I'm here!

A few flying tips:
1. Ask for the aisle seat in the middle section. Maximum freedom. Minimum disturbances (unless you happen to sit next to someone with an exceptionally small bladder).
2. Asians are always early to the airport, so to get a good seat, you either have to get there early or request it ahead of time. (I got to JFK a little before 8 for a 10 am flight and alas, no more aisle seats, so I had to be the annoying person with the small bladder.)
3. Japan Airlines is awesome (either that, or I've just been flying not-so-good airlines my entire life):
good food: yummy rice crackers for snacks, chopsticks and real silverware during meals, they even have their own "sky time" drink (not spectacular, but pretty cool nonetheless) and self-serve water fountains (I hate bothering flight attendants for water)
individual TV screens: at least 10 choices for movies and games (sadly, 9 hours into my flight, when I wanted to play virtual bowling, I got the blue screen of death - "Please wait while your game downloads...")
excellent service: surprisingly punctual, they speak Japanese, English and Chinese, and they have "lifting water" and "vitalizing lotion" in the very clean bathrooms
terminal arrival in Beijing: there aren't enough terminals in Beijing, so some airlines make you get off the plane and ride a bus.
very affordable: I booked through a travel agent (Happy NY Tours in Flushing), and JAL was about $300 cheaper than Air China and all the other airlines, both online and through the agent. If you don't mind a layover in Tokyo, JAL is definitely worth it.