Welcome to my trip report on EVA Air's 4th Generation Premium Economy Class!
This is EVA Air's Boeing 787-9 B-17888
Introduction
When EVA Air announced the new Premium Economy Class product, I was very excited and I knew I want to be on board to experience it since I have already tried the different generation of the cabin product starting from the Elite Class days. For the latest batch of Boeing 787-9 (B-17886 onwards), they will be configured in a 3-class cabin which includes the new Premium Economy product. Lady luck was smiling on me when the airline announced that for a short period of time, this aircraft would be deployed on selected dates for the month of May to Singapore (BR215/216 and a few flights on BR225/226) so I decided to go for it. Initially I planned to do a return flight with EVA Air but since I had already flown on the airline's 787-10 which has the same economy class cabin as this 787-9 and also Starlux was operating the A330-900neo to Singapore, I decided to do one way with EVA Air's 787-9 on the Premium Economy class and return flight with Starlux on the A330-900neo, this means I can review both flights and give you these trip reports. Later on, I was invited to visit Osaka to attend a couple of events and that is great for me as the TPE-KIX gave me quite a number of options as there are a good number of 5th freedom flights doing this route and only one airline came into my mind, that is Air Asia X's A330-300 and the Premium flatbed class only cost about S$100 more than the standard Economy Class so I went for it. For the return flight to Taipei from Osaka, I decided on Jetstar Japan as I am able to arrive in Taipei about one in the morning and then catch the 8 am flight with Starlux back to Singapore as I had to resume work on that day. Why Starlux you might be wondering, it is for the A330neo. After flying twice with Virgin Atlantic, adding Starlux to my list was a no brainer and Malaysia Airlines will be next, most probably next year.
So without further ado, let's begin this trip report.
SIN-TPE (This trip report)
TPE-KIX (Air Asia X A330-300 - Premium cabin) - trip report coming up soon
KIX-TPE (Jetstar Japan A320ceo) - trip report coming up soon
TPE-SIN (Starlux A330-900neo) - trip report coming up soon
About the airline's 3-class Boeing 787-9
How to recognise the first batch of Boeing 787-9? It has the 787 titles but the second batch (B-17886 onwards) do not have. (Shown below)
For now (June 2025), only the 3-class Boeing 787-9 features this new cabin product and it flies to Milan and Munich on the long haul routes while for the regional flights, this aircraft flies to selected regional destination after the arrival from an European destination as it is scheduled to have a long layover in Taipei before it's next departure to Europe. Hong Kong, Jakarta, Seoul and Guangzhou are possible destinations for this aircraft.
EVA Air has a fleet of 7 Boeing 787-9 (June 2025)
- B-17881, B-17882, B-17883, B-17885 (2-Class configuration - C26 Y278)
- B-17886, B-17887, B-17888 (3-Class Configuration - C26 W28 Y224)
The airline has plans to reconfigure the first 4 Boeing 787-9 to the 3-class configuration in due course.
EVA Air's Boeing 787 recent milestone (Photo: EVA Air)
About EVA Air's Premium Economy Class
Did you know that this privately owned Taiwan airline is the world first airline that offers this class cabin. Initially known as Economy Deluxe, it was renamed to Evergreen Deluxe and Elite Class later on. The airline introduced this cabin in 1992 on the Boeing 747-400. This cabin was in a 2-4-2 seat configuration and comes with a better legroom space, IFE screen and enhanced meal service which makes it more comfortable to fly in than flying in Economy Class.
I was fortunate to able to sample both the Evergreen deluxe class and Elite Class on the 747-400 Combi and the Boeing 777-300ER.
This is the Evergreen Deluxe cabin (747-400 combi) (1st Generation)
At that time, the airline sold these seats as economy class so you can choose them without the need of paying extra (unlike today) and I was fortuante to be able to fly in this cabin a few times on the TPE-HKG and TPE-KUL-TPE routes, it was really fun sitting near the nose of the aircraft.
The very front of the 747-400 Combi.
This is the Elite Class (2nd generation) cabin (Boeing 777-300ER)
The airline offered this cabin as an Elite Class tier and it is configured in a 2-4-2 configuration. The seats may be similar but the IFE system was better than the Evergreen deluxe class in the fleet.
This is the Premium Economy Class on the Hello Kitty 777-300ER (3rd Generation)
The seats in this class was further improved with the same 2-4-2 configuration on this Boeing 777-300ER.
I was fortunate to be able to experience this product during my return flight from Taipei to Singapore.
I am pleased to have tried out all 4 generation Premium Economy Class products and happy to share with you my thoughts on the latest cabin product.
EVA Air's mobile app
As I booked the lowest tier of the Premium Economy Class cabin, I had to pay for my seat and I decided to do so to get a good window view. I paid about S$40 for the seat. The total cost is still cheaper than booking the standard Premium Economy class.
On the day of departure I did a check on the seat map hoping that I had no seat mate but unfortunately I didn’t get my wish.
On the app, you can pre-order your choice of inflight meal
Flighty's app
Flighty (Subscribed version) has been accurate for most of my flights so far.
This app is one of the most popular among frequent travellers and aviation enthusiasts.
On the day of departure
The newest Boeing 787-9 in the fleet was flying me to Taipei. (B-17888)
It is quite amazing that you have 5 carriers (EVA Air, China Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Scoot and Starlux) flying on the SIN-TPE route with 4 airlines operating multiple flights a day while Starlux is the only airline that operates once daily.
Welcome to Terminal 3 of Changi Airport!
EVA Air operates from this terminal.
This is the check-in desks for EVA Air.
After a brief conversation with the staff and that includes a need to show her flight itinerary for the return flight with Starlux since I was flying one-way with this airline.
This is the airside of Terminal 3. Honestly speaking, other than the quick immigration process, I find Changi airport relatively boring in my opinion. The lack of a proper observation deck is also another factor!
This is 9V-SKP
The lounges are located at the upper level.
There are a good number of shops with food court and a limited number of restaurants available at the airside. It is better to check out the food options at Jewel if you have enough time.
This is the food court at the upper level.
I decided to give the chicken rice a try and it was not too bad.
A strange looking slide for the young ones.
Finally I caught sight of the 10000th Airbus aircraft (9V-SMF). This aircraft was bound for Paris CDG airport later that afternoon.
The 10000th Airbus Aircraft sticker
It is possible to connect to Terminal 4 from the airside.
Checking the monitor screen, my flight was departing from Gate A13.
The 3 lounges at Terminal 3 and if you walk to the far end, that will lead you to the Silverkris Lounge.
This is the Krisflyer Gold Lounge
A good number of eating options at this level.
On my way to the gate.
Some sort of contest for the Changi Airport travellers.
Travellers flying off at Terminal 1, 2 and 3 will undergo security check at their gates.
I spotted my ride: B-17888. At this point of time, the aircraft was about one month old)
The Robot Barista - has anyone tried this?
There are charging ports at some areas near the gates.
I recommend not to go into the gate area too early as it can be troublesome to come out to use the toilets.
This is my gate, A13.
A lot of sitting area with limited charging ports available.
Boarding procedure was according to zone and since I have no status with the airline's frequent flyer program, I had to wait for my zone 4 to be called.
Almost there now.
Not an ideal weather to fly in but at least I was flying in a more comfortable class.
My ride: B-17888
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Configuration: C26 W28 Y224
Engines: 2 X Genx-1B74/75
Delivered in April 2025
1227th Boeing 787 built
Built in CHS (Charleston)
Flight Route: SIN-TPE
Miles: 1,996
My seat: 23K (Photo: Aerolopa.com)
Date of departure: 15th May 2025
Airline: EVA Air
Flight: BR216
Route: SIN-TPE
Aircraft code: 78P
Registration: B-17888
Seat: 23F (Premium Economy)
Departure Terminal: 3
Gate: A13
Load: 80% in Premium Economy
Flight Time: 4 hours 16 minutes
Actual Flight Time: 4 hours 11 minutes
Boarding: 1436
Schedule Departure: 1510
Pushed Back: 1509
Take Off: 1524
Schedule Arrival: 1950
Actual Arrival: 1934
Departure Runway: 20C
Departure Weather: Scattered Thunderstorm
Arrival Runway: 05R
Arrival Weather: Clear
My inflight experience
I was greeted by 2 lovely crew who welcome us and showed us the direction to our seats. Not long after settling into my seat, a cabin crew came to a few of us who had pre-booked our meals online to confirm our order.
One thing I noticed is on all the 3 Taiwanese airlines, none of the them offer pre-departure drinks for premium economy class passengers. Personally this is not a big deal to me as I rather enjoy my beverage after take off.
My first impression of the seat, it looks modern and elegant. Comparing this product with the airline's previous ones, it is certainly better with the seat manufacturers competiting with one another, producing better and more impressive products as time passes by. For this product, I appreciate the wider seat width and the ample legroom space which I find it to be adequate for me and the seat cushion to be quite comfortable and with the windows perfectly aligned to my seat, I am very satisfied with my experience.
The Captain and flight purser made the usual announcement in English and Mandarin. The weather in Singapore at that time was having a bit of thunderstorm so it was not a surprise that the Captain warned us of some turbulence to be expected during take off but for the rest of the flight, the weather would be fine and the most important news is that we would arrive ahead of schedule.
Once our plane pushed back, it took us about 15 minutes to reach the active runway, runway 20C and took off in a very wet condition. There was some turbulence during the climb but nothing bad at all. Once we were cleared of the dreadful weather, the rest of the flight was smooth including the landing at Taipei airport.
This set of crew were very good, not only were they friendly, they were proactive before and after the meal service, offering drink refills and checking on us quite often. For the meal service, those who pre-ordered the meal online would receive the meals first. I enjoyed the meal and beverage service and for the rest of the flight, I relaxed and enjoy a movie. In addition, I managed to take a short nap and overall I like this product and I would not have any problem flying this aircraft in this class on long haul.
I did notice the electronic dimmed window at my side was not very responsive, it took quite a while to dim and vice versa. Other than that, the seat and the IFE screen were in tip-top condition.
Although we landed early in Taipei, our gate was not ready so we had to parked along the taxiway for about 10 minutes to allow the gate at our assigned gate to clear before we can go taxi towards it.
For this aircraft, it would rest for the night and would fly on the same flight to Singapore the following day.
Latest Business Class (Royal Laurel)
Seat map of the business class (Aerolopa.com)
Do note: the seat number is missing of the number 4.
There are 26 Thomson Aero Vantage XL seats designed by BMW Designwork and they are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. Each seat has a seat width of 23 inches and be converted into a fully flat bed. The business class passengers can enjoy the 18 inches HD touchscreen display for the In Flight Entertainment and complimentary WiFi (1st July to 30th Sept as the airline has upgrade its wifi service).
Do note: This cabin product is available only on the Boeing 787-9 and -10 fleet for now and the airline has plans to start refurblishing some of the 777-300ER aircraft with this new business class cabin in 2026.
USB-A and AC universal power sockets are available for each passenger.
The cabin photos
The comfortable 1-2-1 cabin photographed during inflight
Thanks to the cabin crew, I managed to explore and photograph the cabin after arrival.
I have experienced this business class product on my flight with LATAM's Boeing 767-300ER and I like the layout of the seats.
For the middle seats, you can choose to sit besides your seat mate or away from him/her.
The cabin crew were finishing off their duty by doing some last minute checks. They have been excellent on my flight.
Solo travellers will appreciate the window side. You can choose to sit either near the aisle or near the window.
For the middle seats, if I have to pick one for myself especially if the window sides are not available, I would pick the seat positioned away from the aisle, most likely I would pick seat 7D.
How should I describe this cabin?
Stylish and Beautiful
EVA Air - a member of the Star Alliance
The first row of the window seats are closer to the crew's work space but they are suitable for passengers requiring bassinet.
For the business class trip report, you can check out One Mile At A Time's version over here.
Cabin crew's workspace
This is situated between the business and premium economy class.
Economy Class
Seat map of the economy class cabin (Aerolopa.com)
1st Cabin
2nd Cabin
I have flown on this airline's Boeing 787-10 which offers an identical economy class product, you can check out the trip report over here.
The cabin photos
The cabin window was not controlled by the crew so anyone can adjust the window shade on this flight.
The first row offers a good amount of legroom space.
These lavatories are located between the 2 cabins of the economy class.
The bulkhead row of the economy class seats is definitely recommended.
The 4th Generation Premium Economy Class
These are the new Recaro R5 cradle seats and there are 28 in this cabin configured in a 2-3-2 arrangement. Each seat has an adjustable headrest with a privacy wing and a reading light on one of left side of the privacy wing. The seat also comes with an adjustable legrest and small storage compartment located in the seat back with the exception of the bulkhead row.
These seats have a generous legroom space of 42 inches, seat width of 19.5 inches, 15.6 inches of IFE Screen Display, adjustable headrest and universal AC and USB-A sockets.
Photos of the cabin
There are 4 rows in this class.
Each seat is provided with a pillow. Blanket is provided upon request.
The 2-3-2 configuration is much appreciated for long haul flights. These seats come with a generous legroom space of 42 inches and that is considered to be one of the most spacious in the market.
Sitting at the last row of this cabin gives me the access of 2 windows.
This window seat is 23K.
This is certainly an upgrade over the economy class seats - wider seats, better legroom space, 2-seater instead of 3 at the window sides and the seat can recline more.
What I like about sitting at the last row of this cabin is I am able to recline without affecting anyone behind me.
View from my seat.
As a 6 foot 4 fellow, I am able to stretch my legs without issues.
The cabin view before departure
Safety video was being played.
The view of the cabin before the meal service
The last middle row seats turned out to be vacant.
I was able to snap more photos of this new premium economy class.
The beautiful mood lighting was on displayed during the last hour of the flight.
This is how the lamp light is like when the cabin lights are dimmed.
Beautiful seats, don't you agree?
The nice warm cozy cabin certainly enhance the comfort level.
At this point, we are close to landing at TPE airport.
More photos of the seat
The seatback comes with a good size IFE screen, coat hanger, foldable tray table and a small storage.
There are 2 buttons used to adjust the seat to recline to a more comfortable position.
Reading lamp at the privacy wing.
Connecting ports for the headset
Adjustable headrest with the privacy wings
My seat was aligned to the window.
Legrest is much appreciated.
The storage area for the inflight magazine, safety card and the headset.
The mini storage to place your smaller items in it. I was able to place my phone in it to allow it to be charged.
The foldable tray table is stored at the handrest area.
There is a mobile device holder on the foldable tray table.
The difference between the windows controlled by the electronic window system.
USB Charging port and USB-A ports are located near the bottom of the handrest area.
A bottle holder and some important instructions to take note of.
The adjustable legrest
What's provided for each passenger?
A decent quality headset
Safety Card
A disposal bag
Duty-free magazine
Headset (Unwrapped)
Wet Towel
Before the meal service, we were given a choice of beverage and a packet of snacks.
We were given 3 options: Seafood Paella, Steamed Chicken Thigh with Cordyceps Flowers and Chicken Rice or selecting the meal offered inflight (Standard meal).
This is the Seafood Paella option
This meal is served together with appetizer, bread and condiment and dessert.
Castella Cake
Seafood Paella
Duck Terrine with Fig Jam Salad
Seasonal fruit selection consists of pineapple, rock melon and dragonfruit.
A choice of beverage - Pepsi
Napkin consists of cutleries
Inflight Entertainment System
The screen size of this product is bigger than the economy class's IFE screen.
I find the screen resolution to be quite adequate.
The route map of my trip
Welcome on board, EVA Air, E-V-A Air or E-V-A Airways! Personally I prefer calling this airline EVA Air.
Safety video is being played.
After the safety video finished, we were able to use the system.
A good selection of movies and audio entertainment is available.
I settle for Captain America movie as I didn't catch this when the movie was out in theatres.
Some important announcement was made and that required our attention.
At this point, we were on our way.
I still prefer Steve Rogers as the Captain America to be honest.
Before landing at Taipei, we were shown a video of the arrival at the home base, reminding and informing us of the rules and regulations when going through security and immigration.
Overall I was satisfied with the IFE system.
Inflight Wifi
The airline will launch an upgraded free access Wi-Fi service for all business class passengers and Infinity Mileagelands loyalty members in July and this free access will last to the end of September, what happens after that, I have no idea so we have to wait for further announcement from the airline regarding this matter.
For this flight, I chose the 30 minutes compimentary wifi.
I was able to keep track of my flight during the first 30 minutes.
I did a speed test of the wifi system and this is the result (shown below).
Lavatory
I used the lavatory at the one located between the premium economy and business class cabins.
Window view photos (Take off to landing)
It was raining at this point.
We entered the threshold and waited for our clearance to take off.
We started rolling down the runway.
Although it was raining, the take off was hardly bumpy.
We were out of the rainy clouds.
The southeast part of Singapore with the cargo ships dominating the sea.
During the climb, we made some turns in order to avoid some bad weather.
There were bits of turbulence during the climb, but nothing bad.
Gloomy weather
Fortunately, the weather was better in Taiwan.
We were greeted with some beautiful sunset during our last hour of the flight.
We were on final approach into Taipei Taoyuan Airport.
We touched down smoothly and arrived ahead of schedule.
My flight summary
This is Terminal 2.
When you fly to Taipei, don't forget to visit this website over here to submit your arrival card within 3 days before arrival. From 1st October 2025, all arrival cards have to be done online as the physical copy will be eliminated.
It took about 15 minutes before I was out at the landside.
With that, I made my way to the airport MRT station.
I took the express train to Taipei Main Station where I changed for the Bannan line to Ximending.
This is Ximending!
My comfortable stay for 8 nights.
Hope you find this trip report useful!
My ratings
Airline Website/Mobile App: 3/5
Airport Experience (SIN): 5/5
Inflight Service: 5/5
Seat Comfort: 5/5
Inflight Entertainment: 5/5
Cabin Ambiance: 5/5
Seat Condition: 5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
InFlight Meal/Beverage: 4/5
Punctuality: 5/5
Overall Rating: 47/50
Percentage: 94%
Conclusion
The airline's newest Premium Economy Class product is certainly an upgrade over the previous product with a good amount of legroom space, a bit more privacy (thanks to the privacy wing) and you might find this seat product on other airlines such as Cathay and Indigo as this product seems to be quite popular and I can understand why. Sitting at the last row of the Premium Economy class is my preferred seat in this cabin as I find the seat more private than the others and also the partition between my seat and the economy class seat behind me ensures that I hear little noise so it's all good. Even with the seat in front of me in full reclined mode, I was able to watch my movie without feeling the screen being too close to my liking and for the seat itself, I find it to be quite comfortable and the leg rest certainly enhance my comfort whenever I feel like using it. For the inflight meal, the arrangement of the meal does feel premium and the quality was quite good and it is not a surprise the airline won the best premium economy class meal for 2025.
Overall, I enjoyed my 4 hours flight in this cabin and I can certainly see myself flying long haul on this product. For now only this aircraft has the new premium economy class product and I believe the Boeing 777-300ER is next to receive this new batch of seats when the aircraft starts its refurblishment program in 2026. Stay tuned for more information on this.
Have a good one!
Charles
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