Sep 252017
 



Slept in a little bit, and then did some walking around Singapore in the morning. Frankly, in the heat and humidity, it really wasn’t that pleasant for walking around, so I headed to the mall at Bugis Junction to at least get a bit of air conditioned exercise in (and I won’t lie…I also wanted Starbucks so I killed two birds with one stone.) It was mid-day heat at this point, the time of day when no sane person from northern climes would be caught dead outdoors in Singapore, so I checked out of the Westin and made a hasty retreat to Changi Airport.

Now, let’s be honest. Since I was flying in first I not only had the awesomeness that is Changi at my disposal, but the Private Room in the Singapore Airlines lounge as well. In my previous attempt six months earlier at enjoying Singapore A380 suites the one thing I did right was enjoy the Private Room. But, frankly, after a while a lounge is a lounge and it’s pretty easy to get bored in there. So, I didn’t want to get to the airport TOO early.

Caught an Uber to Changi, piece of cake, and in case you’re unaware many passports can now leave Changi via automated gates so there’s not even a need to queue for passport control. Biggest downside is that you also don’t get stamped out of Singapore…if that matters.

It was early afternoon at this point, and I was getting pretty hungry, so I decided to stop by the Private Room first for a bit of lunch. Today’s menu, notably absent was the lobster which they were serving in February..

I figured I would go with the satay as a starter, which was absolutely delicious, with a glass of champagne. Singapore has really upped the champagne game since my previous visit, however, and they were now pouring 2002 Piper-Heidsieck Millésieme Cuvée Rare. I know I’ve said it before here, but people have long associated Dom Perignon with luxury airline champagne, and Krug is also on that list. In the club scene (at least in the US) Cristal would also be a “bling” label…so it’s always nice to see a really high end champagne that’s different on offer.

I was a little hungry still after the satay, so asked the attendant what was small, and was recommended the dim sum. Perfect amount of food along with the satay, and a rather generous top up of the champagne.

Unfortunately, they only had vanilla ice cream today, but that was just fine with some chocolate flakes and almonds as a dessert!

Completely full on lunch, and with nearly four hours remaining until my flight, I decided to do a lap of the airport. The entire airport. Changi is shaped in a giant U shape with terminal one being the “bottom” of the U that connects terminal three (where the private room is) with terminal two.

Fight thing I saw when I left the lounge was my plane, already parked next to the lounge, waiting to take me to Delhi in a few hours. Coincidentally, it was the same A380 that had delivered me from Sydney the previous day!

So, I walked all the way to the other end of terminal three, the entire length of terminal one, and then to terminal two where I decided I was getting sleepy…and wanted to enjoy the flight ahead…so I stopped for some Starbucks. The people watching in T2 was fascinating, given many budget airlines leave from this terminal.

Walking past this gate, it wasn’t difficult to figure out where this flight was headed. Given the attire of the passengers, many already in their Ihram dress, headed to Jeddah and on to Mecca.

Caught the monorail back to T2, and had a little more time to enjoy the private room. The decor definitely reminds me of a living room…if you live in a really expansive and non-fashionable place with lots of dark wood and marble:

Enjoyed a shower (nothing luxurious at all about the shower facilities in the Private Room), a couple of glasses of champagne, and it was time to finally head down to the gate to enjoy my flight to Delhi.

Singapore Airlines flight 406
Singapore (SIN) to Delhi, India (DEL)
Depart 17:10, Arrive 20:10, Flight Time: 5:30
Airbus A380-800, Registration 9V-SKD, Manufactured 2008, Seat 1F
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 95,685
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,472,662

Compared to the previous day when I had the entire cabin to myself, today I had two other people joining me. It seriously felt so crowded that I want my miles back! Just kidding…but I did move up to suite 1F so it seemed like nobody else was in the cabin, given they were both back in row three. Pic of another A380 as we taxied out:

KLM 777 with a great livery:

Boats in the harbour shortly after takeoff:

One note on the crew. Maybe it was the length of the segment, or maybe Delhi is a less desirable route than Sydney (maybe they do an immediate turnaround?) but there was something slightly less polished – and more fun – about this crew. When I say less-polished I mean it in a good way. People often accuse Singapore crews of being “robotic” and while I have never really found that, this crew was very lighthearted in a way you very rarely see with crews of Asian airlines. There was just enough informality that I really enjoyed this crew.

That said, let’s start with another glass of champagne. Yes, there were also a couple of glasses before takeoff, but I didn’t manage to grab snaps of those:

This was followed by more satay right after takeoff. I definitely got my fill of satay in these 24 hours!

After the satay, the crew suggested they could begin the dinner service in a little over an hour. I’m sure they would have been happy to do it whenever I wanted, but truthfully I was still a little full from the lounge, so that sounded like a great idea. I enjoyed catching up on some tv on the iPad, and soon enough some nuts came around. The champagne was flowing the entire time.

For a starter, “seared tuna on niçoise salad with quail egg” – this was absolutely delicious. Note the water glass, we had quite a bit of turbulence.

Indian style creamy carrot soup with coriander. Spicy, and delicious!

…and I quote: “Green coral lettuce, frisee, spinach, cherry tomato and red radish” – for such a fancy name, it was a pretty meh and blah salad overall.

The Boston Lobster Thermidor. Frankly, the one out of Sydney was better. It was definitely delicious, and that big ripe tomato was amazing, and there was more lobster than out of Sydney, but it was just kind of bland and overcooked from a flavour point of view. That said, it was still in-flight lobster so you have to like it!

Who can say no to a cheeseboard like this?! This is pretty much my idea of Heaven. Lufthansa has some serious competition in the onboard cheese department!

Why yes, I’ll have a nicely plated small amount of each. Should have asked for extra of the Stilton – it was delicious!

In fairness, I wasn’t overly excited by the dessert, which was listed as “chendol with coconut ice cream” but I think at the end of the meal it was definitely the best part. Absolutely delicious, and paired very nicely with a glass of Johnny Walker.

After dinner pralines with my friend Johnny. By the time the meal was over, we were barely an hour away from landing in Delhi.

With that, all too soon, my two fantastic Singapore A380 suites experiences were over. It was a great experience, a fantastic way to travel, and I would love to do it again if the opportunity presents itself. However, I can finally check “flying it just for the fun of it” off my list, and get back to other products I’m still curious to try, as well as just flying the most comfortable product on the routes I do need to fly.

Now, time to engage in the delightful chaos that is India…

Mar 032017
 

Easy trip by train to the Sydney airport, and soon was at the Qatar check-in area. Qatar slightly unusually has one queue feeding into separate check-in counters for first and business, so after asking an agent I ducked under the ropes and waited for the first agent to be free. When she was, I started walking up and the guy at the guy of the long queue literally rushed over and physically shoved me out of the way. I politely asked “are you in first class?” and he just glared at me and went to the desk. Ok, whatever.

When the agent was free she did apologize for what happened (although it was not her fault) which was a nice touch. She informed me that I was all alone today in first, so I would have the cabin to myself – which seat would I like? The cabin was empty when I booked so I had already selected the seat I wanted, but I appreciated her letting me know I could have whichever one I would like. Immigration and security were painless, and soon it was into the departures lounge.

I’ve flown into and out of Sydney multiple times, but never on a OneWorld airline internationally, so I haven’t had the chance to use the Qantas First lounge before now. In general, I’m not a fan of what OneWorld calls first lounges, because they’re usually heaving with all the OneWorld Emerald members, so they’re usually no more quiet or exclusive than a Star Alliance business class lounge.

This lounge was no exception as there were well over 100 guests, but it was huge and well laid-out, so didn’t seem quite so noticeable. Decided on a quick shower to wash off all the rushing around the city, and on the way to the showers noticed our plane parked right in front of the lounge. At least it would be a short walk!

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Showers were fine, nothing special, but definitely got the job done. I decided to head over to the dining area and order some light snacks. I had reached out to a few friends who are well-versed in this lounge, and they told me I had to try the salt and pepper calamari. It was good, but not mind-blowing:

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I was going to leave after this, but the very charming lounge agent named Henry wouldn’t let me leave without some dessert. Ok, now this is fun:

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I stayed around a couple more hours getting some work done, with Henry always being attentive. Despite him only asking once, he never forgot any preferences and as I was leaving, I complimented him on his memory. He smiled and told me “there are three rules in hospitality: smile, genuine, and remember.” I need to hire this guy! I honestly can’t say I remember the last time I’ve received such fantastic service from an airline.

Walking out of the lounge to my plane, the lounge features a very interesting living green stuff wall:

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Boarding was a mad rush for first and business, no separate lines or boarding call, and we were soon aboard.

Qatar Airways flight 909
Sydney, Australia (SYD) to Doha, Qatar (DOH)
Depart 22:10, Arrive 05:05, Flight Time: 14:55
Airbus A380-800, Registration A7-APD, Manufactured 2014, Seat 1K
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 24,006
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,388,407

First thing I noticed…I was already the fourth person in first. I thought I was the only one? Very polite Korean crew, but there was a rather significant communication gap. Their English was some of the poorest I’ve ever had from a crew on Qatar/Etihad/Emirates. They were perfectly polite, however, and Krug soon made an appearance along with olives and cheese. Unique and tasty choice.

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Lots of space, but the seat is rather lacking in privacy. By this point, the cabin had filled to seven of eight seats. I asked the purser what happened and she said “business class is too full today” so I guess there were six lucky people who got operational upgrades to first. Small silver lining, the one seat kept empty was the one across the aisle from me, so they at least tried to keep it as private as possible.

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Lots of folks are fans of Qatar’s lifejacket demo guy in the video, and it appears they have a special guest in the current video:

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Soon after takeoff, it was warm. Very warm. I asked the crew several times if they could turn the temperature down, and they said they were trying, but the cabin remained extremely warm – I would say approximately 25C/80F.

Started off with the caviar course, which came with blinis and toasts, as well as plenty of sides:

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Rather odd what I think was an attempt at a crab cake, but whatever it was was bland.

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Nice bread basket and amazing butter.

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Sous vide lamb  with spinach and feta cheese gnocchi, crushed peas, baby carrots, and radish. Noticeably lacking: anything resembling spinach or feta cheese or gnocchi. The lamb was also cooked well-done. This whole meal was a huge miss.

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The empty seat across the aisle. With the privacy screen up it was pretty private, but had that seat been taken there would have been very little privacy.

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Rather sad cheese plate. The one thing they did nicely was add some jam/chutney to the offering.

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The entertainment selection was pretty extensive, but every video started with an annoying few minute ad for tourist in Qatar. I got kind of sick of them asking this woman about her wedding day. It was more irritating since I was watching tv shows, so every 20-30 minutes I got to watch her.

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Chocolate soufflé  with strawberry coulis:

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Despite the efforts of the crew, the cabin remained an oven. I decided to change into lightweight gym shorts and shirt to try and sleep as opposed to the rather heavy pajamas they were offering. I also tried to stay awake as long as possible on this flight so that I could somewhat switch to arrival time. It must have done the trip, because I slept for a solid eight hours and woke up just about an hour before landing.

Wasn’t too terribly hungry, but the crew insisted I eat a little. Nice little bread basket, some tea, fresh orange juice, and a banana and cinnamon smoothy, which was actually quite tasty.

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I really wasn’t feeling a big breakfast, but I wanted to eat a bit in the lounge, so I just asked for the “cured balik salmon with chive cream cheese, egg and caper berries.” It was smaller than I expected, but plenty untilI got to the lounge. The crew actually seemed offended whtn I wouldn’t let them cook me eggs.

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The cabin hadn’t cooled down at all in flight, so I waited until the last moment to change back into regular clothes. We landed in a very dark Doha about fifteen minutes ahead of schedule and I was wide awake thanks to the time shift.

Overall, Qatar was pretty much what I expected: good, but not great. Like Emirates and Etihad I think the first class product was a lot of show without the little touches that make first class “exceptional.” You can’t just spend money on things like caviar and champagne and expect a world-class product to materialize. It was a big step up from Thai/United/American, but nowhere in the same league as the big boys like Cathay, Singapore, Lufthansa, Air France.

Next up, two hour transit and on to Cairo!

Mar 012017
 

After landing, I had initially planned to head to the office for a few hours to get some work done, but it was absolutely pouring outside and the Private Room was beckoning. Had a rather long walk from my gate today to the lounges, but once inside and after showing my boarding pass, one of the agents insisted on escorting me to the Private Room.

What I’ve personally always loved about Singapore is they manage to deliver perfect service without ever coming across as “hovering” over you or being at all pretentious. It’s the perfect combination of letting you know you’re a valued customer, but giving you the space and amenities to enjoy your time with them how you please. This was my first visit to the Private Room and it was nice to be walked to my seat, asked what I want (Coke Light, still water, and a cold towel please) and then left alone for a couple of hours to get some work done on the laptop.

It was about 2pm by this point, and I was starting to get hungry, so I wandered over to the dining room to check out some lunch. I had the entire place to myself. In the entire lounge at this point it was just me and one other couple. View from my table:

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Panoramic of the Private Lounge dining room. I can’t imagine people eat from the small buffet often.

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Glass of bubbly and some delicious mixed satay to start. The peanut sauce was fantastic. I would quite literally come back to the Private Room just for another helping of this!

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Main course of lobster and asparagus. Skipped the potatoes – don’t want to fill up on empty starches!

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Ice cream? I really shouldn’t..you insist? Fine, for research purposes, of course…

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At this point, it had stopped raining outside, so I decided to walk off the calories and head into the city for a bit as I had almost nine hours left before my connecting flight. Here’s the one thing I didn’t like about the Private Room – nowhere to store luggage. I asked…and then I asked even more nicely, but was sent away to the main terminal left luggage. Got there, and of course the T3 left luggage was closed today. Seems they alternate every day, and today only the T1 terminal left luggage was in service. Seriously?

Took the tram over to T1, found left luggage where a very friendly gentleman patiently weighed my bags and took my money, and then I was able to head through immigration. Just going to the city for three or four hours? Apparently that’s not suspicious at all in Singapore, passport was stamped and I was on my way. Quick train ride into the city, and a great walk through Bugis and and the Downtown Core. I resisted stopping for an overpriced touristy Singapore Sling, and was content to just wander and have some Starbucks. (Again, research purposes of course.)

On my way back to the train I ran into a special Valentines Day outdoor concert where people were having an Adele lip synch contest. It was all at once the most culturally fascinating and disturbing thing I think I’ve ever seen! Made it back to the airport around 7pm and had a quick walk through the terminals before heading back to T1 to retrieve my bags. Tried for 20 minutes to get a good shot of a butterfly in the butterfly garden, but no luck, so finally settled for a picture of people taking a picture of butterflies:

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Back to the Private Room, showed, my boarding pass, and as it was a new shift the desk agent wanted to walk me back to the Private Room. I told her I knew the way and could show myself since I was returning from earlier in the day, and she was happy to let me go. Again, service offered, declined, and no “are you REALLY sure?” Perfect service. The real kicker was when I got back to the Private Room desk, the agent greeted me by name – despite the shift change. I had to ask her. “My colleague from earlier today told me you would be coming back and what you looked like, so I’ve been expecting you.” Now THAT is service.

Couple more hours of work, and it was time for some dinner. I had heard the couple earlier in the day mentioning that the Thai mango salad was delicious, and they were absolutely right!

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The satay was so good earlier, and I didn’t want a huge meal, so I ordered it again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t mixed this time – so wasn’t quite as good, but still excellent.

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Back to my seat to do a little more work, and immediately the attendant was over suggesting I should have more champagne. Well, if you insist…

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“You’re not having desert? I can’t convince you? How about some chocolate ice cream?” Well, how can I resist that. “Maybe some red wine with that?” I swear, these people are enablers…

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With that, my lovely day in the Private Room was over, and it was time for the short 10 minute walk to the gate.

Singapore Airlines Flight 231
Singapore (SIN) to Sydney, Australia (SYD)
Depart 00:45, Arrive 11:40, Flight Time: 7:55
Airbus A380-800, Registration 9V-SKD, Manufactured 2008, Suite 3F
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 16,319
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,380,720

Upon boarding, I was met at the door with “Good Evening Mr. Jason, we’ve been expecting you.” I asked how they knew my name – was I the only one in Suites tonight? “There is one other, but they have an Asian name.” Again, impressive personalized service.

It was noted that I ordered Book the Cook, but “you may like to look at the menu regardless”

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The suite from above:

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Yeah, this is a horrible way to fly.

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Looking across the plane at the empty suites:

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If this suite is a’rockin…don’t come a’knockin!

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Tasty macadamia nuts and cashews with a glass of Krug.

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Very shortly after take off my Boston Lobster Thermadore was delivered. From research online, the difference between the Boston and the classic seemed to be that the Boston is the full lobster, and indeed it was:

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Clearly, it was awful:

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I would post more about the time I enjoyed in suites, but, well, right after eating I fell asleep and was out for fix straight hours, landing just 30 minutes out of Sydney. The crew seemed very disappointed I wasn’t up for any breakfast, but was happy to make me some tea when I asked.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience, and now I have to find an excuse to fly Suites on a much longer daytime route to enjoy all the service (and hopefully get some caviar!) With that, a couple of outstanding flights in Singapore First were behind me, and it was time to enjoy a couple of days in Australia!

Feb 272017
 

I’d planned ahead the night before, and knew exactly what time the first airport express train headed for the airport. Got there five minutes ahead of time, no problems at all, and was at the airport with almost 90 minutes to spare before my flight. Unlike my previous few experiences there was absolutely zero wait at immigration and security (Hong Kong doesn’t have priority security for business/first class) and I had plenty of time to spare. Quick stop at Starbucks for my fix, and then into the lounge.

Nothing says good morning like a glass of Veuve, a nice large cold brew, and a bottle of pretentious French water.

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Decided to eat a light breakfast before boarding, and some maple smoked bacon and poached eggs did the trick nicely.

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Very excited for my first flight in Singapore Suites! The first class section of the lounge wasn’t very big, but plenty big for the five or so people that were in there, including two couples in transit from San Francisco. I had really wanted a window seat, but they were all gone when I booked. I was kind of surprised both couples preferred windows to being together in the centre.

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Short walk to our gate, where my chariot awaited. Normally I find the Hong Kong airport to be a bit of a furnace, but it was nice and chilly at this hour in the morning. So far everything was going great!

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There was already a long queue forming at the gate, but I just held up the boarding pass, and someone ran over and walked me to the front of the line. Now this is the Singapore service I remember!

Singapore Airlines Flight 1
Hong Kong (HKG) to Singapore (SIN)
Depart 8:00, Arrive 12:00, Flight Time: 3:00
Boeing 777-300ER, Registration 9V-SWY, Manufactured 2014, Seat 1D
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 12,411
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,376,812

Once boarded, a super wide seat, although I’m not a huge fan of the leather. It can get kind of sticky if it’s warm. Fortunately, the cabin temp was perfect on this flight.

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This morning’s menu:

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There were still three seats open in first when I checked in, but they all filled at the last minute. Not sure if it was upgrades, OpUps, or what, but my seatmate decided the whole world needed to see his bare feet. Taking the “class” out of “First Class.”

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After takeoff, more champagne was offered. It’s always Krug O’Clock somewhere!

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Since I wasn’t interested in seeing bare feet the entire flight, I built a wall…and made my seatmate pay for it!

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Best fruit plate I’ve ever had on a flight. Not a large portion, but every fruit was perfectly ripe and sweet.

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Cereal with strawberry greek yogurt. I didn’t ask for them combined, and when it came like this I asked “how did you know I wanted the yogurt on the cereal?” I got “Well, Mr Jason, we know all your preferences of course!” I doubt it’s really true, but nicely done…

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Braised beef rib. Phenomenal dish! Just the right amount of savoury and sweet, protein and fat, everything about the dish was perfect.

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Next to my Krug and caviar scrambled eggs on Cathay, this has to be the best airline breakfast I can remember. Singapore really hit a home run with this flight. Down to every little detail, like the signature chopsticks:

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The short flight passed very quickly, and soon we we in Singapore and ready for my 12 hour layover. More to come on that in the next post, but I was really curious to see if Singapore could keep this up for 12 hours in transit as well as the Suites class flight to Sydney.

Feb 112017
 

Well, yes, but before we start, I have to acknowledge some things. Work was crazy the last week, and I was putting in 16 hour days to have any chance of pulling this trip off. At the last minute, thanks to supportive management and coworkers, I was in a place to actually consider this trip as long as I could put in a few hours each day remotely. But then, I started thinking…a trip like this isn’t easy. It’s a lot of time on planes (even in first) and it’s stressful on the body. Plus, didn’t I say I would travel less after I hit every country?

This is when I was reminded I have amazing friends. I leaned on a handful of friends pretty hard to talk through it, and ironically they all ended with the same advice: whichever decision you make, to stay or go, you won’t regret it. Just do what feels right. So, when a decision is 50-50, there’s only one way to decide… Sacajawea I stay, Tails I fly I away…

With that, I flipped it across the room at 3:30 am… (yes, I’d been torn on this decision up until the very last moment)

Tails. I go. Better hurry up and pack and get to the airport. No sleep for me tonight!

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Got to DCA about 45 minutes before the flight, no wait for security, so time for a quick “breakfast” in the United Club. Check out the napkin, guess they know where I’m going:

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Time to board!

United Express flight 3637, operated by Republic
Washington DC National (DCA) to Chicago, O’Hare (ORD)
Depart 6:00, Arrive 7:20, Flight Time: 2:20
Embraer ERJ-175, Registration N731YX, Manufactured 2015, Seat 2A
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 612
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,365,013

Pre-departure beverage. Anything was on offer, water was all I wanted. Gotta pace myself.

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In flight snack basket. Diet Coke and Caramello Latte biscotti – not complainign, I’m addicted to these things.

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Landed O’Hare a few minutes early, and having been up all night needed more caffeine. Of course, they got my name wrong again.

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Made it to the United Polaris Lounge, and they now have a cooked to order menu. Veuve Cliquot and eggs benny. Life is good.

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Because once you start you can’t stop, the Latin American Paper Plane cocktail. Talked to the lounge manager, and the mini paper planes that usually get clipped to the rim he orders from some lady on pinterest, and apparently she can’t make them as fast as he needs them.

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Veuve and ambiance.

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Hallway to the showers and washrooms – I like the “stars” on the ceiling.

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Then, it was time for today’s main show. First of many, many flights in first this trip.

ANA All Nippon flight 11
Chicago, O’Hare (ORD) to Tokyo, Narita (NRT)
Depart 10:45, Arrive 15:10 next day, Flight Time: 13:25
Boeing 777-300ER, Registration JA731A, Manufactured 2004, Seat 2K
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 6,886
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,371,287

My suite for the 12+ hours to Tokyo. The only downside is that it blocks the windows, making it a little hard to look out if you’re not super tall:

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Long trip, trying to minimize luggage and washing clothes, so looking excited in my ANA PJs. Super comfy!

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The post-takeoff Krug has arrived

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Amuse bouche of smoked salmon and scallop tartar in bouchée pie, pumpkin gnocchi with cheese sauce, risotto wrapped in roast beer, and cheese pepper bar. The roast beef was especially tasty.

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Mushroom bavarois with caviar and cauliflower soup. Sad to see they cut back on on the caviar.

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Beautiful presentation, however.

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Salad with bacon and more Krug? Don’t mind if I do!

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Fillet of beef with shallot cream, escargot sauce. Yup, I risked the beef.

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A perfect medium to medium-rare. Best cooked steak I’ve ever had on a plane.

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Cheese! Gorgonzola, camebert, piave vecchio with a glass of Petaluma Shiraz.

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Warm hazelnut bread pudding with vanilla ice cream. It was delicious.

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Post-dinner chocolates and a glass of Hibiki 21 Japanese whiskey. It was amazing….

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Eventually, staying up all night the night before caught up with me, and I passed out. For eight solid hours. It was glorious.

Not five minutes later, there was hot tea waiting for me.

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Snack time! But first…more Krug!

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Japanese set snack. Kobachi (deep-friend scallop with grated daikon radish sauce), Shusai (Saikyo miso-grilled Spanish mackerel), steamed rice, miso soup, and Japanese pickles. She offered me Natto (fermented soybeans) and I wasn’t going to play the weak westerner so I went for it. Taste was just ok, but they were sticky and gluey, and really hard to eat!

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“This is special shellfish for help digest the alcohol.” What are you saying here…

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More cheese was found to finish it off….along with a glass of shiraz.

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The perfect ending – vanilla and caramel ice cream and a few glasses of the Hibiki whiskey. It was amazing.

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Facebook filters show just how enjoyable the Hibiki was…

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Landed 10 minutes early after a suburb flight. Our gate was right next to transfer security, and right next to the ANA Suites lounges. Can’t get much better than that, after my 1000 meter dash across the same airport in December. View from the lounge:

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After a shower I felt amazing, and it was time to continue the trip. ANA hit a home run in all areas pretty much, and can’t wait for the chance to fly them again. At the end of the trip, I’ll post a side-by-side comparison of all the first products.

Aug 142016
 

The best part about The Wing lounge was that I could watch the boarding gate while sipping champagne, and as soon as they announced boarding I could just stroll downstairs and to the front of the line. Nice view of our plane:

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There were a few agents milling around, and as soon as I told one “first class” she escorted me straight to the front of the line and the jetway.

Cathay Pacific flight 846
Hong Kong (HKG) to New York, John F Kennedy (JFK)
Depart 18:45, Arrive 22:40, Flight Time: 15:55
Boeing 777-300ER, Registration B-KPL, Manufactured 2009, Seat 2A
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 136,159
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,325,296

I was looking forward to an amazing flight this time, having gotten some tips from frequent Cathay fliers. My previous experience was Hong Kong to London, and while I thought it was a great flight, I didn’t think it was amazing. After 195 countries, I still have things to learn…and the reason I felt the service wasn’t “amazing” before is because part of their amazing service is not disturbing you if you don’t want to. However, use the call button, and they are more than happy to help. Today’s crew provided a warm welcome, and showed me to my seat:

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Welcome about glass of Krug was poured:

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Tuna amuse bouche while boarding was taking place and Krug was being enjoyed:

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Krug with a view:

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Today’s menu:

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Shortly after takeoff the sun was already setting, and more Krug was offered with mixed nuts. This is a small area for improvement, as almonds and cashews aren’t really an inspired choice. I think Lufthansa’s macadamia nuts may win in this category:

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Table was set, Tom Cruise was pouty, and caviar was served:

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Caviar close-up, complete with the mother of pearl spoon. It’s a toss-up who does the best caviar service, but Cathay is definitely one of the best!

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The cauliflower cream soup was pretty bland, and just had a few bites:

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Breaking all my rules had the salad with prawns, and ate them. I figure if anyone can serve non lethal shellfish on a plane it’s Cathay. It was good, but as with the soup rather bland.

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The pork chop was enormous, and the veg flavourful and quite tasty:

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Cheese course was solid, but I have to give the nod to Lufthansa here…if only for the variety of crackers and a few more cheese options:

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At this point, absolutely stuffed, I declined desert and had the bed made up. I didn’t want to sleep for too long so that I could hopefully fall asleep again shortly after landing at 1030p in New York. Still slept 6-7 hours, and woke up with about five hours left in flight. Now, about that dessert I skipped…time for tea and dessert with another movie:

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About two hours prior to landing seemed like a good time for breakfast. Nice fruit plate, croissants and muffins, and some fresh squeezed orange juice to start things off:

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I had heard rumours this was possible, and the flight attendant seemed a bit confused when I asked for it…but hello scrambled eggs topped with caviar, bacon, sausages, and mushrooms:

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…of course, caviar and scrambled eggs wouldn’t be complete without a glass of krug!

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Overall, an amazing Cathay experience – I couldn’t have asked for much more! Super friendly crew, very comfortable seat, and when I mentioned the cabin was slightly warm they were happy to turn it down a bit. I would have to say with this experience Cathay is right up there with Lufthansa, Singapore, and ANA as my favourite airlines in the world to fly in first!

No drama at all with immigration thanks to Global Entry, and hailing an Uber at JFK was also really easy. Short ride to the hotel for the night.

Change of plans meant I had to head straight to DC from New York instead of going on to Toronto as originally planned. This meant an overnight in New York, or taking a 1am regional train. It was an easy choice, and I stayed at the Sheraton Hong Kong….I mean Sheraton LaGuardia East…in beautiful downtown Flushing…named for being a bit of a toilet…

Uber to LaGuardia in the morning where I had breakfast in the AmEx Centurion Lounge first. Glass of Veuve Cliquot and some eggs benedict while doing some plane watching:

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I haven’t seen a plane this yellow since Hughes Air West in the 1980s!

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Proof I was back in ‘Murica….is it wrong I was hoping it would spontaneously combust?

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Caught the shuttle bus over to the old Marine Terminal for my next flight.

Delta flight 2713, Operated by Shuttle America
New York, LaGuardia (LGA) to Washington DC, National (DCA)
Depart 12:00, Arrive 13:22, Flight Time: 1:22
Embraer E-170, Registration N872RW, Manufactured 2006, Seat 5A
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 136,373
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,325,510

Can’t say too much for being in coach, but hey, 40-50 minutes max flight time in economy comfort with a free firefly and orange juice and snack can’t be beat! Only downside was no Biscoff catered today:

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On approach to DCA…welcome home!

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Overall a fantastic trip, and couldn’t have asked for a better set of flights to end my penultimate country tour with. Now there’s only one more to go with Iceland coming up just over two weeks away!

Oct 242014
 

So, finally the big day was here. Rainy day in Washington, and grabbed the new-ish Silver Line metro out to Dulles. Check-in was smooth, with 14 agents (I counted) and no lines yet. Agents had a bit of trouble figuring out how to tag my bag all the way to Bali (since it was different tickets) but soon had it sorted and I was on my way to the Lufthansa Senator Lounge.

I decided to do a few laps of the A and B terminal first to get a little bit of walking in, but was soon seated with a glass of bubbly and a little breakfast:

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