Taipei to Hong Kong on China Airlines B777-300ER in business (TPE-HKG CI C)
I had a long layover scheduled and was toying with options to fill the time when I noticed a few weeks ago that China Airlines' new 77W with brand new business class product was going to some regional flights for crew training and the inaugural was scheduled for the day before my transit. I had enough time to fit a quick return trip and decided to book a side trip to try out the new product.
A few days ago I noticed that the inaugural flight had been pushed back a day. I hoped it wouldn't slip further.
There were three round trip options with the 77W, all TPE-HKG-TPE. The first was early in the morning. I did not want to select this in case my overnight flight was significantly delayed, and in any case by the time I decided to take this side trip there were no business class seats available for the TPE-HKG. The second would give me a good buffer on either side for delays without risking a misconnect across separate tickets. The third was tighter for connecting to my onward flight tonight, but doable and slightly cheaper. I opted for the safe middle option. It was just as well I did - the later flight is running so late I would have had to cancel to avoid a misconnection.
So it transpires I would miss the inaugural flight but be flying on the first day of commercial service.