business class what's your view on Eva premium Economy? I'm looking at flying out early September for 3 months and Been quoted £795.

[davidge]

For those that can't/won't stretch to business class what's your view on Eva premium Economy? I'm looking at flying out early September for 3 months and Been quoted £795.

It's a little better than Economy but nothing like Business.

 

Econ Width 18.3 Econ Pitch 33 Prem Width 19.5 Prem Pitch 38 Bus Width 26 Bus Pitch 78-87

 

 

As you can see, you get 5 inches extra legroom and a slightly wider seat. Nowhere near Biz though.

One other thing is that Prem Econ has fixed armrests so you can't stretch out if there are empty seats next to you.

 

I have considered it to save money but haven't tried it yet.

[Essexlad79]

Thanks Davidge

[Jack Frost]

Be careful what you wish for :-)

 

1. Cabin from my seat on LHR-BKK flight.

2. My size twelves.

3. Menu on first flight.

4. Salad with plenty of brown lettuce!

5. 3 bread rolls but only 1 small piece of butter.

6. Very tough, heavy slice of cheap beef.

7. The best of the cuisine in Thai lounge at BKK.

8. View from my seat on BKK-LHR flight - I was first on.

 

image.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpeg

 

 

 

Superb pics, I have some but this is your thread.

 

So any of the Eva Air seats etc to compare ???

 

Thanks & I did wish to see your super pics.

 

For the record I do love Thai & the A380.

 

 

[davidge]

I thought I'd taken more pics on Eva but can only find 4.

The high tech toilet in the Eva lounge at BKK, 2 of the 5 courses I was served on the flight home and another of my size 12's. I think you can see from the last one that I got more room (width) on Eva.

 

[Jack Frost]

I thought I'd taken more pics on Eva but can only find 4.

The high tech toilet in the Eva lounge at BKK, 2 of the 5 courses I was served on the flight home and another of my size 12's. I think you can see from the last one that I got more room (width) on Eva.

 

image.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpeg

 

 

Thanks for the pics.

 

Toilet looks like its a machine & a half.

 

[davidge]

Thanks for the pics.

 

Toilet looks like its a machine & a half.

 

I was very nervous that I would accidentally press a button and have unexpected things happen. :-)

[davidge]

I guess one way to sum things up is that when I got off the plane at LHR after flying Eva, I felt I was 'special'.

When I got off the Thai flight, I felt I was just another passenger.

[kd_traveller]

I logged into my booking on the Thai website and there was no option to choose seat.

If I fly with them again, I'll do a search and see if there's a 'back door' way of doing it.

I do find the Thai website to be very poor.

 

I used Thai earlier this year and even though I booked through a travel agent I was still able to go onto "manage my booking" and change the seat I was allocated to another seat, luckily to one where there was a free seat beside me!

[davidge]

I used Thai earlier this year and even though I booked through a travel agent I was still able to go onto "manage my booking" and change the seat I was allocated to another seat, luckily to one where there was a free seat beside me!

I went in to Manage my Booking a few times but was never given the option of choosing a seat. Don't know if it was because I was using an iPad instead of a desktop - but it really shouldn't matter.

[Jack Frost]

I guess one way to sum things up is that when I got off the plane at LHR after flying Eva, I felt I was 'special'.

When I got off the Thai flight, I felt I was just another passenger.

 

 

I know what you mean as the amazing Thai care, attention & love has gone.

 

In the last 2 years I have done the flight with Turkish Airlines twice in business class & they made me feel special & looked after like a king.

 

Over the years I have done one million air miles with Thai airways so I have my feelings for them & they treat me well to this day but compared to years back they treated business class passengers like Gods & the service was probably the best ever.

 

That said just used my Thai gold card & claimed my next class of service so will fly Thai on my next trip on the A380 in business.

 

David should we start a thread based on flights, pics & general Airport stuff etc ?????