Service on Wings

If what the US-based legacy carriers are doing is any indication, it’s certainly extinct unless you’re prepared to pay extra for it. Alternatively, argues KW Nieh, Executive Vice President of EVA Air, you could travel on one of the handful of Asian airlines that have made passenger service an art.

Combined with innovative cabin choices, state-of-the-art entertainment, ergonomically engineered seats and culturally sensitive menus, service on these airlines still comes with a warm, sincere smile. And it’s a better quality service than most passengers experienced in the good old days.

As David Rowell, publisher of the Travel Insider web site and free weekly newsletter, said: “The legacy American carriers have a disappointing service standard based on an average domestic flight duration of perhaps two hours. The Asian carriers, with vastly longer average flights, know this is unacceptable and so have a completely different service-oriented culture. We can all accept two hours of discomfort and rude, surly service, but when flying for 10-15 hours, the gentle, good service provided by airlines such as Singapore or EVA Air is most welcome.”

Creativity with high standards

The ability to think outside the box and simultaneously maintain high service and safety standards for global operations is a daunting feat for any international corporation. EVA Air has successfully mastered both. In cooperation with Japan’s Sanrio Group, the airline introduced the world’s first Hello Kitty Jet in 2005 and followed with a second in 2006. Early this year, the EVA Kitty Jet was singled out for ‘best livery’ by a major design magazine. Flights on these fun, colorful aircraft are typically fully booked months in advance.

In March, Aero International, a monthly German-published aviation-industry magazine, ranked EVA statistically as one of the “safest airlines in the world.” In ninth place among the 50 largest carriers based on the number of years it has been flying, EVA has been accident-free since its start of operations. Carriers that have flown longer ranked higher on the list.

Building blocks for service

“The concept of caring and professional guest service that Asian hotels are known for is found today in the DNA of Asian airlines flying trans-Pacific routes – but with more innovation,” says Chris Barnett, author of the ‘Barnett on Business Travel’ column for Copley News Service. “The major Asian carriers have invested considerable intellectual and financial assets to create an experience for business travelers that, with few exceptions, you don’t often find on US airlines flying those routes.”

EVA knows how to zero in on what passengers want. A groundbreaking premium-economy cabin in-between business and economy introduced in 1992 is still a hit. Attractive to business and leisure travelers alike and offering comfort close to domestic business for prices only slightly above economy, it’s another EVA innovation that passengers keep fully booked. In 2003, the airline turned its attention to its top cabin and rolled out Premium Laurel. Outfitted with fixed-shell lie-flat seats and advanced Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) systems, this cabin has amenities akin to first class at business prices. The AVOD system is like a home entertainment system at every passenger’s fingertips.

Flying for entertainment

Every single passenger onboard EVA’s new Boeing 777s has his or her own interactive Star Gallery AVOD system with movies, favorite television shows, features, music and video games. Throughout the flight, multilingual content, easy-to-use controls and hi-fidelity noise-canceling headphones, plus movies and features, MP3 albums and video games provide something for everybody.

In Premium Laurel, 10.4-inch-LCD screens operate with remote controls, and the other two cabins have 8.4-inch touch-screens with the highest resolution available. The system also has fast-forward, rewind and pause functions. As an added feature, passengers can send messages to mobile phones or e-mail addresses and receive replies using a digital, easy-to-access short message service (SMS).

Investing in comfort

The aircraft an airline chooses set the stage for its service. Starting with its inaugural flight to Bangkok in 1991, EVA invested more than $4 billion in state-of-the-art luxury aircraft. In 2005, it introduced the first of 15 B777s, representing approximately $1.49 billion more in fleet investment. EVA is now using B777s on flights to Asia from Los Angeles and London, and by mid-2009, will have these aircraft in service on all its US routes.

EVA configured its B777-300ERs in three cabins, Premium Laurel, Elite and Economy Classes. Premium Laurel gives passengers an environment that combines technology and luxury in an extra-large cabin. Seats are 22-inches wide, have a 61-inch pitch and adjustable headrests, electronic seating controls and lumbar supports. Each seat also has a power outlet for laptops and retractable privacy divider. EVA keeps an In-flight Beverage Island in this cabin stocked with designer water, fine wines, snacks, gourmet treats and more. Passenger amenity kits are stuffed with luxury skincare products. And drifting off to sleep is hard to resist under warm, cozy comforters.

With its new B777s, the company upgraded and changed the name of its premium economy cabin from Evergreen Deluxe to Elite Class. The improved cabin is furnished with standard business-class, 18.5-inch-wide seats that have a 38-inch pitch. Adjustable headrests and coat hooks are among details of comfort that make this cabin attractive to so many passengers. Economy Class on 777s exceeds common preconceptions and it outfitted with 18.3-inch-wide seats that have a 33-inch pitch and adjustable headrests.

Food service is a cultural buffet

The airline’s chefs use fresh, wholesome ingredients for meals that satisfy a world of tastes and make passengers feel at home. Passengers outbound from Taiwan can bite into tasty dumpling treats from Din Tai Fung, named by the New York Times as one of the top-10 restaurants in the world. Made from scratch by EVA’s own chefs or catered by a world-class restaurant, nothing leaves the kitchen unless its aroma, flavor and color are just right.

The airline hires chefs native to countries it serves and holds food tastings. It presents seasonal Western and Eastern dining choices on tasteful bone china with stainless utensils and attentive service. It has equipped galleys on its new B777-300ERs with steam ovens and microwaves to keep dishes warm and tasty. It also added espresso machines to give passengers an extra treat and fresh, hot coffee whenever they want it, and chillers to keep fine wines at the right temperature, ready to be poured.

Passengers booked in EVA’s Premium Laurel, Super First and Business Classes from most gateways can pre-select in-flight meals as early as three weeks ahead and as late as 24 hours before their scheduled departure. All ticketed passengers need to do is go to the company’s web site and click on the Meal Order option at the top of the page. Passengers who order in advance have more menu choices than they will in-flight, and this ensures that they get the meals they want.

Travel made easy

Early morning arrivals in Taipei from EVA’s North American gateways in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Newark and Vancouver are perfect for making one-stop connections onward to almost any destination in Asia, whether it’s Bangkok or Sapporo. Return connections are equally convenient. Booking, buying, seat selection and more information are available on the EVA Air web site at http://www.evaair.com/.