I made the 16-hour flight to Taipei aboard China Airlines' recently launched nonstop service from New York Kennedy, in the Premium Business Class section of one of the carrier's four new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
The aircraft's interior design, with its mood lighting and walls paneled with persimmon wood, is intended to evoke the aesthetics of the Song Dynasty of the 10th to 13th centuries, according to the airline, but its amenities are squarely 21st century. Passengers in the 777's 40 lie-flat Premium Business Class seats, in a 1-2-1 cabin configuration, each have an 18-inch touch screen offering movies on demand, TV shows, games and music.
Elsewhere in the cabin, passengers can stretch out in one of 30 Family Couch seats in coach (three seats that convert into a sofa bed), while passengers in Premium Economy Class have 39 inches of legroom.