Eva Air Flying experience

Day 1 - August 13, 2011

Last August 13, 2011, was our flight going to Toronto, Canada via Eva Air. It's my first time to ride on Eva Air. My usual long flights are via Delta. We arrived at 9am for our check in. I found out if you do the online check-in in Eva Air we didn't have to go on the long line. They have a special lane for drop-off of checkin baggage for those who did the online checkin. Our flight was around 1pm in the afternoon. It's not the usual early flights that I experienced with Delta.

Since this is the first time that I'll be flying with my family, we needed to keep our 2 kids preoccupied. Good thing that Ninoy Aquino International Airport installed a play room for kids. All you had to do is sign up and the kid can play for free. We stayed there until 12pm. It's like the usual playroom setup in malls except that there are less toys to choose from.

When we got to the waiting area, the Boarding Pass were already scanned so that boarding on the plane would be a breeze for the passengers. Since were with 2 toddlers, we were one of the first few people who boarded the plane. The theme color of the airline is light green. The airline is much better than Delta. Food is more tasty since it's fit to an asian menu. The complete meal was a main course (Chicken or fish with rice or noodles), bread/cake, fruits. The drinks can range from apple/orange juice, sodas, coffee/tea and water. The flight attendants are friendlier and younger looking than I encoutered with Delta. The seats are more comfy. We only had 1 stop over, which is Taipei, Taiwan. I forgot to mention that Eva Air is the Official Flag carrier in Taiwan. All asian flights via Eva Air passes by Taiwan. They give a toy for each kid that rides their plane.

In the Taipei Airport each gate terminal has a theme. The first gate terminal that we passed by was like a hi-tech nook. There were PC Terminals where people can surf the internet while waiting for there flight. On the far corner was like a mini library nook where there are books on the shelves. The next gate terminal has a Hello Kitty Playroom theme. Beside the terminal was as Hello Kitty Store. In the middle of the gate terminal was a mini theater where kids could watch cartoons. There are 2 play areas on the gate terminal. The first play area that is nearer to the Hello Kitty Store has a big slide. But kids need to remove their shoes first before using the area. The 2nd play area has tables where kids could build blocks. We stayed in this area for 3 hrs to keep the kids preoccupied.

When it was time to board, we needed to go down from the gate terminal. It's easier if we only had a backpack with us rather than a trolley bag. At around past 6pm we boarded the plane going to Toronto. Since we had 2 kids, we were one of the first few people who boarded the planes.

Eva air serves meals 2 hrs after the plane has flown from the airport. And the next meal was served 4 hrs before we landed to Toronto. Technically the whole duration of the flight was 13 hrs. The snacks and drinks are offered every now and then. All seats have their personal TV. The remote control is connected to the side of the armrest. Movies are somehow limited but it's enough to entertain me during the whole duration of the flight. It also has an option to check out the Airplanes current location and arrival time (destination local time). One the mistakes that happened on the reservation of seats for this long flight was both kids was seated beside me. Since Nathan was able to lie down first, Elai could not sleep much because he was uncomfortable of his sleeping position. The only time he was able to sleep was when I let him sit down and lean on me. I too had a hard time sleeping. I only slept once in a while but it wasn't a deep sleep. Nathan on the other hand fell a couple of times because I wasn't able to put a seat belt on him.

When the plane arrived in Toronto, Canada, Jun was wondering why is the sun still shining brightly when it is already 8:30 in the evening. It seems like its still afternoon in Canada. Then when we got nearer to the airport the sun started to set. When we arrived, the first stop that we had was the window to the immigration officer. There wasn't much questions. He only asked for the purpose of the trip. Then we were led to the second window. Same set of questions were asked. Good thing we were able to convince the Immigration Officer that we have no intention of overstaying in Canada.

We stayed in airport waiting for my sister to pick us up. Since we were with the kids, I asked Jun to make the call to my sister's cellphone. However, he got the wrong number and was really becoming impatient in dialing a different number. After 15-30 minutes of waiting, my sister finally arrived. It was nice to see my sister and brother-in-law again. I never realized how much I missed them after seeing them again.