On board EVA Air’s inaugural Dallas-Fort Worth flight

‍DALLAS — On April 22, EVA Air (BR) announced its latest long-haul route, connecting Taipei (TPE) to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). The Texan mega hub became BR’s ninth city in North America to be served with a non-stop connection and the second destination in Texas, in addition to Houston (IAH). 

Starting with three weekly frequencies, the route will increase to five from November 18 through December 14, before becoming a daily connection from December 15. On October 3, the new service launched, and Airways attended the inaugural celebrations and flight to Taipei (TPE) as guests of BR

Howdy, Dallas!

Before flying, I spent some considerable time studying BR’s on-ground and on-board offer. I selected the “automatic check-in” option from the online flight manager portal. I received a notification that my check-in was formalized without any further input from me 48 hours before departure. 

On the same page, I also pre-selected the seat and dining option – more on this later in the trip report – and accessed the e-library, available from seven days before departure. I could also access the quarterly in-flight magazine, which featured the new flight to Dallas on the cover.

EVA Air has deployed its Boeing 787-9 on this route. Flight BR49 is scheduled at 16 hours and 15 minutes, taking off at 10:50 pm from DFW Terminal D before landing in Taipei Taoyuan Terminal 2 at 4:05 am local time, two days later.

As of September 2025, EVA Air’s wide-body fleet includes 33 Boeing 777-300ERs, eight Boeing 787-9, 12 Boeing 787-10 and nine A330-300. The airline is also expecting to receive ten more B787S, split equally between the -9 and -10 variants, and 24 Airbus A350-1000s, ordered between January 2024 and April 2025.

Celebrations

We met up with BR at check-in D50 before clearing security and heading to gate D14, where celebrations were already ongoing. For the occasion, BR provided its guests with dining and entertainment, awaiting the arrival of its delegation from TPE on board flight BR50. I first noticed the brand new amenity kits and pajamas, unveiled during the event for the first time. 

The new amenity kits and sleepwear are designed by Maison Kitsune, a French-Japanese lifestyle brand. The new kits were on display next to the buffet. BR will continue its tradition of offering two different versions of the amenity kit on inbound and outbound flights to/from TPE. The Premium Economy kits were also revamped with new colors.

The event continued with guests trying to win prizes at the gotcha machine and by playing some games – I tried to draw the branded teddy bear and to my surprise, won it on my first attempt.

At around 7:00 pm local time, B-17888 arrived at the gate in a splendid sunset light. Welcomed by the traditional water cannon salute, a large crowd of employees had gathered on the apron to welcome BR’s first flight to DFW.

During the event, media were invited on board to experience the new Premium Economy product, which was deployed for the first time in North America on this route.

Configured in a three-class layout, this Boeing 787-9 features BR’s latest Premium Economy. As the first airline to introduce the cabin class back in 1992, BR is now in its fourth generation of premium economy, which features the Recaro R5 seat and is available on this route. 

With a 2-3-2 layout on the Boeing 787 and an industry-leading 42-inch pitch, the premium economy cabin is simply the best equipped on any Dreamliner and one of the best in the world right now. Each seat provides a 15.6” IFE display and 6” of smart recline, which does not affect the passenger behind – a thoughtful and much-appreciated solution.

Behind the 28 premium economy seats, there are 224 Recaro CL3710 seats arranged in the traditional 3-3-3 pattern. Each seat comes with a pitch of 31”, a 10” HD touchscreen display and a 5” recline.

EVA Air’s business class on the Boeing 777 and 787 is branded Royal Laurel. Both aircraft feature a 1-2-1 layout, with the Boeing 787 introducing the latest hard product generation with the Thompson Vantage XL seat. All seats are forward-facing and provide excellent legroom and good storage options.

After checking out the cabins, we went back to the ceremony, where senior representatives of EVA Air, Dallas-Fort Worth and the region held speeches to commemorate the event. BR’s president, Sun Chia-Ming, thanked the authorities for their support in making this new connection possible and highlighted the new cabin product available on the route.

I then headed for the check-in, where I received my boarding pass. We cleared security again and waited for boarding. Each passenger was given a gift consisting of a stylish Dallas hat and a map board game to get to know Taiwan. We boarded on time, once again from gate D14, ready for a 14:45 hours journey across the Pacific Ocean.

Welcome on board

The very first BR49 flight from DFW to TPE was almost fully booked in all cabins. Royal Laurel and Premium Economy were 100% sold on this inaugural flight. I was allocated seat 8A in the Royal Laurel cabin, the last window seat on the left.

Here I found the new amenity kit, slippers and headphones as well as the menus, a bottle of water, an incredibly comfortable pillow and the blanket for this flight. The cabin crew greeted us warmly and asked passengers their choice of welcome drink.

I immediately checked out the amenity kit, which contains all the usual suspects in a classy hard case. The kit itself comes in a dust bag, quite a rarity in any travel class. The new headphones are well-built and comfortable to wear. I stored my suitcase and backpack in the overhead bins and got comfortable after a rather long day.

Dining

We pushed back the time and headed to the runway for takeoff into the darkness, after which dinner service immediately began. BR is famous for its dining standards, and my expectations were some of the highest I’ve ever had on an aircraft. These were not only met, but exceeded by the spotless service and incredible meal quality. 

I opted for the Royal Laurel Dining, which included a lobster appetizer and Texas BBQ wagyu brisket. Both courses were exceptionally presented, tasty, and well-balanced. The beef in particular was perfectly cooked and melted in my mouth. 

The airline also offers some of the best wines in business class, rivaling some First Class products, and on this flight featured the 2015 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, an expensive French champagne. I skipped the dessert to change into my pajamas and get some much-needed rest after 28 hours awake.

The cabin crew made my bed in no time, and I slept for five hours in complete comfort.

In flight

I woke up and asked for the noodles from the all-day dining menu. I then explored the in-flight entertainment portal, which features around 130 movies, various TV series from around the world, games, an in-flight shopping catalogue, and my favorite, a sleek map. As it was dark outside for the entire flight, I was able to get an idea of our route.

WiFi was complimentary on this flight too and worked brilliantly from doors closing to approach in TPE. It allowed me to use social media, messaging, emails, and even watch the Formula One Qualifying in Singapore live on my phone.

I explored a bit more of the seat, which features a large control panel on the side, together with the IFE remote. There is a reading light, a large mirror in the storage cabinet and two large storage compartments next to your legs. It was not a problem to store my camera, headphones, amenity kits etc.

For some reason, I was still hungry after the noodles, so I asked for the second option from the all-day menu, the Texas burger, before going back to sleep for a few more hours.

Around two hours before landing, the cabin crew woke me up for breakfast. I opted for the fresh fruit platter and French toast, both delightfully presented and delicious. We soon approached TPE, where our flight landed at around 3:10 am local time.

Conclusions

When excellent hard product and soft product combine, not much can be improved. I thought about any area of improvement for this flight on the way to my hotel this morning, and honestly, I still struggle to find any point. The cabin crew was spectacular and masterfully combined a friendly and professional approach. 

All the dining was top level and simply the best I have ever had on any aircraft so far, beating some tough competition from Oman Air (WY), Emirates (EK) and Cathay Pacific (CX). The cabin was as spotless as it gets, the IFE selection was more than satisfactory and enhanced by great WiFi, and the on-time performance was perfect. Thank you, EVA Air, for today’s great experience.

I look forward to visiting the facilities here in Taipei soon – stay tuned for more!