The train ride is about 5 hours and 30 minutes, though there are also routes from Toronto to Ottawa to Montreal, which takes about 7 hours and 30 minutes. Some shorter and longer routes are available depending on the departure time and layover.

Although going by train takes longer than flying, travelling by rail is a different experience. I chose a train departing before lunch as I wanted to have some time to explore Toronto Union Station, the VIA Rail business lounge and, separately, the TD Visa Infinite Credit Card Lounge.

As I began the trip, I was excited to satisfy my curiosity about travelling on VIA Rail in business class. How would the experience compare to flying in business class? Would the seat be as comfortable as on airlines? What would the meal service be like? What amenities and services would I have to look forward to?

Toronto Union Station VIA Business Lounge

The VIA Rail business lounge is on ground level on the northwest side of Union Station. There aren’t many storefronts on the north side, so it’s not difficult to find. Just look for the large VIA Rail business lounge sign outside its doors.

Inside, you turn left and check in by showing your boarding pass. There’s a glass cabinet with VIA Rail branded items possibly available for sale. I didn’t see any price tags, and the cabinet was locked.

Looking out at the long room from the entrance on your right are seats of various couches and individual chairs, the walkway down the middle and on your left, the self-serve beverages counter and some bar seating. Further towards the back is more seating, including individual cubicles and washrooms. My first impression was that I wouldn’t call the lounge cozy, and I thought I may have stepped into a retail bank from the 1950s. There was some old charm in that, though.

The seating was plenty, though personally, I would’ve liked more individual seats than the couches. There were a lot of people, but it didn’t feel busy. As I explored the lounge, I realized why. There were barebones snacks and only limited drinks.

We all know that one of the primary reasons we go to these lounges is for the food and drinks. Here, VIA Rail had apples. No other snacks. I won’t pretend that I wasn’t disappointed. For the drinks, there were two Keurig machines brewing Van Houtte coffee and espresso drinks, including lattes and mochas. Take-out cups were available, so that was appreciated. No napkins though. Cans of soda pop and bottles of juice were in the fridge for self-serve.

Toronto Union Sation Platform

Boarding began 30 minutes ahead of departure, which was 10 minutes earlier than the schedule board was indicating. This being my first time, I headed back out into the station to find my gate. The VIA Rail staff here were very well organized, and I was impressed throughout. While I saw signs for the various gates, there was no distinction between business and economy, unlike the boarding zones I’m so used to at airports.

I only had to look towards the staff, and he quickly approached, scanned my ticket and let me know that business could proceed immediately to the front. It was like he read my mind of the questions I had.

Now, at the front of the lines at the gate, another staff member verified my ticket again and sent me up the escalator to the train platforms. Staff greeted me at the top and let me know that my train was all the way to the front.

VIA Rail Toronto to Montreal Business Review Cabin

Upon entering VIA Rail’s LRC car in business class, I saw a section to store any large baggage. Past that was the galley where the car’s meals would be prepared. Then the passenger seats and at the rear were the washrooms. The windows are large and easy to look out from, even if you don’t have a window seat.

VIA Rail Toronto to Montreal Business Seats

In business, the seats are in a 1-2 configuration. There’s a lot of personal space even if you get a seat with a neighbour.

Next to every seat is a sort of small table. I put my drink here to use the full space of the back seat tray. The width of the business seat here was comparable to any business class flight, but there wasn’t much recline.

Something I really didn’t anticipate was how much shaking there was on the train. Comparably it’s like experiencing turbulence during a flight. During faster speeds, the shaking was seemingly non-stop and very obvious.

VIA Rail Toronto to Montreal Business Facilities

The most obvious feature of the train car, and I’m comparing this to planes, is the large windows. When I found myself gazing out at the Ontario countryside from my aisle seat, it never felt awkward with my neighbour having the window seat. The open space allowed my field of vision to be filled by the windows and not my neighbour.

VIA Rail Business Washroom

The door to the washroom slides open. You’re supposed to lock it closed when in use so an occupied light will turn on outside. Many people didn’t do that. As an accessible washroom, there was plenty of space, or as much as a public washroom on a train could have.

VIA Rail Toronto to Montreal Business Meals

A meal is included with business fare with three options to choose from. This is what we’re really comparing travelling by rail versus by air. My trip was over lunch, with the choices being chicken salad, cod and lentils or a pasta dish. Carrot masala as the side and a spiced carrot cake for dessert were included with all options. To drink were options for wine, soda pop and juice. My cod was fine. Nothing great, nothing awful. I’d rank it better than any airline’s economy meal, but far from business class quality.

Other snacks during the trip included a small bag of snack mix shortly after departure and a small packaged chocolate after lunch. I emphasize small size for both. Drinks, including wine, coffee, soda pop, juice and water, were offered throughout.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, I’m glad I tried VIA Rail and the train. My goal was to experience something different and to compare it to if I had taken a flight to make the same trip. The lounge experience was, well, not much to experience. The seat was quite spacious and comfortable. I really liked the large windows and often found myself putting down my iPad to gaze at the countryside to my right and Lake Ontario to my left. The lunch meal was fine, but that was more because I like cod fish. The snacks could’ve been better, though. All the shaking on the train wasn’t great.

VIA Rail Toronto to Monreal Business Cost

The regular price for this journey is typically about CA $320 one-way. However, since I purchased this in advance and during a sale, it only cost me about $195. That’s comparable to an economy class seat when flying on Air Canada or Porter. That said, even though I arrived in downtown Montreal, the extra commute time was considerable. All in, the journey was close to seven hours. Even factoring in the extra time to get to the airport and downtown after, flying is a faster and often cheaper solution.

About Toronto’s Union Station

Toronto Union Station is the city’s central railway station and transportation hub. The station underwent a multi-year revitalization project, which increased its gross floor area and commuter capacity and saw enhancements as one of Toronto’s iconic buildings. Union Station is the hub for VIA Rail and Amtrak’s inter-city train services and Go Transit’s commuter rail service and coach buses. The station is connected to the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) subway and streetcar systems. There’s also the Union Pearson Express, which is an airport rail link connecting downtown Toronto to Toronto Pearson Internal Airport (YYZ).

About VIA Rail

VIA Rail operates passenger rail services across eight of Canada’s 10 provinces. There are about 460 trains per week. The 12,500-kilometre network connects 450 communities. Four million passengers per year ride VIA Rail trains. My journey would be along VIA Rail’s most popular route, “The Corridor,” which covers southern Ontario and southern Quebec.

EVA (pronounced “E-V-A”) Air is my favourite airline and my go-to whenever I fly to destinations in Southeast Asia like Hong Kong, Taipei or Bangkok. In economy class, they have small touches here and there which makes the experience a little better than economy with some other airlines. But this time, I’d be flying EVA Air Royal Laurel Class (their branded business class cabin) from Toronto to Taipei, which is a product I was very excited to try. For reference, the flight number is BR35 and takes 15 hours and 30 mins to fly from Toronto to Taipei. Check-in is quick in Toronto since EVA only operates the one flight

Since I’m an American Express Platinum cardholder, I usually head to the Plaza Premium  Lounge before my flight. However, since I was flying business class with a Star Alliance member, I was able to get access to the Maple Leaf Lounge, which is where my EVA Air business class Toronto to Taipei review begins.

First off, the Maple Leaf Lounge in Terminal 1 is located on the upper floor before you head down to the gates. It’s very easy to spot as it’s right in front of you after you get off the people movers along that very long corridor towards the international departures gates. It was just past 10 pm at this time and the Maple Leaf Lounge wasn’t too busy even with all the overnight departures out of Toronto Pearson International Airport.

As soon as you get into the lounge you can see the food and bar which is all that really matters at a lounge right? 

The food selection was pretty good with two stations. The first station had a few salads and soup. The hot bar had a good selection of food including steamed rice, brown and black beans, green beans, maple chicken, pasta and creamy dill salmon. There were also a few basic desserts. Even though it was late in the night, I couldn’t help but get a plate for some sampling. The maple chicken and pasta were delicious and I would absolutely order them if this were a restaurant.

There was a good selection of liquor and a few beers in a fridge below. An espresso machine, juices and filtered water was also available to the right of the bar.

The seating was crazy. This room alone was about double the size of the Plaza Premium Lounge. Although there was a decent amount of people, it never felt busy.

Here’s another seating section. If you look at the distance on the right, you can see some internet connected computers which you can use for free. The guy standing on the right was getting a drink from an espresso machine as there’s a second bar and espresso station there.

There’s also a business area with a printer if you want to get some work done. There was no one here, so if you want to relax on your own, this is the place to go. There are also showers available at the Maple Leaf Lounge, but I forgot to get a picture.

Departure was at 12:45 am, and EVA Air uses a similar zone boarding system as Air Canada. Another benefit of flying business class is that I got zone 1 boarding. Zone 1 gets priority boarding after the elderly, disabled and children. I was one of the first people to walk onto the bridge, and here was my first look at the plane – a Boeing 777-300ER, which is the workhorse for long-haul routes. EVA Air Business Class Toronto to Taipei takes 15.5 hours, so I would have a lot of time to enjoy the service.

Business-class seats on this route use a reverse herringbone seat layout and fully reclining chairs. These are also known as pods thanks to the enclosed privacy they offer passengers. All seats have direct aisle access. The middle seats allow you to talk to your companion beside you, or you can pull up the barrier in-between for privacy. Champagne was served almost immediately.

And here’s my pod again. As you can see, it’s a window seat. The dark green colour accents remind me of being in a peaceful forest. As this was my first business class flight, the excitement now really began to kick in. I put my bag down and immediately started taking pictures of everything.

Before I even got settled, already at my seat were a pillow, blanket, slippers, noise cancelling headphones and bottle of Fuji branded water. A flight attendant came by shortly after with the food and drinks menu, confirmed my meal selections and offered a welcome drink which I declined. I did accept the chocolate, though, as I can never pass up chocolate. There was storage space available in all sorts of places. The seat is wide enough that I could comfortably sit cross-legged. There are three pre-programmed modes available: upright for takeoff and landing, reclined for lounging and lie flat as a bed. You can also adjust the seat angle to your liking. I spent most of the flight relaxed with my seat somewhere between the recliner and lie flat angles. An armrest can be raised, which was how I kept it for a little bit more privacy.

The amenity kit was Salvatore Ferragamo branded, and here’s what was inside: Sleeping mask, toothbrush and toothpaste, earplugs, brush, cleaning cloth, hand cream, body lotion and lip balm. The soft kit bag itself was like a clutch handbag and really quite nice. It would become a gift for my mother later. Salvatore Ferragamo is EVA Air’s amenity kit supplier for 2020, and when flying into Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, business class passengers receive the soft kit. When departing from TPE, business class passengers receive the amenity hard kit, which I’ll review in a later post of this trip miniseries. Note that EVA now provides a Rimowa amenity kit soft product in business-class cabins.

About an hour after take-off, the cabin crew began meal service. This was around 1:30 am, so if you prefer to sleep first, then just let the flight attendants know when they come around after boarding to confirm your meal selection. I had already pre-selected my meals online, which are available 21 days before departure with EVA Air, but I still took another look. Since EVA Air is a Taiwan-based airline, there were many Asian dishes and drinks available.

After setting up my tray table, my starter arrived. Goose liver (foie gras) on pumpernickel bread and cheddar cheese with quince paste on whole wheat toast.

Here are pan seared tuna and herb marinated shrimp with cranberry confit. Notice that the meal tray is huge. Also in EVA Air business class, you get the tablecloth, cloth napkin and metal cutlery. Before and after each meal is also a hot towel which was one of my favourite services on the flight.

Here’s stir fried prawn and scallops with XO sauce served with seasonal vegetables and steamed rice. The shrimp and scallops really were as large and plump as the photo shows. It’s not just my camera being up close to them.

Here are assorted fruits and chocolate pecan pie. The pie was so delicious. I wish I had more.

Two washrooms are available in the business class section. This one is in the front and the smaller of the two which is the same size as the economy class washrooms. Another special thing about EVA Air is that the washrooms, regardless of the class section, are cleaned quite frequently.

There were some additional amenities in the washroom if you needed more like toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash and earplugs. The soaps and lotions are higher end compared to those in economy class.

The in-flight entertainment screen was huge and responsive to touch controls. There were a lot of Chinese, Korean, Japanese and American/Hollywood movies. I didn’t watch too much as I bring my iPad with me when travelling, and I didn’t try out the noise cancelling headphones either as I have my own Bose QC35 headphones.

Even though each seat has a huge in-flight entertainment screen, you also get a remote which you can use for the same thing. I used it as a second screen where I always had the live map running.

Now I was ready to sleep, so I asked a flight attendant for a mattress and changed the seat into lie-flat mode. It was quite spacious, and I was surprised at how comfortable it was. On long-haul flights, EVA Air also provides business class passengers with pajamas which I changed into in the larger washroom.

After about five hours of sleep, I awoke feeling a little peckish. Looking over the menu, I asked for the dim sum and jasmine oolong tea. The oolong tea turned out to be a major highlight as it was so incredibly fragrant and soothing that I later had two more cups of it.

Just watching shows on my iPad while sipping some tea. 

Here’s the assorted dim sum: Barbecue pork bun, shrimp siu mai (pork dumpling) and spinach har gow (shrimp dumpling).

For the pre-landing breakfast, there was the option of either Chinese or Western and I went with the latter. This started with assorted fruit, yogurt and I chose a warm croissant on the side. The main course was a spinach and bacon mozzarella frittata, turkey sausage and roasted potatoes.

Here’s the spinach and bacon mozzarella frittata, turkey sausage and roasted potatoes.

This brings us to the end of my first ever business class flight. My favourite thing of EVA Air’s business class product was easily the lie flat bed and being able to get a comfortable night’s sleep. There were so many things here and there combined that continue to make EVA Air my favourite airline. The hot towels before and after meals were always such a good refresher to have. Airline meals which actually taste good! The huge in flight entertainment screen and noise cancelling headphones. The slippers and soft pajamas to make the almost 16-hour flight comfortable. The amenity kit as a souvenir of the experience. This was just the beginning as my trip had a few more business class flights and those reviews are coming soon.

In case you’re curious, here’s the final flight path. Now check out the Emirates A380 First Class Dubai to Toronto review to see how it compares.

When I booked this Aeroplan award redemption there was also the option of flying with Thai Airways on this segment. Although I like Thai Airways, the layover in Taipei would’ve been a little shorter. Being able to try their business class would’ve been great, but for simplicity of seat selection and flying with the same carrier, I decided to stick with EVA Air.

My EVA Air Business Class Boeing 777-300ER Taipei to Bangkok review starts off with the EVA Air lounge which is located in the middle of the terminal on the upper level. On the upper level is also a food court as well as lounges for China Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Plaza Premium and several others. I had an overnight flight so I arrived at 5 am.

The EVA Air Lounge has two lounges – The Infinity and The Star. The Infinity is for EVA Air’s Royal Laurel Business Class (which is covered in this review) and Premium Laurel Premium Economy passengers. I had been given a lounge pass for this back in Toronto when I first checked in.

My EVA Air lounge pass said I had access to The Infinity but I later found out I had a choice of either lounge if I wanted to choose. As you can see there’s plenty of seating.

The centerpiece is the disco tree. Looking at it now it makes me think of a less impressive version of Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.

Having just come from a 16-hour flight I really wanted a shower. You can request a shower reservation at the entrance front desk. The staff will take your boarding pass and give you a pager when a shower room is available. In my case I waited about 15 minutes. The shower rooms include a sink, shower, toilet, hairdryer and amenities.

Every shower gets cleaned immediately after someone uses it so there were fresh amenities laid out for me. I took what I needed for my shower and threw everything else into my suitcase. 

There was plenty of room to comfortably change and shower without ever feeling like you were going to crash into something.

Now refreshed, I headed over to the lounge food and drinks which is everyone’s favourite part of any lounge. First thing I made myself a latte.

Soft drinks, juices, canned coffee and beer. I liked how there were mini-can options and now that I was in Asia, I had drink options not available at home.

Open bar. I have no idea if there are any set hours for the open bar but it was freely available at 6 am.

The hot food station included roasted potatoes, sausages and scrambled eggs.

Cheese and mushroom polenta, roasted mixed vegetables and chicken meatballs.

Beancurd steamed rice, braised mixed vegetables and sautéed tofu.

Since this was Taiwan, there was also dim sum available which included custard buns, pork buns and char siu (barbecue pork) buns. There was also steamed sweet potatoes, won ton dumplings and soup, congee with assorted toppings, salad bar, bread and jams, yogurts and Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Overall, there was much more food available in this lounge compared to the Maple Leaf Lounge in Toronto.

My latte and raspberry vanilla ice cream. I didn’t want to eat too much since I would be having a full meal on the flight, but I did end up getting a plate of eggs, chicken meatballs, sautéed tofu and char siu bun. I almost wished I didn’t have the flight because the infinity lounge food was good and I wanted more.

When it was time for boarding I departed The Infinity lounge and briskly walked to my gate. It was 7 am at this time and Taipei Taoyuan Airport was fully awake. TPE is a huge airport with two terminals and a third currently under construction. Many of the gates and waiting areas are themed like a Chinese pagoda, movie theatre, race track dance club or Hello Kitty.

Upon reaching my gate, I again had the benefit of Zone 1 priority boarding after the elderly, disabled and children. This didn’t appear to be a full flight and I was ushered onboard without any wait. The plane was another Boeing 777-300ER so I was expecting the seat and service to be just as good on this leg.

Business class on this route uses a reverse herringbone seat layout and fully reclining chairs. These are also known as pods thanks to the enclosed privacy they offer passengers. All seats have direct access to the aisle, while the seats in the middle rows allow you to talk to your companion beside you or you can pull up the barrier in-between for privacy.A pillow and noise cancelling headphones were waiting for me at my seat.

Here’s the seat in the fully reclined position. You can ask for a mattress like I did during my first segment. I was fully awake at this time and the flight was 4 hours so didn’t bother. 

Instead, I just watched shows and played games on my iPad the entire flight. I really like the colours EVA Air uses for their Royal Laurel Business Class. The mix of greens makes it feel like being in a forest. I also love the lemonade welcome drink and hot towel refresher.

There were only 6 passengers in the business class rear cabin on this flight. That was a bit surprising but since this was a short-haul flight, maybe people didn’t want to spend that much money (or points) on their seats.

For the breakfast meal, I chose Din Tai Fung’s stewed beef shank with noodle soup. This was accompanied by traditional delicatessens, though not catered by Din Tai Fung, which turned out to be crab meat with asparagus and poached chicken with spicy cucumbers. For reference, Din Tai Fung is one of Taiwan’s most famous restaurants.

The poached chicken was incredibly good.

The full meal course. I had been really looking forward to the beef noodle soup as I’ve never been to any Din Tai Fung restaurant before, but the noodles were too soft for my liking. The chicken however turned out to be a surprise hit.

A few hours later I landed in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). Unlike EVA Air’s long-haul flights, there’s no amenity kit given to business class passengers on short-haul flights. End to end, my EVA Air Business Class Boeing 777-300ER Taipei to Bangkok review is positive. This was a great experience on this segment from the EVA Air The Infinity Lounge to the EVA Air business class seat and meal. 

Now check out the reviews for Emirates A380 First Class Dubai to Toronto and EgyptAir 777-300ER Business Class Toronto to Cairo.

On my first leg, I flew from Bangkok to Taipei in economy class, so I was excited to be headed back to business class. I visited the Oman Air Lounge in Bangkok thanks to my Priority Pass membership courtesy of my American Express Platinum Card. When I made this Aeroplan award redemption I had intentionally chosen an economy flight on that leg as it allowed me to depart in the evening to allow more time in Bangkok on my last day.

Keep reading my EVA Air Business Class Boeing 777-300ER Taipei to San Francisco review for the full experience.

Upon arriving in Taipei I made a beeline to the EVA Air lounges. The EVA Air lounges are located in the middle of the terminal on the upper level. On the upper level is also a food court as well as lounges for China Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Plaza Premium and several others.

From the front desk, The Star Lounge is to the left and The Infinity Lounge is to the right. I tried The Infinity last week and this time I went for The Star. The Star is for Star Alliance Gold members.

It’s not obvious at first when heading into the lounge, but The Star Lounge has a seemingly and an endless amount of seats available.

The lounge had a lot of people waiting for their evening and overnight flights but with so many seats available it was easy to find a private spot.

Upon check in at The Star Lounge, I made a reservation for the shower. The shower rooms here are either shower only or shower and toilet. All shower rooms also have sinks. I think the staff said The Infinity’s shower rooms all have toilets but I wasn’t really paying attention as I didn’t need one with a toilet. I forgot to check out the washroom at the lounge as I didn’t need to use it but the ones in The Infinity were very clean like you might see at a luxury hotel.

The showers use L’Occitane branded amenities. You’re given a 20 minute time limit for the room which is standard for airport lounge showers. Staff clean and refresh the rooms between uses. Amenities include toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, shower cap, hair brush, lip balm and body lotion.

Now that I was refreshed it was time to check out the food at the lounge and eat. Not surprisingly, the amount of food and drinks available at The Star Lounge was very similar to The Infinity Lounge. I wouldn’t be able to say if one was better than the other. There was definitely a range to cover a variety of tastes.

Here are sautéed tofu, braised greens and stir-fried noodles. Other vegetarian dishes included mixed vegetables, black glutinous rice and sweet potatoes.

Chicken meatballs and penne pasta.

Braised potatoes and pumpkin and stir-fried cabbage with bacon.

Make your own noodle soup or dry noodles with fish balls, minced pork, fried shallots and other toppings. Other Asian dishes included steam custard buns, dim sum style steamed beef balls and longan with lotus seed sweet dessert soup.

Minestrone soup. Other dishes not pictured included pork sausages, a salad bar, bread and jams, cookies and desserts.

Movenpick ice cream with strawberry, caramelita, swiss chocolate and stracciatella flavours.

There were also water dispensers, teas and espresso machines for espressos, cappuccinos, lattes and coffee. An open bar was available with a small selection of wines and spirits. A large fridge housed beers, soft drinks, juices and bottled water.

When it was time for boarding I said goodbye to The Star Lounge and headed towards my gate. There was no line for my zone 1 priority boarding but once in the Royal Laurel business class cabin, I saw that I was one of the last business class passengers to board. I guess EVA Air starts boarding earlier than they say. It all went smoothly regardless.

I chose to sit on the port side, or left side, this time for the variety. I was hoping to see the Golden Gate Bridge during the descent into San Francisco but unfortunately that was not to be.

Waiting at my seat were a pillow, blanket, slippers and noise cancelling headphones.

The welcome drink on this flight was some sort of beetroot juice. I wanted to maximize my experience so I said yes to the flight attendant without really paying attention to the drink options. I was thinking I would be getting the lovely lemonade like from my EVA Air Royal Laurel Business Class Taipei to Bangkok flight but that didn’t. I didn’t enjoy the beetroot juice.

I set aside the chocolate for later and refreshed my face with the hot towel. I think the hot towels are one of my favourite things about flying business class. If this was ever an available paid amenity in economy class I would definitely go for it.

Shortly after the flight attendants came by to pass out the Salvatore Ferragamo branded amenity kits and Jason Wu designed 2020 pyjamas. Both the amenity kits and pyjamas are only available on EVA Air’s long haul flights. Of course, I changed into the pyjamas immediately. The third pouch on the right is the slippers which for Royal Laurel business class passengers are better quality than the slippers given out in premium economy class.

In the galley area is a “snack bar.” I wished that I grabbed some snacks when I took this photo because later on in the flight when I returned the snacks were gone and not refilled. This was different from my EVA Air Royal Laurel Business Class Toronto to Taipei flight where the flight attendants brought the snack box around to passengers.

First person view of the seat in lie flat mode with blanket and ready to sleep. As the flight attendant came by to confirm my dinner and breakfast meals, I let her know that I wanted to sleep first and eat later. Normally the first meal service would be 45 to 60 minutes after take-off which would’ve been about 12:30 am Taipei time. I ended up sleeping for about 7 hours which was half the flight duration. What a huge difference comfortable seats can have in being able to get good rest on a flight.

Now rested and wide awake it was time to eat! First off was the shrimp and crab meat in egg crepe parcel and goat cheese in mini tartlet.

Goose liver mousse (foie gras), smoked salmon and champagne jelly. This was a bit fancy for my tastes but it looked pretty.

Beetroot and celery soup. I made myself try this and enjoyed it as much as the earlier beetroot juice which is to say I didn’t enjoy it at all.

Garden salad with creamy French dressing.

I had already pre-selected my meals online which are available 21 days before departure with EVA Air and here I had chosen the pan fried duck breast with Grand Marnier sauce, orange zest, mixed vegetables and gratinated potatoes. The duck was cooked well done which made it a little tough but the orange Grand Marnier sauce went great with it. I think I would want to order this again but I also want to try other business class meals as well.

Here’s what the full meal setup looks like. I missed out on the assorted bread as that seemed to be only available during the original first mealtime. I went with the jasmine oolong tea again as I quite enjoyed it on my EVA Air Royal Laurel Business Class Toronto to Taipei flight. The hot towel service before and after the meals was again great to have.

Dessert was vanilla mousse cake and assorted fruit.

After eating, I had to use the bathroom. Business class washrooms have various amenities including high quality soap and body lotion. The size didn’t feel that much bigger than economy which is was a bit disappointing. That said, one of the washrooms was fully accessible so it was a bit bigger.

Now it was time to check out the Salvatore Ferragamo branded amenity kit. When departing from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, business class passengers receive the amenity hard kit. When flying into TPE, you’ll receive the soft kit. The hard kit doesn’t open a full 180 degrees but it has netting pockets that keep things in place.

Inside the hard kit we have a sleeping mask, microfiber cleaning cloth, toothbrush and toothpaste, brush, earplugs and Salvatore Ferragamo Bianco di Carrara body lotion, lip balm and hand cream.

I have this hard kit on my bathroom counter to remember the great experience I had with EVA Air Royal Laurel Business Class.

A few hours later it was time for breakfast. I had pre-selected the Chinese style option. This included plain rice porridge (jook), scrambled eggs with shrimp and asparagus, braised tofu with shiitake mushrooms and Taiwanese traditional delicatessens which I think were tofu, picked cucumber, braised vegetables and pork floss. And another cup of jasmine oolong tea.

Shortly after the plane began its descent to San Francisco International Airport. It was the evening at this time as you can tell. I didn’t get the see the Golden Gate Bridge but, I did get to watch a beautiful sunset.

The total flight time was about 10 and a half hours. The third and final leg of my return home to Toronto from San Francisco would be with Air Canada Signature Class Business Class. I was looking forward to this as I knew Air Canada’s business class experience was different from EVA Air from the seats to meals to service. However, the flight would have several surprises waiting for me and was only made possible thanks to the best travel credit cards in Canada.

You’re probably wondering why I did such an insane flight path? This was a redemption ticket on Aeroplan with most of the route (including my Toronto to Taipei and Taipei to Bangkok legs) being in business class. Seat availability tends to be an issue so I was happy to take the longer route as most of the flights and dates worked to my advantage.

If you want to see a review and photos of my hotel stays in Thailand or Southeast Asia, just let me know. I split the nights between The St. Regis Bangkok and the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok. It was my first time staying at any St. Regis and I wanted to try and experience the luxury the brand is known for. The Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit is my favourite hotel in the world and I’ve been coming here since 2008. All of my hotel stays were free since I was able to use Marriott Bonvoy points accumulated through my Marriott Bonvoy American Express.

From Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) I flew with EVA Air economy class. At the time when I made this Aeroplan award redemption, there were two flights with EVA Air available. One had a departure time in the morning and was in business class and the other had a departure time late in the afternoon in economy class. No doubt, business class would’ve been more comfortable but I opted to spend more time in Bangkok on my last day. The flight from Bangkok to Taipei is about 4 hours and with having advance seat selection I didn’t feel too bad about going economy.

I arrived at Suvarnabhumi (pronounced “su-wa-na-poom”) about 4 hours before my departure flight. My past experience here told me that it’s usually a good hour to clear security, immigration and customs. With EVA Air you can use the self check-in machines and that’s what I did.

Here’s the view of the airport from a level up. This was in the early afternoon during the peak flight departures period yet the airport was strangely nowhere nearly as busy as usual. Maybe not so strange as this being late February, China had already banned outgoing flights as the COVID-19 outbreak happened a month earlier. Tourists to Asian countries had already started to decrease and here it really shows.

Heading towards security I saw an observation deck on the upper level. Even though the Bangkok airport is relatively new having been complete in 2006. you can see the new satellite terminal under construction in the distance. BKK is one of the busiest airports in the world so I guess it’s not a huge surprise. 

Once past immigration and customs you’re in the main terminal central hallway. This art sculpture is known as Samudra manthan (churning of the ocean) which is a legend in the Hindu philosophy. This is easily one of the most photographed points in the airport.

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport is in the shape of a horizontally wide stretched H shape. From the art sculpture which is located right in the middle, going either left or right down the hallways brings you to many of the same shops and restaurants. Don’t feel that you may be missing out on anything if you choose to go one direction. If you head in the direction of your gate, you’ll likely come across the same stores as going the opposite way.

I always see people browsing in the duty free shops but the cashier was never busy. Even thought you’re technically getting a deal at duty free, since you often have to buy bigger sizes, I get put off. Besides alcohol and cigarettes, I often wonder if you’re actually saving any money at duty free.

This is one of my favourite views at this airport. You can see this from each of the four corners of the terminal. I take a picture in this exact same spot every time I fly through BKK.

Airline lounges at Bangkok airport are on the 3^rd floor which is one floor down from departures on the 4^th floor. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi has a lot of lounges. I counted 22 on the map though it could be less assuming some airlines were sharing lounges. My gate was in Concourse G so I headed towards that direction to the Oman Air Lounge which is in the nearby Concourse E.

Since my departure flight was in economy class I didn’t have access to the EVA Air lounge. However, my Priority Pass membership, through my American Express Platinum Card, gave me access to 14 different lounges here at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. It was a random choice of whichever one happened to be close to my gate.

The Oman Air Lounge has two main rooms. Once past the entrance, to the left are the food and drinks, business centre, washrooms, shower and seating area. The blue lighting has a nice look to it, but it make taking good pictures difficult.

To the right of the entrance is another open seating area. At the rear behind the curtains are lounge chairs where you can lie down and take a nap. The staff at this lounge were really diligent about keeping the lounge clean and organized. The food was constantly being refilled even though there wasn’t that many people here.

There’s a self-serve bar with a good selection of premium alcohol. I appreciate that all the garnishes were perfectly cut and they had the appropriate glasses available depending on your drink.

Below the open bar was mini-fridges full of bottled water, soft drinks, juices, beer and yogurt. I love it when they have individual servings as opposed to fountain drinks at lounges as I’m able to grab a few to go. Foreign drinks make great last-minute gifts.

A variety of Middle Eastern and Asian small bites including duck breast salad, tabbouleh, spring rolls, hummus and olives were available. I like the individual servings where you can just grab and go. Most lounges would just have a giant plate with everything on top or one big platter for the dops.

Smoked duck sandwiches, tuna sandwiches and cheese and crackers were also on hand. The smoked duck was a welcome change from ham and cheese which every other lounge seems to have.

I don’t know why, but I find individually wrapped rolls and slices of bread to be hilarious. I understand it’s to keep things clean, but it feels like such a waste.

Stir-fried noodles with vegetables and stir-fried mixed vegetables. This was clearly aimed at the Asian clientele. 

Plain rice and Thai chicken green curry. You can’t be at a lounge in Thailand without Thai curry right?

Thai fish cakes and chicken teriyaki skewers made up the rest of the hot food buffet. Overall, this was an excellent selection of food at the lounge. It’s definitely better than any lounge in Canada that I’ve been to.

There’s a single shower room here which you can request access to from the staff. It’s just a shower room as the washrooms with toilet and sink are separate. I still had another hour before boarding so I decided to eat first and then take a shower so I would be refreshed for the flight.

The Oman Air Lounge at Bangkok Airport was definitely nice, but it’s no Emirates First Class Lounge. I enjoyed my time, but now it was time for me to board. Here’s the EVA Air Boeing 777-300ER that would be taking me to Taipei.

EVA Air’s Boeing 777-300ER in economy class is in a 3-4-3 configuration. The in-flight entertainment options are the same as in business class. I wonder if any airlines have different movies and shows for different seat classes. The touch screen appeared to use a different LCD technology as the touch interaction was less responsive.

At my seat was a pillow waiting for me. I always choose the aisle seat as I don’t like crossing over people to go to the washroom.

In EVA Air Economy Class the washrooms have Payot toiletries. This is different from EVA Air Royal Laurel Business Class which provides Acqua Colonia toiletries. Is Acqua Colonia a lot better?

At cruising altitude, the dinner service started. I wasn’t hungry after having eaten at the Oman Air Lounge. Really though, I’m not a fan of airline food and I either try to eat right before a flight or bring my own meal(s) and snacks. Out of curiosity, I wanted to try the fish as I’ve never seen the option for a fish meal in economy class before.

The fish and noodles were quite good. The fish was battered through soggy from the sauce and being reheated. The noodles were springy and worked well with the sweet sauce. Also notice that EVA Air continues to provide steel utensils instead of plastic. A trick to defrost the butter is to let it sit on top of the main entrée’s foil cover for a bit before you unwrap the plate and eat.

Just three hours later, I landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE). I would have about two hours here before my next flight which would be with EVA Air Royal Laurel Business Class Boeing 777-300ER to take me to San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

What I like about EVA Air Economy Class is that I can rely on their food to taste good. There are extra little amenities here and there which make the flight experience better like dental floss picks as part of the utensils with meals, earplugs and toothbrushes and toothpaste. I never have any regrets choosing their economy class.

This flight would have normally cost CAD $4,000+, but I practically got it for free thanks to the best travel credit cards in Canada. Some people prefer the best cash back credit cards or no fee credit cards, but you’ll never be able to get as much value out of them compared to travel rewards. 

It took over 26 hours to fly from Bangkok to Taipei to San Francisco to Toronto. Some people may consider this an insane itinerary, but I took advantage of my Aeroplan options which gave me one flight in economy class and two in business class. I visited three airport lounges thanks to the business class tickets and my Priority Pass membership with my American Express Platinum Card.

The journey wasn’t tiring at all as I slept well and had a lot of great food options. If you would like to read about all the flights from this birthday vacation or have any tips to share to make business class flights even better take a look at my other reviews.

• Toronto to Taipei
• Taipei to Bangkok
• Bangkok to Taipei
• Taipei to San Francisco

When flying business class, you must think about the experience from door to door. For me this includes priority check in at the airport, access to the airport lounge(s), the seat, meals and service on the flight, the amenity kit, priority immigration, customs line and ending with priority baggage handling. You won’t necessarily get all of that as there are variations between the airlines and what’s available at airports, but you want to make your trip as memorable as possible.

Air Canada doesn’t have any Maple Leaf Lounges at San Francisco International Airport, but I had access to the United Airlines lounge. That said, I knew there was an American Express Centurion Lounge here which was what I wanted to see during my five hour layover.

I’ve read reviews about the Centurion Lounge San Francisco being regularly full and this was my experience as well. Though the flow of people in and out was frequent enough that people could still get a seat.

What I like about the design of this lounge is that there’s a variety of seating available. Sometimes you want a cozy cubicle, sometimes a sofa and other times a desk.

The coffee, tea and cookies station was well stocked. The cookies were thicker than they appear and were delicious. Just looking at this photo I can still taste them now.

Here’s the eating area with the bar and hot foods. Centurion Lounges have some of the best bars in any airport lounge. I also like that Centurion Lounges have sections separating the rest areas from eating areas.

There’s a self serve wine area with about a dozen bottles available which are a far cry from the dozens you see on the wine wall. As you’ve likely noticed, the lounge was pretty busy at this time which isn’t uncommon since there are many overnight flights.

My other experience with the American Express Centurion Lounge has been at Hong Kong International Airport where their hot foods and bar were better than any other lounge I’ve been to. The Centurion Lounge San Francisco is also of this high quality and experience. Here we have carrots and cauliflower.

Wild rice and chicken breast.

Vegetable soup.

Yogurt and vegetables from the salad bar.

Coleslaw, quinoa and green salads.

Bananas, cookies and apples.

Another coffee and tea station.

The shower rooms use L’Occitane branded amenities. The staff asked what amenities I wanted and I chose the dental kit so I could brush my teeth. The shower curtain didn’t reach the floor and water went out all over the place to the point where I had to use a towel to try to stop the water flow from reaching the door. Staff clean and refresh the rooms between uses.

After a couple of hours relaxing at the lounge, I headed out towards my gate. As it was my first time at SFO, I left a bit early in case there were any security clearances to go through and also to check out the shops and restaurants.

At the time when I booked this Aeroplan award redemption the Air Canada San Francisco to Toronto flight was on a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner which many flyers say is one of the most amazing aircrafts ever built. About four weeks before the flight Air Canada changed the aircraft to an Airbus A330-300. I was disappointed at no longer flying on the Dreamliner but at least I got to keep my bulkhead seat 1A in a fully reclining lie flat pod and 1-1-1 configuration.

At the gate I saw an unusually large number of people queueing for the zone 1 priority boarding. I kind of felt like there was something I was missing and that I would be in for a surprise.

So about that surprise… It turned out that plane for an earlier Air Canada San Francisco to Toronto flight had mechanical issues and passengers were rebooked on my 11:20 pm departure flight. Air Canada brought in a different plane, still an Airbus A330-300, but which had a different business class configuration which was 2-2-2. The seat was still a fully reclining lie flat but I no longer had the privacy of a pod.

This was my first time having a bulkhead seat. Also note that this business class 2-2-2 configuration is Air Canada’s old layout on the A330-300. The tan leather seats also give it away as it doesn’t have Air Canada’s current black, grey and dark blue colour scheme and modern seats.

Waiting at my seat was a bottle of water, pillow, blanket and mattress. Flight attendants came by handing out earbuds and headphone adapters, the latter which I promptly dropped between the seats somewhere.

There was nothing special about the washrooms. It was pretty much the same as economy class as far as I could tell. That said, this plane hadn’t gone through business class refurbishment (yet), so hopefully there will be improvements in the future.

The flight from San Francisco to Toronto was five hours and overnight. Once at cruising altitude I put my seat in lie flat mode, got out the blanket and pillow and went to sleep. I awoke after two hours and spent the time on my Apple iPad until it was time for breakfast meal service.

Air Canada Signature Class Business Class provides hot towel service which was much appreciated. There were no choices for breakfast but I was very happy with what I received. Here we have assorted fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, parsley omelette, chicken sausage, cottage cheese, roasted potatoes, red pepper relish and coffee. It was delicious!

By this time we were above Southwestern Ontario and the sun was rising. Although I just spent a week in Thailand and had some amazing flights on the way back, I was happy to returning home. I wasn’t excited about the snow, but that’s what you get when you live in Canada.

This concludes the story of my birthday vacation. I flew with two airlines, had five flights, flew business class for the first time and went to five lounges. The great time I had just makes me look forward to the next time I get to travel again.