BDSC
Contributor
I recently returned from a two week vacation in Palau and thought I'd take a minute and report on using China Airlines to get there. Overall we had a really good experience using them and would do so again.
China Airlines had a flight that left LAX at 11:25pm on Thursday evening and arrived in Taipei at 5:50am Saturday morning. It was basically a 14.5 hour flight. We then had a layover of about 7 hours and left Taipei at 1:35pm arriving in Koror at 6:35pm Saturday evening. That was approximately a 4 hour flight.
The only downside with the schedule is the long layover in Taipei but the plus side is you get into Palau at a reasonable time at 6:35pm instead of 1, 2, or 3:00am like many of the airlines do. With a 6:35pm arrival, you have plenty of time to get to your hotel, get checked in, and get a good nights sleep to be ready to dive the next day.
The return flight had us leave Palau at 7:25pm on Saturday back to Taipei arriving at 10:05pm. You then have a 1:45 layover and leave Taipei at 11:50 pm arriving back in LAX at 7:25pm on Saturday. We were a little late leaving Palau but still had no problem connecting in Taipei.
The plane from LAX to Taipei in one of their newer planes that offers a "premium economy" section. The seats are 2" wider (19" instead of 17") than economy. That's what we booked and I found the seats to be very comfortable and the two extra inches are noticeable. They offer decent headphones and have all kinds of entertainment options with movies, games, etc. The food was not bad but it is airline food. I think we had two meals each way. The crew was excellent.
I don't know if this is going to be a standard practice but when we booked, they had a deal where if you booked the premium economy section, they would bump you to first class on the second leg of the flight from Taipei to Palau because they don't offer premium economy on that flight. But you need to book early because first class space is limited on that leg and it's first come first serve. As a bonus, if you get the first class upgrade, you can relax in the China Airlines lounge in Taipei when you have the long layover. They had nice chairs, sofas, and lots of food and drinks to pick from. I think we paid right at $1400 r/t for the ticket.
Overall I enjoyed flying with them and would use them again for sure.
China Airlines had a flight that left LAX at 11:25pm on Thursday evening and arrived in Taipei at 5:50am Saturday morning. It was basically a 14.5 hour flight. We then had a layover of about 7 hours and left Taipei at 1:35pm arriving in Koror at 6:35pm Saturday evening. That was approximately a 4 hour flight.
The only downside with the schedule is the long layover in Taipei but the plus side is you get into Palau at a reasonable time at 6:35pm instead of 1, 2, or 3:00am like many of the airlines do. With a 6:35pm arrival, you have plenty of time to get to your hotel, get checked in, and get a good nights sleep to be ready to dive the next day.
The return flight had us leave Palau at 7:25pm on Saturday back to Taipei arriving at 10:05pm. You then have a 1:45 layover and leave Taipei at 11:50 pm arriving back in LAX at 7:25pm on Saturday. We were a little late leaving Palau but still had no problem connecting in Taipei.
The plane from LAX to Taipei in one of their newer planes that offers a "premium economy" section. The seats are 2" wider (19" instead of 17") than economy. That's what we booked and I found the seats to be very comfortable and the two extra inches are noticeable. They offer decent headphones and have all kinds of entertainment options with movies, games, etc. The food was not bad but it is airline food. I think we had two meals each way. The crew was excellent.
I don't know if this is going to be a standard practice but when we booked, they had a deal where if you booked the premium economy section, they would bump you to first class on the second leg of the flight from Taipei to Palau because they don't offer premium economy on that flight. But you need to book early because first class space is limited on that leg and it's first come first serve. As a bonus, if you get the first class upgrade, you can relax in the China Airlines lounge in Taipei when you have the long layover. They had nice chairs, sofas, and lots of food and drinks to pick from. I think we paid right at $1400 r/t for the ticket.
Overall I enjoyed flying with them and would use them again for sure.
