Hello, live from somewhere over the Pacific! As I explained yesterday, I booked a last minute trip to Asia in order to review the business class products on China Airlines and Japan Airlines. I’m extremely excited about this, because both airlines have great seats and onboard Wi-Fi, which are my two top priorities on longhaul flights.
I booked the outbound flight on China Airlines’ new 777-300ER using 70,000 Delta SkyMiles, which is a fantastic deal. I’ll have a detailed trip report coming up in the next couple of weeks, but in the meantime I figured I’d share some “live” pictures from the flight.
Before I post the pictures, here are my general thoughts about China Airlines’ new business class product:
- The seats are fantastic. They’re reverse herringbone seats with unique finishes, unlike what I’ve seen on other airlines.
- China Airlines charges $21.95 for 24 hours of Wi-Fi without data caps, which represents a fantastic value.
- The service has been well intentioned and friendly, though there’s a huge language barrier.
- The food has been better than I was expecting. It’s not Austrian, Qatar, or Turkish in terms of quality, but still pretty good, especially given that this is a late night supper flight.
Below are some pictures of the flight so far, as a teaser:
Nice pictures! What an upgrade from your old camera!
That's a nice looking cabin.
Do you happen to speak any Chinese? Why do you think there is a huge language barrier on the flight? Is English happened to be the primary language for China Airlines and Eva Airlines? Is this like that on all Foreign Carriers in the Far East? I wish I was your translator on the flight.
The Business Class Cabin is drop dead Gorgeous, kudos to China Airlines for making it unique!
Seems like a nice business class product, and I like to color scheme of China Airlines' cabin. Looking forward to your review!
Looking forward to your JAL review! I just posted mine from JL 4 and I'm curious what you think of the new SkySuites and the Japanese menu.
Make sure you ask for a comforter and pillow. They don't have mattress pads but the comforter makes a pretty awesome mattress pad and you can use the light blanket on top. One of the most comfortable setups I've had in the air (comparable to CX first in terms of bedding).
Also they were serving the 2004 Pol Roger on my flight to JFK yesterday.. One of my favorites and pretty awesome for J class!
Très bien, Tom.
Nice post as always. But here's the news:
Credit wins my Best Post of Day prize for the second day running. Brief. Clever. First.
The Elitist wins my rarely given Worst Post of the Day prize. Lesson: Never write in a foreign language you don't know. (And, yeah, for those wondering, the accent goes the other way.)
Looks good, just wondering how long your layovers at TPE SIN and HND are
Trés cool, Lucky.
Enjoy! I love the cabin color palette!
Greetings from Hsinchu, Taiwan! Taipei is a nice city with excellent food options and everything. If you have the time, be sure to visit Tainan (a city in the southern part of Taiwan), known for its local food stands and fruit ice cream. Takes about five hours from Taoyuan (where the airport is located) on TRA (regular train), or if you take the HSR (high speed rail), it takes slightly less than an hour. Trust me, Tainan's got the best food in all of Taiwan!
Don't miss out onto the beef noodle soup in the lounge. Probably the best flavor I have tasted.
Make sure to take lots of the pineapple cookie/cakes things they have available in the "lounge" area where you get the cup-o'-soups. They're very addictive.
Foil ramekin and dessert in plastic cup is like putting the target logo on the hood of a bmw
my fiancee is a CI 77W first officer ... too bad he's laying over today and won't be the one taking you across the Pacific.
EVA Air needs to be reviewed again if you wish to make a comparison between the two.
I'd love to hear your thoughts for CI vs BR. Might be going to HK in Jan and considering either of these products.
I think your live update idea is fantastic! How do the Business Class seats compare to their regional competitors' like Korean Air and Japan Airlines?
Ben, how are you liking the new camera?
Nice, thank you for posting the live update. The food looks pretty good.
Lucky, enjoy your flight! Make sure you visit the China Airlines business class lounge in Terminal 1 of TPE!
Hello.