Some of you may know that I have become a bit of a mile hound lately. Having experienced the nearly 17 hour flight from Hong Kong to New York in both economy and business class, I pretty much decided that I would try my absolute hardest never to fly economy on such a long flight, ever again. Of course, I still wasn't quite ready to start shelling out over USD$6,000 from my own pocket (and that's the lowest fare at the best possible times).
And so my airlines mileage accrual obsession began. I learned a lot but I think I will leave those tips and strategies to the experts (many of whom I read on a daily basis).
All of this is to say that this has turned into a fun little hobby - and I am nowhere as good at it as some the true aficionados, but it is enough to make me happy - especially when I am ensconsed in business class on a long haul flight!
On this recent trip home, I flew Eva Airways from Hong Kong to Taipei, then Taipei to New York City. I will review the lounge first, then my flight experience.
Eva's business class lounge is shared with Virgin, and while I grumbled about not being able to find it at first, it was actually quite nice. It is open air, on the second floor, by gate 60. Even so, it is very quiet and you cannot hear much of what is happening one floor below.
Unlike the Cathay lounges which serve food buffet style, this lounge gives you a set menu. I selected the bean salad and the XO beef with rice. The bean salad was very good (the greens very crisp and fresh, the beans cooked just right, the pita crisps not at all stale or soggy, and the French dressing portioned very well) - the beef with rice not so much. But still flavorful, so I ate it all.
You get nice views of the planes outside:
If you sit on the edge (in their very funky chairs) you can see all of the hustle and bustle down below:
There are loungers if you really want to relax:
Overall, though, the lounge is pretty small. I could see it easily overwhelmed, especially since all food and drinks are served (how European!) but I was there on arguably one of the busiest travel weekends of the year (the weekend before Christmas) and it was still quite comfortable, so maybe they know what they are doing after all.
And so my airlines mileage accrual obsession began. I learned a lot but I think I will leave those tips and strategies to the experts (many of whom I read on a daily basis).
All of this is to say that this has turned into a fun little hobby - and I am nowhere as good at it as some the true aficionados, but it is enough to make me happy - especially when I am ensconsed in business class on a long haul flight!
On this recent trip home, I flew Eva Airways from Hong Kong to Taipei, then Taipei to New York City. I will review the lounge first, then my flight experience.
Eva's business class lounge is shared with Virgin, and while I grumbled about not being able to find it at first, it was actually quite nice. It is open air, on the second floor, by gate 60. Even so, it is very quiet and you cannot hear much of what is happening one floor below.
There is a snazzy bar:
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