Flight Report : BR 892 Hong Kong - Taipei
26 Dec 2025 : 1010-1200
Economy Class

This flight is the first of 4 legs on my redemption itinerary from Hong Kong to Tokyo via Taipei, Okinawa, and Fukuoka. I had an event to attend in Okinawa after Christmas and revenue tickets were over the roof expensive during the holiday high season.

With some miles remaining in my Aeroplan account, I was surprised EVA's inventory opened up. At 8000 miles from Hong Kong to Okinawa, it was a fairly decent price.

Then I wondered what if I extend my trip and head elsewhere in Japan for New Year's. Adding a domestic leg to Tokyo would price the total itinerary to only 20,500 miles. This included advance seat selection as well as a checked bag.

My memory recalls long ago before Air Canada devalued its Aeroplan program, a Star Alliance redemption from Hong Kong to Japan would only cost 20,000 miles roundtrip.

Geopolitical tensions have not seemed to have affected people's desire to go far this Christmas holiday. Japan remains a popular destination and I didn't notice flights being cut out of Hong Kong while it's an entirely different story in mainland China. Expecting crowds, I decided to give some extra time to get to the airport despite it being early on Boxing Day when there shouldn't be any traffic.

I got on the bus around 7:15am for the surprisingly quick 45 minute ride to the airport. Other than a little congestion on the ramp leading up to the departures drop-off zone, it was smooth sailing and there was barely a line for the bag drop counter. I had checked in the day before and there was a staff on hand to direct us to the right line. Even the manual check-in line was very manageable with just a small group waiting. This airline is not using the self-service bag drop machines yet.

With quite some time to go, about 2 hours, I headed downstairs to the arrivals hall to check out a special exhibition. McDonald's is celebrating 50 years in Hong Kong this year, and back in the fall, they hosted an immensely popular exhibition with a retro restaurant re-created from their anniversary ad. It was a sold out event and I couldn't score a ticket. Luckily, this one just opened recently at the airport and is free. Next to it are 2 more retro shops on display.

Check out my detailed photo gallery here : McDonalds 50th Anniversary Celebration

Security was quick and it seems they've opened extra lanes for the holiday rush. I didn't have to wait in line at all to go right up to the machine although it took its time to spit my stuff out. But everything worked smoothly today - even better and faster than a non-holiday.

At this early hour of around 8:30am, there wasn't too much for plane spotting other than Cathay planes. I browsed around the shops and noticed the typical international trends such as a local interpretation of Jellycat, Dubai-style chocolates, and the like.

At HKD $269 for 3 thanks to a buy 2 get 1 free and 20% off offer, the price is even cheaper than the Lindt store in London.

Boarding was about 15 minutes late due to late arrival of the aircraft. I was a bit surprised I'm in zone 2 but here in HK, everyone lines up in a civilized manner with zones 3-5 grouped into a single line and the rest of us separately. The gates are designed with enough space so everyone doesn't gobble into a big group to confuse everyone else joining. We didn't even need to do a photo ID check as they now use facial recognition gates to board. I didn't even need to scan my boarding pass.

Today's short flight will be a on a Dreamliner. Hong Kong - Taipei is a very busy route and most of the flights are on widebodies.

An enthusiastic set of crew welcomed us on board and I soon settled into my window seat in Economy just behind the wing. It had surprisingly good legroom and I feel it would be very comfortable for long-haul.

Unfortunately, even though we all settled quickly, we sat on the ground for a bit and the cockpit updated us twice about the delay due to ground operations. I wasn't sure what that meant though - is there a repair being done, is the luggage still loading, or we're looking for a missing passenger?

So during the wait, I fiddled with the IFE system to see what they've got. There is plenty to keep me entertained on this short flight.

Over the years, I've heard good reviews about them especially on long-haul, and they've had a fairly clean safety record.

I stumbled across the duty-free catalogue and looked for some unique airline merchandise.

Airlines seem to be re-investing in their safety video nowadays and adding a lot of jazz and bling to it. EVA's had a Mission Impossible feel to it.

We eventually pushed back late at 10:57am and took a long taxi to the other end of the airport to take-off 14 minutes later. It's a cloudy day today so there wasn't much to see as we entered the clouds soon after wheels up. I couldn't see the city today.

With just a little over an hour flight time, the crew sprang into action. The seat belt sign never came off but they distributed a hot meal to everyone. There is no choice - just a chicken rice, and it came along with a pastry and a peach tea tetra pack. They also announced due to the short flight time, they will adjust the temperature of drinks.

I found a few spots of chicken in the rice but it was nothing to boast about. Yes, we're spoiled in this part of the world with free lunch for an hour-long flight.

As we approached Taiwan, they started playing various clips reminding us of their biosecurity rules. They are very fearful of bringing in food or diseases that will affect their livestock.

On my past trips, they had patrol dogs sniffing around for contraband. While they're not as onerous as the Australians or the Japanese, you can still feel the tension in the air so it's best not to bring any food in - not even remnants of your airplane meal.

Northern Taiwan typically gets grey and wet winters whereas the south is sunny. Today is a typical cloudy winter day around Taipei.

We landed at 12:23pm. Being half an hour late and with the grey weather, I decided not to head into the city during my 4+ hour layover but to explore the airport.

Taoyuan Airport is quite a distance from the city although the new airport MRT can now make the trip to Taipei Station in 39 minutes - if you are lucky enough to catch an express train. So my original plan was never to go into Taipei, but actually head the other way to Taoyuan, about half the travel time.

It's hard to judge an airline from an hour-long flight only. EVA is not a particular outlier on this route though, since Cathay also offers hot meals. I've also flown China Airlines on an even shorter route from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong and still got a hot meal. So nobody has an edge. Passengers are pampered with a comfortable long-haul aircraft and get fed.

It's a short walk to the transfer desk where we went through security then back upstairs to the departures level.

There are a number of thematically-decorated gates here at Taoyuan airport as well as a brand new concourse that just opened yesterday. I'll have plenty to do during my long layover here.