I live in LA, so -- for now -- I prefer the non-stop from LAX-BKK on Thai, booked thru CO. Maybe I missed some type of deal, but it cost me 125,000 for RT business class when I booked it in April (for flight in November - had to push my departure and return back 1 day each to get ticket). As I recall, the taxes were less than $100 (I recall them being around $50).

Once my UA and CO miles deplete, I plan to shift to Cathay, connecting thru Hong Kong, using AA miles for future flights.

BTW, according to Wikipedia, the LAX-BKK flight is the third longest non-stop flight by time in the World.

EDIT:
I priced my flight immediately after booking, and it would have cost just below $5000. As I recall, economy seats were available for around $1400 at that time and economy plus were going for around $1700. I'm a big guy, so I would've ponied up the extra $$$ for economy plus without thinking twice.