Guest Reviewer: Chris An avid traveler and obsessive points and miles hound, Chris is my travel buddy extraordinaire. I love him for his enthusiasm, his sense of adventure, and his American Airlines Executive Platinum status benefits. Hope you enjoy his perspective! Background In my previous guest post, I reviewed my Lufthansa First Class flight to Europe for Christmas. For the return journey, I found first class award availability with British Airways, and I decided to book it using AAdvantage miles. It cost a fairly reasonable 62,500 miles for the one-way flight, but the fees and taxes of $382 were a bit steep. Check In British Airways has a separate first class check-in area at Heathrow Terminal 5, so I headed there and was surprised to find a long line of about 15 people. Fortunately there were quite a few check-in desks open, so I only had to wait about 5 minutes to get my boarding pass. I then proceeded to Fast Track security and was airside a few minutes later. Lounge The last time I was at Heathrow Terminal 5, Jen and I tried the Galleries First Lounge, but this time I had access to the Concorde Room, which is only available to first class passengers flying British Airways. Since first class passengers and oneworld Emerald members from other airlines aren’t permitted, the Concorde Room is considered the more exclusive of the two lounges. The lounge is located immediately to the right after exiting security. I first showed my boarding pass to the lady guarding the door, then once inside I needed to show my boarding pass again. Maybe it’s a British thing, but I didn’t find any of the staff members to be particularly welcoming. In fact, they seemed quite annoyed that I had decided to stop by. The lounge has both an indoor sitting area and a terrace overlooking the terminal, and seating consists of various kinds of chairs and couches. In the indoor section, there is a full-service bar, but the staff also walk around and take drink orders. There is no buffet, but there is a restaurant area where food can be ordered. Since I hadn't had breakfast yet, I headed to the dining area and was promptly seated. There were a few British-themed breakfast items on the menu. I opted for the traditional English breakfast, along with an orange juice and a cappuccino. The one thing I couldn’t help but notice was how miserable the wait staff seemed. They all looked incredibly sad and interacted with me as little as possible. Maybe it’s from dealing with overly-entitled passengers all day. A few minutes after ordering, my breakfast arrived. Sadly, I wasn’t incredibly impressed by the food. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t very good. Let’s just say the best part of my meal was the baked beans, which probably came from a tin. The cappuccino tasted mostly like warm water; I couldn’t tell that it contained any coffee or milk. After finishing my breakfast, I headed to the terrace area and found a comfortable lounge chair to relax in for an hour or so, then I headed to my gate. Overall I was disappointed by the Concorde Room, and next time I’ll make sure to visit the Galleries First Lounge instead, which I thought was a better lounge. The Flight British Airways #285 London (LHR) – San Francisco (SFO) Monday, December 29th, 2014 10:50 AM – 1:50 PM : 11 hours, 0 minutes Boeing 747-400: Seat 3A (First Class) Shortly after I arrived at the gate, Fast Track boarding began. There was no separate first class boarding, so first, business, and elites all boarded at the same time. Once on board, I was led to my seat, and got a handshake greeting from the purser. The staff were all extremely friendly and courteous, which was a huge contrast to the staff in the Concorde Room. The cabin was pretty cool-looking - I especially liked that there was subtle blue lighting throughout. However, there were 14 first class seats in the nose of the 747, which made it feel a bit cramped. Luckily, on my flight only eight of the seats were occupied. The seat was comfortable and came with a narrow closet, a lamp, and a fold-out TV screen. The best part was the window, which was huge and had motorized blinds. Although it still had the usual airplane windows behind it, it felt more like the kind of window you’d find on a train than on a plane. After getting settled, I was offered a drink, and I chose champagne. Like Lufthansa, they were serving Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle, which is supposed to be a pretty good champagne, although I can’t really tell these sorts of things. A few minutes later, a flight attendant came by to give me my amenity kit and pajamas (or sleep suit, as they called it). The amenity kit was high quality and came with everything one would need, and the pajamas were good too. They had the British Airways logo and said “First” on them, in case I were to forget which cabin I belonged to.
After take-off, I was offered a drink and I decided to try a Kir Royale. It was excellent and was served with warm mixed nuts. Then, about an hour into the flight, the meal service began. The menu read as follows:
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Guest Reviewer: Chris An avid traveler and obsessive points and miles hound, Chris is my travel buddy extraordinaire. I love him for his enthusiasm, his sense of adventure, and his American Airlines Executive Platinum status benefits. Hope you enjoy his perspective! Background Over the Christmas holidays, I traveled to Scandinavia to visit my family. When I was trying to book my ticket, I didn't find much award availability out of my home airport (SFO), so I included other airports on the west coast in my search. After obsessively checking all the airline search engines multiple times a day (much to Jen's annoyance), I eventually found some first class award space on Lufthansa out of Seattle. It's easy enough to get from San Francisco to Seattle, and I'd never flown Lufthansa First Class before, so I decided to book it. The one-way ticket cost me 110,000 United miles, which is quite steep, but on the plus side the fees and taxes were only about $40. The Flight Lufthansa #491 Seattle (SEA) – Frankfurt (FRA) Sunday, December 21st, 2014 2:05 PM – 9:15 AM (+1) : 10 hours, 10 minutes Airbus A330-300: Seat 2A (First Class) I arrived at SeaTac airport about three hours before my flight and made my way to the Lufthansa check-in area. There was no line at the First Class counter, so I stepped right up and the agent was able to get me checked in quickly. After receiving my boarding pass, she asked me if I wanted an escort through security. Did I want an escort through security? I'd never been asked that question before, so absolutely I wanted an escort through security! I started imagining her shoving aside passengers left and right, carving a path to the front of the line. Unfortunately it turned out that I'd misheard her - it wasn't an escort through security, it was an escort to security. She took me on a 30-second walk from the check-in counters to the end of the security line, and then left me there to fend for myself. So overall not that useful, but it was better than nothing I guess. Lufthansa uses the Club International contract lounge at SeaTac's S gates. The business class section was crowded, but there was a separate first class room which was empty. Within the first class section, the staff checked in on a regular basis to take food and drink orders. Unfortunately the only hot food available was soup, so I decided to skip food and just order an orange juice. Overall I wasn't all that impressed with the lounge, and after about an hour, I left the lounge and headed to the gate, which was a short walk away. Boarding was about 10 minutes delayed, which they apologized for multiple times (oh, Germans). First Class boarding was soon announced and after making my way through the crowd, I was asked by the gate agent if I wanted to be escorted to the plane. Never one to say no to an escort, I agreed and she led me down the jetway and introduced me to one of the flight attendants, who brought me to my seat (2A). The Airbus A330 First Class cabin was elegant and had just two rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. On my flight, there was just one other passenger flying in first class, so it felt incredibly private. The seat was comfortable and had a large TV screen, an ottoman, and plenty of storage. Once seated, I was offered a drink and I chose champagne. She served me a glass of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle, along with a glass of water and some salted macadamia nuts. After enjoying my champagne for a few minutes, the flight attendant came by to provide me with pajamas, slippers, and an amenity kit. The pajamas were Van Laack brand, and although the pajama top was comfortable, the trousers were made of polyester and felt cheap. The amenity kit was manufactured by Rimowa and was the same style as their luggage, which I thought was cool.
Travel Planning: Fall in Asia Review: LAX Star Alliance Lounge Review: Singapore Airlines Suites Class LAX - NRT Review: Park Hyatt Tokyo Recap: Time in Tokyo Review: HND JAL First Class Lounge Review: JAL Business Class HND - GMP Review: IP Boutique Hotel Seoul Recap: Time in Seoul Review: ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class ICN - HKG Review: Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui Recap: Time in Hong Kong Review: HKG Cathay Pacific “The Wing” First Class Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific First Class HKG - SFO Japan Airlines #0093 Haneda Tokyo (HND) – Seoul Gimpo (GMP) Wednesday, October 14th, 2014 3:35 PM – 5:55 PM (+1) : 2 hours, 20 minutes Boeing 767-300ER: Seat 3K (Business Class) After spending a few days in Tokyo, we were headed to Seoul. Honestly, I wasn't incredibly excited about the idea of going to Seoul, but it worked out that we could get business class seats using 15,000 British Airways Avios and $55.55 each, so we went for it. After flying into Narita, we flew out of Haneda, which is much closer to the heart of Tokyo and is actually quite a nice airport. Due to Chris' One World Emerald status, we killed time before our flight in the Japan Airlines First Class lounge and were not far from our gate once boarding began. This particular Japan Airlines flight doesn't have a first class, so as business class passengers, we boarded first. JAL's business class is configured in a 2-2-2 pattern with 30 total seats. The seats recline but are not fully lie-flat. That was really no problem for us on such a short daytime flight, but would be something to think about if taking a long haul flight. The seats were in good condition and featured a small divider between each set of two seats for a small bit of privacy. Admittedly, there wasn't a ton of privacy, but again, it was a short flight and Chris and I were seated next to each other, so we were fine with the configuration. The television, on the other hand, was a bit difficult for me to find and after some searching, I found that you pull it out from under the arm rest. It's an average sized screen that kind of hangs on this ugly metal arm. In all honesty, I absolutely hated it. Definitely not the best way to configure the in-flight entertainment, in my opinion, but again, it was a short flight, so I didn't even use it. Despite the short flight duration and awkward timing (being late afternoon), we were served quite an extensive feast for our in-flight meal. I honestly have no idea what most of the food was, and unlike our Singapore Suites flight, we weren't given a menu to choose from. The meal consisted of some fruit, a soup, some sushi-looking items, several types of meat in different settings, including the main course, which was, I believe, beef served over rice and rice noodles, and a cup of green tea. Really, it was quite extensive, but I wasn't very excited about it personally, so I spent the meal pushing things around my plate while eating the fruit and some rice. What I was excited about, was the miniature bottle of soy sauce that was provided with the meal. I thought it was so cute and really wanted to take it home, but was afraid it would leak all over my suitcase (not to mention, Chris thinks I'm a hoarder), so I didn't. The dessert was undoubtedly the best part of the meal - a small cup of chocolate Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Throughout the flight, the service was friendly and attentive and I appreciated the fact that the flight attendants recognized the fact that we didn't speak Japanese and addressed us in English. Although, to be honest, I really don't know what about me says "I don't speak Japanese", but I digress.
Japan Airlines is a solid choice if you're flying out of Japan and I would honestly highly recommend flying out of or into Haneda rather than Narita due to the proximity to Tokyo if you can manage it. Overall, the flight was easy and enjoyable and we made it to Seoul in one piece. Happy Travels! Travel Planning: Fall in Asia Review: LAX Star Alliance Lounge Review: Singapore Airlines Suites Class LAX - NRT Review: Park Hyatt Tokyo Recap: Time in Tokyo Review: HND JAL First Class Lounge Review: JAL Business Class HND - GMP Review: IP Boutique Hotel Seoul Recap: Time in Seoul Review: ICN Cathay Pacific Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class ICN - HKG Review: Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui Recap: Time in Hong Kong Review: HKG Cathay Pacific “The Wing” First Class Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific First Class HKG - SFO Background We knew we wanted to visit Asia this fall since I had never been, and we had a few ideas of where we would like to visit, but in the end, we booked our trip solely around the premium award availability we were able to find on Singapore Airlines and on Cathay Pacific. We worked with Alex over at Points Pros and he did an amazing job - he booked us on our top two preferred awards - Singapore Airlines Suites class and Cathay Pacific First Class. Both are consistently chosen as the best international first class products in the world, so we were extremely excited, to say the least. Our Suites tickets were booked out of LAX instead of our home airport of SFO because Suites are only available on Singapore's A380 jets, which unfortunately don't currently fly out of SFO. It wasn't too difficult for us to make the hour flight down to LAX, so we were happy to leave from there. Many of you have probably seen the Suites class article on Medium that went viral, where the author mentioned that a one-way Suites class ticket can go for as much as $20,000 and up. This is where travel hacking really shines - we were able to book our tickets for 74,375 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles and $172.80 each in taxes and fees. A steal. Since we don't often fly Singapore Airlines (by often, I mean never), we transferred the points directly from Chase Ultimate Rewards, which recently added KrisFlyer as a transfer partner. Booking this amazing flight is really even easier than you would imagine! The hardest part is really just finding availability. The Flight Disclaimer: Admittedly, this post may make me sound like a bit of a snob. I would like to preface my review by saying that many articles have simply presented all of the positive aspects of flying Singapore Suites, while leaving out anything that might not have been up to par. While this was absolutely one of the best flights I have ever taken in my life, I still want to present a review that is unbiased and honest. Singapore Airlines #11 Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo Narita (NRT) Saturday, September 27th, 2014 3:45 PM – 7:15 PM (+1) : 11 hours, 30 minutes Airbus A380-800: Suite 3D (Suites Class) After months of anticipation, we arrived at LAX around 12:30 PM for our 3:45 PM departure. Admittedly, we were a bit early, but we wanted to be sure we had enough time to settle in at the Star Alliance First Class lounge prior to boarding. We arrived at the Singapore Airlines check-in desk, but unfortunately there was no one covering the Suites line. One of the Business class attendants offered to check us in and even switched out the ticket machine to feed in the special Suites class boarding passes. We were checked in quickly, received our invitation to the Star Alliance First Class Lounge along with our boarding passes, and were directed to the priority line for security. I was honestly a bit disappointed at this point, because almost anyone who has reviewed this flight mentioned that they received an escort to the front of the security line when flying Suites class. Since we were so early, it really didn't matter, but even in the priority security line, we still waited about 20 minutes. Once we made it through security, we proceeded to the first class lounge until it was time for boarding. We arrived at the gate a bit early to get a picture of the plane and to make sure we could be the first to board in order to get some photos of the cabin without awkward looks from the rest of the passengers. This was my second flight ever on an A380 and I really love flying on these planes. It's amazing how incredibly big the airplane is and you really don't even feel anything during takeoff or landing as a result. Singapore situates the Suites class on the first floor in the nose of the aircraft, so we were below the cockpit. Then, economy class was behind us and business class takes up the entire top floor. Suites had its own jet bridge, so once boarding began, it was incredibly efficient. Once we boarded, I did my best to get a few photos of the cabin. Our flight had an older version of the seats, which I think look a bit more plush than the new version (although the new version looks a bit nicer aesthetically). I really have to say, the Suites were amazing. Seriously, I spent a good 10 minutes just trying to believe where I was sitting at that moment - that, and take a million photos. The Suites have a full sliding door and window shades that pull down, although all of those must remain open during takeoff and landing. I really enjoyed the privacy that the Suites offered, but only had the doors and window shades closed when I went to sleep. The rest of the time, I didn't mind having them open since the cabin wasn't completely full and no one was in the Suite next to mine. It seems to me that Suites class is quite empty on most flights, but we had a fairly full cabin on our flight - out of the 14 Suites in the cabin, 8 of them filled up. It's also important to note that the window shades aren't fully "closed" and that there is an open area both at the top and bottom, so really anyone walking by could see directly into the Suite. This does limit you in exactly how much privacy you might have while you're in the Suite.
Once we sat down and I felt like I had enough photos, the cabin crew came around and introduced themselves. We were offered quite a few newspaper choices and pre-flight drinks. Like an idiot, I panicked and ordered a water, but Chris was on the ball and requested a glass of Dom. They also brought around our amenity kits, which were Salvatore Ferragamo branded and each actually had a full sized perfume/cologne inside as well as some lotion and a few other products. Honestly, I wouldn't really call them amenity kits - they were more like product placement for Ferragamo or one of those "free with perfume purchase" things you get from Nordstrom. There was also a pair of socks and an eye mask. We would get our pajamas later. |
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