EVA Air has unveiled a brand-new Business class cabin that will enter service next month when the carrier begins operation using a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
The Dreamliner is configured with 304 seats across two cabins, featuring 26 Royal Laurel Class Business seats and 278 seats in the Economy class cabin.
EVA chose Designworks, a BMW Group company, to synchronise the airline’s international brand image and the Dreamliner’s unique craftsmanship into the design of this latest generation of Royal Laurel Class seats. The design team stepped away from conventional aircraft design and used core concepts of space and brand to create tailor-made business class seats seamlessly integrated into a bespoke cabin environment. The team used mature, muted colours to enhance the feeling of a comfortable, spacious environment.
EVA’s new Royal Laurel Class business cabin seats are 23 inches (58.4 cm) wide and recline into flat-bed positions that can stretch out to as much as 76 inches (193 cm) long, enabling passengers to lie down, get comfortable and sleep on long-haul flights.
“We wanted EVA’s business class experience to be fresh and memorable for passengers and to make service, design and brand all work together,” said Design Director Johannes Lampela from Designworks’ LA Studio.
“Our goal was to take a proven seat platform and make it unique to EVA. From privacy, service, interaction, stowage and amenities, we explored the holistic passenger experience.”
EVA created more comfortable personal spaces by equipping its redesigned Royal Laurel Class seats with adjustable privacy panels and generous built-in storage cabinets. The airline upgraded the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) systems with 18-inch HD touchscreen monitors, the latest noise-cancelling headphones, extra-large fold-out tables for dining or work and auxiliary outlets and USB ports for recharging personal devices or accessing files from Media Player, Photo Viewer and PDF Reader.
Technology and fashion meet economy
EVA called on the Boeing Company’s long-time working partner, Teague, to completely redesign Economy Class on its new 787 Dreamliners. It selected a colour palette that complements shades used in Royal Laurel Class and has created a cabin that is exquisitely elegant.
EVA selected ergonomically designed Economy class seats from RECARO, which feature leather headrests that adjust as much as six inches from the top of the seatback to the highest position. It added customised neck supports with functions, allowing passengers the flexibility to adjust the angle in six directions. It also upgraded the IFE with 12-inch HD touchscreen monitors at every seat, giving passengers more comfort and satisfying entertainment needs 30,000 feet in the air.
In addition to this first Boeing 787-9, EVA expects to take delivery of three more of this model, followed by its first Boeing 787-10 in the second quarter of next year. EVA plans to be operating a total of 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners by 2022.
EVA estimates that it will launch the new Dreamliner on its maiden flight by the end of October 2018. It will fly the aircraft on its Taipei–Hong Kong route until its second Dreamliner is ready to deploy and it can extend the plane’s services to Japan. EVA will steadily expand Dreamliner service to more routes in its network as it adds more of the aircraft to its fleet.
