I've done a bit more flying than usual this year, and most of the flying has been in F. It's been a bit of a special year for F flying because, after years of F cabins and never being the only F passenger, it happened three times in the space of 6 months in 2012. The flights involved were NRT-LAX on SQ's A380, YUL-ZRH on LX's A330, and ZRH-YUL, again on LX's A330.
The flights also featured a number of the latest products on offer from several airlines—SQ's A380 suite, TG's 77W suite (now superceded by the A380 offering), EK's 77W suite, NH new F, and LX's new F.
There are lots of pictures representing a number of flights, so the commentary will be brief.
We begin with SFO-NRT in new F on NH's 77W. The new F seating is more private, though the "walls" make access to the windows a bit awkward. The catering is still pretty good, although as usual not as good as NRT-SFO. And the canapés are still pathetic, so I won't show them.
From NH we move to SQ, and a bowl of wonton soup in The Private Room at Changi…
…before boarding SQ 12 SIN-NRT-LAX in an A380 suite. There were 4 passengers on SIN-NRT, and just one on NRT-LAX. The catering was good, though I'd have to say that SQ has challengers now. NH ex-NRT—both Western and Japanese—and LX have excellent catering and I would give them the edge over SQ.
First a pre-departure glass of water and a hot towel as we wait for boarding to complete…
…some cabin views…
…and pre-lunch Krug with honeyed walnuts.
Satay was next…
…followed by a few courses of lunch. Really appreciated having the little dish of sliced chillies to go with the prawns! The prawns themselves were a bit too salty, so the chillies helped distract from that.
We landed at NRT after an uneventful flight spent relaxing and browsing through the IFE. While there's a large selection of movies and programs, I had already seen pretty much everything I wanted to see on previous flights. I was allowed to stay on board during the stopover, and at one point the lead FA came to my suite to tell me "There are no joining passengers to Los Angeles". Since the other SIN-NRT F passengers had disembarked, that meant I had the cabin to myself!
We departed Tokyo on schedule, and I chose some sake for my pre-dinner drink (and of course water to keep hydrated).
