My Birthday Flight With EVA Air's Boeing 787-10

 Welcome to my trip report on EVA Air's 787-10 Dreamliner! 

My ride: B-17809 (My first GEnx 787-10 ride)

I had a great time on board! 

Introduction

Flying on EVA Air's Boeing 787 had been in my agenda for quite a while, deciding between the 787-9 or 787-10. Both aircraft types do fly on regional routes so that gave me something to think about. Taipei to Hong route has a lot of flights and the airline deploys both 787 series but there are 2 issues, the flight time is too short and also aircraft change happens very frequently so with this route ended up being ruled out, my next option was a flight from Tokyo to Taipei. Either Tokyo Narita to Taipei Taoyuan or Tokyo Haneda to Taipei Taoyuan. I ended up choosing the latter for the convenience and for the date of departure? I decided to fly on my birthday, on one of my favourite airlines and aircraft type. The airfare for the Economy class was reasonable so I went ahead with my booking and for the class type I booked on, I wasn't allow to choose my seat for free until check-in time. Anyway, I can't wait to share with you my latest experience with EVA Air. Let's get started! 

Booking 

While the booking procedure is straightforward with the website version, I don't like the mobile version and will only use it for check in purposes. As a member of the airline's Infinity Mileageland program, I find the mobile app a pain in the neck as whenever I need to check my mileage points, after gaining access to my account on my app, I clicked on the mileage inquiry and the app will send me to the website which then I need to log in. This process is unnecessary especially after logging into your account, hopefully the airline receives our feedback and upgrade the mobile app system. 

My flight options

Usually flying with the airline's partners cost more and this is almost double the price in Economy Class.

I went with the Economy Basic option.

I picked the noon flight.

The website version looks clean and more importantly user-friendly.

It's good to have a reminder on the benefits you get from the class you booked.

My itinerary listed on the mobile app.

I have to pay for the seats if I choose to do so before check in.

It's great to have auto check-in which I activate for this flight.

Booking process is fast and easy but checking one's account for points and doing redemption of points can be a headache. The last time I redeemed my points, it took me a few calls to do so and I wasn't able to do so on the mobile app. EVA Air should take a look at how Singapore Airlines do with their mobile app, I think SQ has done a marvellous job in making the app as user-friendly as possible.

On the day of departure 

I did a check in the morning which aircraft was flying me to Taipei, the honour goes to B-17809. At that time, only 3 Boeing 787-10 were operating on HND-TSA for the past 3 weeks, they were B-17809, B-17810 and B-17813. That means my chance of flying of flying the 787 featuring the Star Alliance (B-17812) was very slim as it was based in TPE airport. I suppose the airline rotate these aircraft every few months.

About the airline's Boeing 787-10 

There are currently 12 of this aircraft in the fleet (2025) and they fly on both regional and international routes such as Japan, Australia, Europe and United States. The 787-10 are based in both Taipei Taoyuan and Taipei Songshan airport and they probably rotate every few months or so. Most of the 787-10 aircraft are based in the bigger airport, Taoyuan as the airline has more flights flying out from that airport. This aircraft is arranged in a 2-class configuration, Royal Laurel (Business) and Economy Class. There are 34 seats in the business class and 308 in Economy Class and the aircraft are deployed on high demand regional routes and selected high demand international routes. 

Flighty's version of my flight details

My ride just took off from TSA Airport.

What a beautiful day in Tokyo! 

This is the bus terminal besides Omori Station.

The bus ride took about 45 minutes.

This is Tokyo Haneda Terminal 3

Quite a busy terminal with lots of international flights happening around that time.

This airport offers complimentary WiFi.

At the economy class queue, it took about 15 minutes to reach my turn.

Finally, I received my boarding pass after waiting for a while.

Another look at the departure hall (landside)

I went up to the next level to check out the restaurants. 

Lots of eateries on the level above the departure hall. 

After that I went over to the observation deck to do some plane spotting. Here are some of the action I saw. 

EVA Air's Boeing 787-10 on the earlier flight, heading to TSA. (B-17813)

Japan Airlines A350-1000 vs Boeing 777-300ER

Japan Airlines Boeing 777-300ER

Japan Airlines Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 777-300ER

Another view of the A350-1000 and Boeing 777-300ER

Japan Airlines Boeing 787-9, Korean Air and China Southern A321neo

Korean Air has just introduced a new livery and personally I prefer this livery over the new one. 

This is Korean Air's A321neo. 

Korean Air's new corperate livery (Photo: Korean Air)

This Japan Airlines A350-1000 was bound for Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW).

This is the airside. Security check took about 15 minutes to clear. 

This interior reminds of my time I flew my first 787 flights with ANA at this airport about 11 years ago. 

There were a good number of shops to explore while waiting for your flight departure. 

I did a check of my flight, it was arriving after 2 hours and 14 minutes in the air. The aircraft was flying with the help of the tail wind that's why the flight is shorter than the flight back to Taipei Songshan. 

This is where my flight's boarding gate was located.

Charging ports are available at selected seats. 

Pokemon collectible vending machine 

Time to board! Thanks for the fun time, Japan!

I enjoying the view of my aircraft through the glass windows of the aerobridge. 

That confirms my ride, B-17809!

My ride: B-17809 (Photo: Kouyagi)

Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner

Configuration: C34 Y308

Engines: 2 x GEnx-1B

Delivered in July 2024

Age: 3+ Years Old

1084th 787 Aircraft

Built in Charleston (CHS)

Flight route: HND-TSA 

Miles: 1,303 

My seat: 46A (Aerolopa.com) 

Airline: EVA Air

Flight: BR191

Route: HND-TSA

Aircraft: Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner

Registeration: B-17809

Seat: 46A

Departure Terminal: 3

Gate: 109

Load in Y class: 100%

Flight Time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Actual Flight Time: 3 hours 37 minutes

Schedule Departure: 1215

Boarding: 1148

Push Back: 1226

Take Off: 1243

Schedule Arrival: 1505

Actual Arrival: 1518

Departure Runway: 16R

Departure Weather: Clear

Arrival Runway: 10

Arrival Weather: Partially Cloudy

My Flight Experience

Due to our aircraft arriving early, it had to wait for a while at a taxiway as an aircraft was occupied at its assigned gate. This aircraft pushed back later than it should and that cause a delay to our flight's planned departure. Our aircraft needed some time to prepare for the return flight and we only boarded the aircraft about 25 minutes before our schedule departure time. Considering this is a full flight with about 300 over passengers, I thought the ground staff did well to handle the boarding process as they tried their best to make up for loss time.

The friendly and helpful crew helped some of the older passengers to place their things on the overhead compartment and I thought they were pretty good. It may have taken a while for everyone to settle down, but at least it got sorted out professsionally by the crew. Not surprisingly, we pushed back 11 minutes behind schedule and took off 17 minutes later. The Captain made his announcement and gave us update on the weather on route and for the announcments by the cabin crew, it was done in 5 languages including the Taiwanese dialect.

Take off was slightly turbulent but eventually the weather improved after flying out of Japan. The meal service was done and we had a choice of either the beef rice bowl or Japanese bay scallop with Asian noodles, I went with the beef option and it was delicious. I spent majority of the time on the IFE screen, there are a good number of movies but these days there isn't anything fantastic so I watched a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. As for the interface of the system, I find it easy to navigate and the touchscreen was responsive. In addition, I also took advantage of the 30 minutes of complimentary Wifi which also helped to keep me occupied. Another observation I made is that pillow and blanket is only available upon request, I supposed you only get them on long haul flights.

For the rest of the flight, it was uneventful and I managed to use the lavatory and check out the cabin. Not a single vacant seat and that shows how popular this route is that the airline operates 2 X Boeing 787-10 daily flights on the TSA-HND route. 

Royal Laurel Class (Photos: EVA Air) 

This is EVA Air's business class cabin which features 34 Thompson Aero Vantage XL seats arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration.

These seats come with a seat width of 23 inches and comes with 76 inches of legroom space and can be reclined to lie flat position. Each business class passenger gets to enjoy a 18 inches HD Touchscreen display for entertainment and for each middle pair of seats, there is an adjustable divider screen to increase privacy between both passengers. AC power and USB-A sockets are available.

You can check out Suitesmile's trip report on this cabin product over here. 

Economy Class

This is the Recaro CL3710 seat product arranged in a 3-3-3 configuration. There are 308 seats in this class and all of them have a seat width of 17.2 inches. From rows 21 to 36, the seat pitch is at 31.5 inches while from row 40 and 41 (D,E,F seats) to 57, seat pitch is at 32 inches. Row 41 (A,B,C and H,J,K) are considered emergency rows and have more legroom space but the foldable tray and IFE screen are stored at the storage compartment near the foot of the armrest, so you can only use the IFE screen after take-off and before landing. For the rest of the seats, a 10 inches touchscreen Display HD entertainment system is mounted on the back of the seat and there is a small storage space located beneath the IFE Screen. Each passenger gets a USB charging port and shared AC sockets are located near the foot of the row of chair you are sitting on.

Reserved seat - I wonder whether is it reserved for the airline's staff.

Each economy class seat has an adjustable headrest.

There is a coat hanger at the left corner of each seat.

The electronic dimmed windows

The seat pattern does have a Taiwanese style in my opinion.

The Boeing sky interior is certainly my favourite.

One of the cabin crew was waiting to assist any passengers that requires assistance.

Sitting in front of the lavatory may not be a bad thing as you can recline and not affect anyone.

This is the second cabin of the economy class.

This economy class product is very common with many airlines. Does this product look familar to you? 

The cabin view of B-17809 in Y class

This is my seat, 46A.

It was quite comfortable for this short flight.

I don't fancy myself sitting between 2 strangers! 

The bulkhead row of the economy class cabin. ( Row 20 A,B and C )

More photos of the seat

Legroom is adequate for myself.

IFE screen is quite standard, nothing to be excited about.

The window in dimmed mode, useful when the light is shining directly at your direction.

The foldable tray table

It is big enough for your regular size laptop or tablet. What is missing is a proper drink holder that can hold the drink firmly especially during turbulence.

The headrest

Another look of the seat

The view from my seat

What's provided for each passenger? 

A safety card

Duty-free magazine

Disposal Bag

Disposal earphones

AC power outlet (Photo: Knaviation.net)

An additional USB-A port and Universal power outlet are available (2 in each row of 3 seats)

Inflight Meal and Beverages

The crew came and passed us this menu to give us some time to decide before serving others . Once she reached our side, we gave her our order and handed this menu back to her.

I had a cup of water for my beverage.

A cup of tea

On the 2nd beverage service, I chose a cup of coke to enjoy it together with my meal.

This is the beef rice which is accompanied with pudding, assorted fruits, almond tofu, bread and egg omelette (blocked by the bread).

Inflight Entertainment 

Welcome on board EVA Air!

Below the IFE screen, you can find a USB-A port and a 2-pin port for the earpiece. 

It was time to check out the entertainment system.

I like the user interace of the system.

Pilot view from the inflight map

Movie options - there are about 60-80 movies consists of Hollywood and movies from other parts of the world. Also you can find a number of television shows, a good selection of music to choose from and a few games to enjoy.

Also, you can find some information about the airline and the aircraft types the airline is operating and I can tell you that the management is very happy with this aircraft model.

A brief information of the airline 

This is one of the movies I watched .

Inflight Wifi 

Once the flight reaches 10,000 feet, the wifi will be available until the arrival at the destination.

At least you are able to use the wifi for 30 minutes. More airlines are making it available free for the members of their own frequent program, will EVA Air makes this happen? I certainly hope so.

There is a timer to alert you of the remaining time left of the wifi usage, unfortunately we can't pause it.

I find the price of the packages too expensive for my liking.

I did a test of the wifi speed, the result is shown below.

I made use of the 30 minutes complimentary wifi and used the time to surf some websites, check out the apps like Flightradar24 and the latest updates on social media. I find the speed to be acceptable.

We were cruising at FL400 (40,000 feet).

Lavatory 

This aircraft's lavatory is what one would expect, the presence of the amenities and more importantly the cleanliness. 

There is enough space to handle the baby's needs. (change of diapers and all that)

Window view (Take off to Landing)

We parked besides a Shanghai Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. 

Off we go! Passing by a JAL's Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.

It was certainly a beautiful day for flying.

Passing by one of JAL's aircraft in the special livery. 

This is the special livery 787-8 (Expo 2025 - JA823J) aircraft. (Photo: EPS1)

After 10 minutes of taxi, we were near the threshold of the runway. 

At the threshold, we were cleared to depart. 

Off we go! 

Take off was slightly bumpy due to the cross wind. 

Goodbye Japan, thanks for the memories. 

I was fortunate to be able to experience such good weather despite a bit of wind during the climb. 

Passing through the choppy sea as we were still experiencing some minor chops. 

At this point, the ride was smooth. 

I dimmed the window at this point. 

We started descending. 

The approach and landing in Taipei was a smooth affair. 

On final approach 

We touched down 13 minutes late. 

This Japan Airlines Boeing 787 was heading to Tokyo Haneda. 

With that, our flight came to an end. This was one flight, I won't mind arriving late as I enjoyed every minute of it. 

My flight summary 

Welcome to Taipei Songshan! 

The walk from the gate to the arrival hall including passport immigration control and collection of baggage took about 20 minutes. Oh yes, it took quite a while for our baggage to come out at the baggage carousel.

I took the airport MRT to my accommodation at Ximending. 

Some photos of EVA Air's aircraft photographed at Taipei Taoyuan Airport. 

EVA Air's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

EVA Air's A321ceo 

EVA Air's A330-300

EVA Air's Boeing 777-300ER (Hello Kitty livery) - Sorry for the blurred photo

EVA Air's Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner

EVA Air's Boeing 777-300ER

EVA Air Cargo Boeing 777F (-200LRF)

Thanks for reading! 

My ratings

Airline Website/Mobile App: 3/5

Airport Experience: 5/5

Inflight Service: 5/5

Seat Comfort: 5/5

Inflight Entertainment: 4/5

Cabin Ambiance: 5/5

Seat Condition: 5/5

Cleanliness: 5/5

InFlight Meal/Beverage: 4/5

Punctuality: 3/5

Overall Rating: 44/50

Percentage: 88%

Conclusion 

After flying many times on this airline's Boeing 777-300ER, this would be a new experience for me on the airline's Boeing 787-10. The main difference is the newer seats installed on the 787, the popular Recaro CL3710 which has become very familar to me and also a different economy seat fabric, light colour vs the dark colour (77W). Which do I prefer? Somehow I prefer the 77W seats, the black seats looks better in my opinion. Whatever it is, these seats are not bad and I had no issues flying in this cabin on longer routes. 

As for the inflight service, I thought the crew were top notch. They were always around assisting whoever that needed help, a typical Asian inflight service from one of the top airlines in the world, adding the good quality inflight meal to my memorable flight, what more can I ask?

I am glad to have flown one of my favourite airlines on my birthday and I look forward to fly this airline's A350-1000 in 2027.

In conclusion, my onboard experience on this flight was top notch but the airline needs to work on improving the mobile app, that's the only issue I have. Furthermore I have switched back to EVA Air's Infinity Mileage land program from Krisflyer due to personal reasons and I hope the airline will work on improving the app especially for the members. 

Feel free to check our my previous Economy Class on this airline's Boeing 777-300 ER over here.

For my previous trip report (Air Do's 767-300ER Part 1), click here

For my next trip report (Part 2 of my Air Do's 767-300 Experience), stay tuned. 

Hope you enjoy this review. Have a good one!

Charles 

(If you are happy with my work, feel free to contribute by donating any amount over here. Greatly appreciated!