Tuesday 6 March 2012

A Tribute To EVA Air's Boeing 747 Combi (KUL-TPE route)

Introduction




This report is dedicated to the Boeing 747 Combi aircraft which served the airline very well throughout its working life. It is sad that the aircraft's last flight took place on the 5th of January 2015. However, it will always be in our hearts.

Welcome to my trip report on EVA Air! This is my flight experience with the airline before it joined the star alliance. The airline has done a lot of work to keep itself competitive against its fiercest rivals and there is still work to do to make it to the same league as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and a few others. 

The opportunity to fly with the airline's Boeing 747 Combi was too much to turn down. I checked the airfare between this and Singapore to Taipei return. and this was about a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. Once this decision was made, I did the booking. Back then. the airline's website wasn't as good as the current, but I had no problem with the booking system and also selecting my preferred seat. 

Carrier: EVA Air
Flight number: BR228
Date: 3rd March 2012
Routing: KUL-TPE
Seat number: 21K (empty seat beside mine)
Aircraft Type: Boeing 747-4E5 Combi
My 2nd ride on this aircraft type and the only airline flown on this type.
1st time on B-16403
Engines: 4 x GE CF6-80C2B1F
Line number: 27141
Plane delivered: 10th May 1993
Registration: B-16403
Flight Duration: 4 hrs 15 minutes
Scheduled departure time: 1525
Actual departure time: 1530
Scheduled arrival time: 2000
Actual arrival time: 1945
FL: 360 Bumpy throughout :(
Load factor for Y class:: 90%
Departure gate: C32
Arrival gate: C7
Departure runway: 32R
Arrival runway: 05R




The Queen of the sky - Boeing 747-400. Beautiful right? 

More photos of  B-16403

Sadly, the aircraft was retired and now (July 2014) at the desert being parted out. 


Back in its glory days



                                 Photo of me on board B-16403






On the day of departure


I bid farewell to my friends whom I flew with from Singapore on Jetstar's A320 flight. They were to spend the weekend here while for me, I was on my way to Taipei for another vacation. Taipei is one of my favourite get-away places to enjoy. 


The check-in counters at KUL. 





The viewing mall at KUL gives you an opportunity to photograph aircraft.



It was a quiet period at that time. 



Some of Malaysia Airlines's Boeing 737-800 getting ready for departure.





Do you notice the 2 different liveries in these photos?



United Airways' MD-83 arrived from Dhaka. 







The Airport Traffic Control Tower in KUL.





These are some of the carriers that fly to KUL. As you can see, some of the models are in different scales.



This is at the satellite building. (air-side)









This is Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER 





I was delighted to spot Iran Air's Boeing 747SP.



Heading back to Tehran. 



Beautiful aircraft, isn't it? Around 45 were built. 



Here is my aircraft, B-16403 just arrived from Taipei.



Boeing 747 vs Boeing 777! Which do you prefer?



Photo taken at my gate C3, it looked like a full flight.




What I love about flying the airline's Boeing 747 Combi is that you get to choose the former Evergreen deluxe class seats which are wider than the Economy class ones and has a configuration of 2-2, for the price of the economy class ticket. 


Photo of the Evergreen deluxe class seats





About 38-inch legroom space and with an empty seat beside mine, I had even more legroom space.



2 windows for myself.



There is a closet at the nose of the aircraft where you can hang your jackets and this applies even on Economy class.




My inflight entertainment

Forget about the PTV in front of me, as it wasn't showing anything interesting, so I took out my reliable Ipad and enjoyed my movie. 




Service on board

The crew were generally good. They were pretty reserved but did their jobs well. A couple of them I noticed, paid extra attention to an elderly couple which I felt was a nice touch. Even though the service wasn't as polished as the top airlines, I felt that this crew were not bad. They were professional and were seen regularly walking around in the cabin, ensuring everyone was happy. My rating: 7/10

Meal

There was a choice between the chicken or the fish, I choose the latter. It was not bad. I always like catering from Kuala Lumper, I seldom get bad food flying out of this city. 






Y class cabin photos





The standard economy class seats











An overview of the Deluxe Evergreen Class.



The staircase leads to the Business Class.



Crew's work station.







Seat comfort


I was very fortunate not to have anyone sitting beside, that means I could enjoy as much room space as I could. Legroom space is great and even though the seat may be old, it is quite comfortable. My rating: 8/10


Conclusion

Now that the aircraft has retired, I am glad to have flown it not once, but 3 times. Flying the Boeing 747 Combi may not have much different feeling from the Boeing 747 Pax aircraft, it is still considered a different type for the aviation enthusiasts. Lesser seats and for EVA Air's configuration - a chance to enjoy comfort in the very front cabin, normally used for Business or First Class on other airlines. This airline is still flying the 747-400 pax (January 2015), however, the configuration is different and how long more will this airline fly, I have no idea. But if you have the chance to fly on one, do so before they are gone. As for this airline, it is definitely improving. My verdict: Give this airline a try if you haven't done so and do watch out for the Hello Kitty flights.


My rating:

Website: 6/10
On ground service: 6/10
KUL Airport experience: 6/10
In-flight service: 7/10
Seat comfort: 8/10
Cleanliness: 10/10
IFE System: 3/10
Aircraft condition: 9/10
In-flight meal: 7/10
Punctuality: 10/10
Overall rating: 72/100


Thank for reading my trip report.

Cheers,
Charles

No comments:

Post a Comment