avek00
Mar 19, 01, 2:54 pm
11MAR NW496 ATL-DTW D95 2A
Uneventful flight in NW First Class. The infamous chicken sandwich was served; but since I requested a special meal (child's), I received a yummy PBJ. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Arrived into DTW 10 minutes early.
11MAR NW087 DTW-PEK 744 21K
I tried several times at the airport to get an upgrade on this flight, but to no avail. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Seat 21C turned out to be a bulkhead seat, but without the floor cutout, giving me less space than the average Coach seat. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Flight was completely full, so no seat changes allowed.
However, I did meet a NW flight attendant who I had chatted with earlier at planebusiness.com. John was working NW087 and went out of his way to make a grueling 13-hour journey into a pleasant experience. He was even able to arrange a visit to the cockpit of the 747-400, which I had never seen in person before.
NW serves 2 1/2 meals on these flights: Dinner, Breakfast, and a mid-flight snack. I had a chicken-and-potatoes dish for dinner, and a plate of scrambled eggs for breakfast. The midflight snack was crackers-and-cheese and ice cream. Three movies were shown: Charlie's Angels (the worst film I've ever seen), Unbreakable (pretty good, but why would an airline show a film centering around a transportation accident), and a Chinese film whose title I don't remember but was quite good.
During my week in Beijing, I visited, among other places, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Lamasery, and the infamous Great Wall (FWIW, I climbed the steeper left side along its enitre length). Shopping was an adventure in and of itself in Beijing, epecially at Silk Road ad the Lufthansa Centre. My tour guide, Catherine Cao, was absolutely wonderful. There were many instances where she cut through red tape and got things done "in a flash".
The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel was very good; it is apparent that the hotel was recently refurbished. As a Starwood Gold member, I was upgraded to a Junior Suite, which was spacious.
18MAR NW088 PEK-DTW 744 21C (but really 74B)
At the check-in desk in Beijing, the WBC agent told me that the flight is lightly overbooked in WBC but heavily oversold in Coach, so things don't look good for an upgrade. But hellbent on obtaining an upgrade, I waited until the last minute before boarding. The gate supervisor calls my name, and give a seat in 74B, the upper deck. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
WBC was paradise compared to Coach. This aircraft had the "upgraded" WBC, with increased space and improved audio. The FAs for WBC were OK; however, one detraction was their failure to serve the mid-flight snack (cup of noodeles and ice cream); pax interested in one had to go back to the galley.
18MAR NW495 DTW-ATL D95 02A
Another uneventful flight. Same service as NW496.
All in all, an excellent trip.
Uneventful flight in NW First Class. The infamous chicken sandwich was served; but since I requested a special meal (child's), I received a yummy PBJ. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Arrived into DTW 10 minutes early.
11MAR NW087 DTW-PEK 744 21K
I tried several times at the airport to get an upgrade on this flight, but to no avail. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Seat 21C turned out to be a bulkhead seat, but without the floor cutout, giving me less space than the average Coach seat. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Flight was completely full, so no seat changes allowed.
However, I did meet a NW flight attendant who I had chatted with earlier at planebusiness.com. John was working NW087 and went out of his way to make a grueling 13-hour journey into a pleasant experience. He was even able to arrange a visit to the cockpit of the 747-400, which I had never seen in person before.
NW serves 2 1/2 meals on these flights: Dinner, Breakfast, and a mid-flight snack. I had a chicken-and-potatoes dish for dinner, and a plate of scrambled eggs for breakfast. The midflight snack was crackers-and-cheese and ice cream. Three movies were shown: Charlie's Angels (the worst film I've ever seen), Unbreakable (pretty good, but why would an airline show a film centering around a transportation accident), and a Chinese film whose title I don't remember but was quite good.
During my week in Beijing, I visited, among other places, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Lamasery, and the infamous Great Wall (FWIW, I climbed the steeper left side along its enitre length). Shopping was an adventure in and of itself in Beijing, epecially at Silk Road ad the Lufthansa Centre. My tour guide, Catherine Cao, was absolutely wonderful. There were many instances where she cut through red tape and got things done "in a flash".
The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel was very good; it is apparent that the hotel was recently refurbished. As a Starwood Gold member, I was upgraded to a Junior Suite, which was spacious.
18MAR NW088 PEK-DTW 744 21C (but really 74B)
At the check-in desk in Beijing, the WBC agent told me that the flight is lightly overbooked in WBC but heavily oversold in Coach, so things don't look good for an upgrade. But hellbent on obtaining an upgrade, I waited until the last minute before boarding. The gate supervisor calls my name, and give a seat in 74B, the upper deck. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
WBC was paradise compared to Coach. This aircraft had the "upgraded" WBC, with increased space and improved audio. The FAs for WBC were OK; however, one detraction was their failure to serve the mid-flight snack (cup of noodeles and ice cream); pax interested in one had to go back to the galley.
18MAR NW495 DTW-ATL D95 02A
Another uneventful flight. Same service as NW496.
All in all, an excellent trip.