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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
We’ve long since believed that Taiwan-based EVA Air is the most overlooked transpacific business option, with outstanding service and solid reverse herringbone business-class seats on its 777s. Based on a new sizzle reel showcasing its upcoming Dreamliner business-class cabin, it’s apt to become a wee bit less overlooked.
EVA Air has teamed up with the remarkable BMW Designworks to craft one of the slickest, modernized forward cabins we’ve seen in some while. For those who’ve followed any of BMW Designworks’ other creations, you’ll instantly recognize the connection.
The carrier is slated to take delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 on October 2, 2018, with it quickly entering service by the end of that month. All told, it has ordered 24 787s, with four being the long-range 787-9 and the other 20 being the stretched-out 787-10. The 787-9 will house 26 Royal Laurel business class seats (plus 278 seats in Economy), with 23 inches of width and a maximum extension of 76 inches when it’s converted to lie-flat mode.
While we can debate the decision to eschew a reverse herringbone layout in favor of a Vantage XL-esque seat, the cool colors, thoughtful privacy sliders, massive 18-inch touch-enabled display, copious storage cutouts, power outlets galore and an environment that caters to those who intend to use their laptop/phone with frequency are all pluses.
For those curious about the economy cabin: Those seats will be engineered by Recaro. They’ll boast a leather headrest with 6 inches of up/down adjustment and a 12-inch touch-enabled seatback display.
As it stands today, the inaugural passenger flight for the cabin seen here will be a sub-two-hour hop from Taipei (TPE) to Hong Kong (HKG), with additional routes to be announced at a later date.
Given that EVA Air is a Star Alliance member, we utilized United’s excellent award search calendar to see if the new plane was loaded into the schedule. Unfortunately, it appears that EVA’s 787 isn’t yet scheduled to run any TPE-HKG routes through early 2019, but we’re expecting that to change in short order.
Once the new bird is loaded into the schedule, the best bet for US-based flyers who wish to book an award seat is to proactively earn points that can be transferred into your United MileagePlus account. Chase is a 1:1 transfer partner with United, so now’s a great time to apply for a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months), Chase Sapphire Reserve (50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months) or the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card (80,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months) and complete the minimum spend requirement to net tens of thousands of transferrable Ultimate Rewards points.
You can also book EVA Air flights via Aeroplan, which is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards. Those points are earned on cards such as The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express and The Business Platinum® Card from American Express.
H/T: One Mile at a Time
Featured image of EVA Air 787 Business Class cabin courtesy of EVA Air.
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Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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