Carfield
Mar 19, 02, 6:20 pm
March 5, 2002
NW 7 SEA-NRT Lv1250 Arr1615
Boeing 747-200 N627US
I originally scheduled to fly Hawaiian first to Honolulu and then onto Continental for continuation into Guam and Taipei. However, the tickets did not arrive on time in Hong Kong and I was forced to buy a new ticket on www.nwa.com. (http://www.nwa.com.) Anyway, I got the electronic ticket receipt and arrived two hours prior to the WBC line. NW has a separate line for the Japanese flights, but all domestic and international World business class passengers share the same line. Although all three agents were working, they were all assisting passengers with ticketing problems. The wait was a bit longer, but the agent was very friendly. She printed out the boarding passes and put the bright yellow and red priority tags to my bags. Then I was invited to the World Club, which was very nice but small. It was so crowded than I had to seat on one of the telephone booth/ working station. NW always has this NRT flight and it does not seem right to have only a small club. Snacks like cookies, pretzels, and cheese were offered with a self-serving bar of beers, liquors, OJ, sodas, water, tea, and coffee. For some strange reasons, I found some "fresh" Hong Kong newspapers in the lounge and read them (I guess the flight to SEA must come from HKG and NRT). Then the lounge agent announced the boarding of our flight. The gate area, S9, looked like a zoo. There was no separate WBC line and everyone was put on the same line. It was so disorganized and of course, the agents were rude and I was bothered by this particular event. There was a Vietnamese/Chinese man traveling with three young children and his uncle in front of me. The two children were pretty hyper but their behaviors were okay. They ran around like other kids and the father was carrying the younger child. Then it was their turn for boarding and the children were impatient with the passport checks and were running around. I felt bad for the father, especially his traveling companion was not giving much help. Then the NW gate agent (an Asian woman) was even more impatient with the children. The son ran into the jetway but his father stopped him. Then the little girl was running around the ropes, and I could not believe that this Asian NWA agent started to yell at children. She was like screaming and I honestly found her behavior to be obnoxious, especially working in a service industry. The kids were not at their bad behaviors and yelling at the children was not her entitlement. Her father could do it but not a third party. She could kindly walk to the little girl and helped her father out with the boarding. Not yelling… The gate agent once again displayed the "north worst" behavior - worst than "I don't care" flight attendants. The weakest link in Northwest is definitely the gate agents. Based on this experience, Northwest will be my last choice of US carriers. Anyway, although they began boarding an hour prior to takeoff, the gate area was chaotic and the agents did not know what to do. Compared to the NRT boarding scene, the SEA gate scene was crazy.
After this rather unhappy episode, I walked to the upper deck and was glad to find the former first class seats still installed there. I took the window on the last row of upper deck and the F/A offered me the amenity kit (smaller) and slippers, followed by a copy of WSJ and a choice of OJ, water, or champagne. The UD flight attendant was okay, but you could tell that he was not too enthusiastic about serving us. He tried to finish the meal service as quickly as possible, and yes, he finished the lunch service in an hour and forty two minutes - from hot towels to handing out water bottles. Personally, it was a bad sign for a supposedly improved WBC service. Anyway, door was closed at 12:49pm and taxied into Runway 34R for takeoff this afternoon. We lifted off at 1:06pm and our flight to NRT was ten hours and seven minutes. I have no information about the attitude, except we climbed to 32,000ft initially. The flight map function was there, but the attitude information was not provided. The flight path took us first along the Canadian West Coast and passed Kodiak, Gulf of Alaska, and Bethel. Then we entered the Siberian coast and then into Japan.
Fortunately, a round of hot towel service was still available to begin the beverage service with cold cashew nuts - the warm nut theory definitely proved itself on this flight. Although this particular lunch service was bad, the printed menu and wine list had a nice presentation. The wine list was separate from the menu, and it was very nice. Anyway, here is the menu transcript:
Western Style Dinner
Hors D'Oeuvre
Italian-style Parma Ham and shaved Parmesan with Julienne of Kohlrabi in Seasme dressing
Salad
Romaine Lettuce and Napa Cabbage garnished with fresh yam
Assorted Breads
Main Course
Parmesan-Crusted Tenderloin of Beef with baby white potatoes and whole green beans
Or
Curried Chicken with carrots, water chestnuts and steamed rice
Or
Salmon with Red Pepper and Olive Relish served over herbed couscous
OR
Japanese Style Dinner
Shokado
Assorted Japanese simmered vegetables, Konnyaku with Burdock, shrimp, Japanese omelet, sweet black bean, baked teriyaki cod, Matsutake and Hiritake salad accompanied by rice, pickles, and soup
Awful lunch box… not to my taste… all the food was cold and it was all seafood and no meat. It used to have a hot entrée, but it was cut. I highly don't recommend the Japanese bento. Unlike the Western meals, they get all the dishes served at once.
Fruit and Cheese
Havarti with Chives, Aged Cheddar and Austrian Smoked Cheese with fresh fruit
apples, grapes, and apriocots
Dessert
Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake
Caravali Gourmet Coffee or Tea
Fine Belgian Chocolate
The pre sliced cheese, fruit, and dessert came in a separate tray, which was a good idea. The mousse cake was the best part of the meal this afternoon. The Fine Belgian chocolate was the infamous "Varda" milk chocolate square (very misleading) and bottles of Crystal Geyser water were passed out. Tea and coffee service came with the dessert tray.
After the short lunch service, I read the entertainment guides and found a poor selection of six channels of TV and movies -
1. The Score
2. Heist with Gene Hackman
3. IFC ABOVE - the man who wasn't there
4. Currents: CNN's People in the news, E! Behind the Scenes, and the "West Wing"
5. The Royal Tenenbaums
6. Local Hero by AFI (American Film Institute)
I went to sleep on the very comfortable seats after the lunch. Then our flight attendant disappeared and two flight attendants came up to the upper deck (to look over the cockpit door… I guess). They put out the Sky Snack basket and ate their own lunches. During my brief waking time, the two F/As offered the snack baskets, ice cream, and beverage numerous times. When I was awaken later, our F/A returned and offered the basket a few times as well.
Sky Break
Enjoy an assortment of snacks from our Sky Break Snack basket. You will find the basket in the galley after the first meal service. We invite you to help yourself at anytime.
Banana, apples, Hawaiian sesame crackers, cheddar and Swiss cheese, Chocolate, Japanese snacks, and fruit medley candies were offered.
Mid Flight Refreshment
Your flight attendant will offer ice-cream - a sherbet bar.
Then hot towels were passed out at 9:33pm Seattle time, followed by the juice tray with orange juice, apple juice, and tomato juice, and the one tray light meal service.
On Arrival
Fresh Fruit - ½ papaya with 2 ½ strawberries and a slice of lime
Warm Bread - croissants or bagels
A choice of:
Cheese Omelet with seasoned potatoes and breakfast meat
Or
Smoked Trout and Smoked Beef Tenderloin with melon salsa
or
Cold Cereal, Fruit Yogurt and Banana
I chose the omelet, which was fine, but not much cheese was tasted. The papaya was not too ripe and I was not impressed with this light meal service. Fortunately, the ramen bar was always there in Narita.
The tea and coffee service finished off the meal and we prepared to land at NRT - a very foggy afternoon. We landed on Runway 34 at 3:13pm and parked at Bay 404, which was a bus gate. Then I proceeded to the rather crowded security check points and returned to the NW pier.
March 6, 2002
NW 7 NRT-TPE Lv1800 Arr2115
Boeing 747-200 N631US
I went to the Azuma lounge located in the pier after my visit to the ramen bar. The lounge was pretty nice with soda machines, beer machines, tomato juice, coffee bar, mini Oreos (good stuff), cheese ball, snickers and light snacks. They were asked to fill in a survey concerning the Caravali coffee served on board. I took a seat and watched planes for another hour before returning to the gate. Our aircraft arrived late from San Francisco and our boarding time was pushed to 5:50pm. Fortunately, boarding was more civilized here with a WBC and Y line. Once aboard, a Taiwanese F/A (our F/A this evening) and a Japanese F/A was helping out with pre-takeoff checks. We got the pre takeoff beverage tray and I immediately noticed that the short haul amenity kits and slippers were no longer featured on this intra Asian flight (maybe only to HKG, BKK, and SIN). Then I got the menu, which featured a minimal dinner service, which was unacceptable for a three hour and forty-seven minutes flight from NRT to TPE. Local Taiwanese and Japanese newspapers were offered, and the door was closed at 6:13pm. UD was not full and my neighbor moved to the empty bulkhead row. I got my pair of seats. We pushed back from Gate 47 at 6:17pm and headed to the busy line at NRT this evening. I saw the CX's Boeing 747 taking off for Hong Kong and we took off from Runway 34 after another Northwest Boeing 747-200 landed. As we began our take off run at 6:43pm, I saw a long line of JAL and NWA flights waiting for takeoff and the legendary Tokyo Disney Sea 50th JAL anniversary Boeing 747-400 waiting in line as well. What a beautiful plane!
We climbed to 39,000ft and the F/A took our beverage and entrée order. Hot towels were offered and the cold mixed nuts were offered again. Here is the menu transcript:
Champagne Supper
For those of you wishing to dine quickly this evening, may we suggest our cold champagne supper, along with a glass of our featured champagne - Champagne Billecart Salmon Brut NV.
Smoked Salmon and Grilled chicken with Consomme Sauce served with assorted bread, salad, and dessert
Or
Full Meal service
Salad
Seasonal Greens with Cucumber and Tomato
accompanied by yellow pepper stripes, shredded carrots, and lettuce.
Assorted rolls - includes soft rolls, hard rolls, and thick toasts
Main Course
Beef Fillet in shallot sauce with mashed potatoes, carrots and zucchini
Nice entrée
Or
Sweet and Sour chicken with steamed rice
Dessert
Cheesecake with citron favor and a raspberry sauce
Caravali Gourmet Coffee or Tea
Green Tea and Oolong Tea was also available
The dinner service was pretty basic. Everything including appetizer, entrée, and dessert came as once. I was very disappointed at this so called full meal service - not even a separate appetizer service. Tea and coffee service was offered next and the F/A passed out water a couple times. I watched the movie, "Zoolander," which was pretty crazy. Then we began our descent into TPE at 10:02pm and the F/A offered us mints. We touched down on R/W06 at 9:30pm local TPE time and parked at gate B5. The bags came off pretty quickly and I stayed overnight at this pretty simple CKS airport hotel - not great but not too bad.
In conclusion, Northwest WBC service failed to impress me and the ground agents in the US really needed some basic training. They are very rude and unpleasant and there is no wonder that NWA's reputation is so bad in Asia. If CO service is "Executive Coach," NWA service is like "Economy Minus", except the seats. NWA really needs some help.
Coming up next - SQ to SIN and MEL!
NW 7 SEA-NRT Lv1250 Arr1615
Boeing 747-200 N627US
I originally scheduled to fly Hawaiian first to Honolulu and then onto Continental for continuation into Guam and Taipei. However, the tickets did not arrive on time in Hong Kong and I was forced to buy a new ticket on www.nwa.com. (http://www.nwa.com.) Anyway, I got the electronic ticket receipt and arrived two hours prior to the WBC line. NW has a separate line for the Japanese flights, but all domestic and international World business class passengers share the same line. Although all three agents were working, they were all assisting passengers with ticketing problems. The wait was a bit longer, but the agent was very friendly. She printed out the boarding passes and put the bright yellow and red priority tags to my bags. Then I was invited to the World Club, which was very nice but small. It was so crowded than I had to seat on one of the telephone booth/ working station. NW always has this NRT flight and it does not seem right to have only a small club. Snacks like cookies, pretzels, and cheese were offered with a self-serving bar of beers, liquors, OJ, sodas, water, tea, and coffee. For some strange reasons, I found some "fresh" Hong Kong newspapers in the lounge and read them (I guess the flight to SEA must come from HKG and NRT). Then the lounge agent announced the boarding of our flight. The gate area, S9, looked like a zoo. There was no separate WBC line and everyone was put on the same line. It was so disorganized and of course, the agents were rude and I was bothered by this particular event. There was a Vietnamese/Chinese man traveling with three young children and his uncle in front of me. The two children were pretty hyper but their behaviors were okay. They ran around like other kids and the father was carrying the younger child. Then it was their turn for boarding and the children were impatient with the passport checks and were running around. I felt bad for the father, especially his traveling companion was not giving much help. Then the NW gate agent (an Asian woman) was even more impatient with the children. The son ran into the jetway but his father stopped him. Then the little girl was running around the ropes, and I could not believe that this Asian NWA agent started to yell at children. She was like screaming and I honestly found her behavior to be obnoxious, especially working in a service industry. The kids were not at their bad behaviors and yelling at the children was not her entitlement. Her father could do it but not a third party. She could kindly walk to the little girl and helped her father out with the boarding. Not yelling… The gate agent once again displayed the "north worst" behavior - worst than "I don't care" flight attendants. The weakest link in Northwest is definitely the gate agents. Based on this experience, Northwest will be my last choice of US carriers. Anyway, although they began boarding an hour prior to takeoff, the gate area was chaotic and the agents did not know what to do. Compared to the NRT boarding scene, the SEA gate scene was crazy.
After this rather unhappy episode, I walked to the upper deck and was glad to find the former first class seats still installed there. I took the window on the last row of upper deck and the F/A offered me the amenity kit (smaller) and slippers, followed by a copy of WSJ and a choice of OJ, water, or champagne. The UD flight attendant was okay, but you could tell that he was not too enthusiastic about serving us. He tried to finish the meal service as quickly as possible, and yes, he finished the lunch service in an hour and forty two minutes - from hot towels to handing out water bottles. Personally, it was a bad sign for a supposedly improved WBC service. Anyway, door was closed at 12:49pm and taxied into Runway 34R for takeoff this afternoon. We lifted off at 1:06pm and our flight to NRT was ten hours and seven minutes. I have no information about the attitude, except we climbed to 32,000ft initially. The flight map function was there, but the attitude information was not provided. The flight path took us first along the Canadian West Coast and passed Kodiak, Gulf of Alaska, and Bethel. Then we entered the Siberian coast and then into Japan.
Fortunately, a round of hot towel service was still available to begin the beverage service with cold cashew nuts - the warm nut theory definitely proved itself on this flight. Although this particular lunch service was bad, the printed menu and wine list had a nice presentation. The wine list was separate from the menu, and it was very nice. Anyway, here is the menu transcript:
Western Style Dinner
Hors D'Oeuvre
Italian-style Parma Ham and shaved Parmesan with Julienne of Kohlrabi in Seasme dressing
Salad
Romaine Lettuce and Napa Cabbage garnished with fresh yam
Assorted Breads
Main Course
Parmesan-Crusted Tenderloin of Beef with baby white potatoes and whole green beans
Or
Curried Chicken with carrots, water chestnuts and steamed rice
Or
Salmon with Red Pepper and Olive Relish served over herbed couscous
OR
Japanese Style Dinner
Shokado
Assorted Japanese simmered vegetables, Konnyaku with Burdock, shrimp, Japanese omelet, sweet black bean, baked teriyaki cod, Matsutake and Hiritake salad accompanied by rice, pickles, and soup
Awful lunch box… not to my taste… all the food was cold and it was all seafood and no meat. It used to have a hot entrée, but it was cut. I highly don't recommend the Japanese bento. Unlike the Western meals, they get all the dishes served at once.
Fruit and Cheese
Havarti with Chives, Aged Cheddar and Austrian Smoked Cheese with fresh fruit
apples, grapes, and apriocots
Dessert
Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake
Caravali Gourmet Coffee or Tea
Fine Belgian Chocolate
The pre sliced cheese, fruit, and dessert came in a separate tray, which was a good idea. The mousse cake was the best part of the meal this afternoon. The Fine Belgian chocolate was the infamous "Varda" milk chocolate square (very misleading) and bottles of Crystal Geyser water were passed out. Tea and coffee service came with the dessert tray.
After the short lunch service, I read the entertainment guides and found a poor selection of six channels of TV and movies -
1. The Score
2. Heist with Gene Hackman
3. IFC ABOVE - the man who wasn't there
4. Currents: CNN's People in the news, E! Behind the Scenes, and the "West Wing"
5. The Royal Tenenbaums
6. Local Hero by AFI (American Film Institute)
I went to sleep on the very comfortable seats after the lunch. Then our flight attendant disappeared and two flight attendants came up to the upper deck (to look over the cockpit door… I guess). They put out the Sky Snack basket and ate their own lunches. During my brief waking time, the two F/As offered the snack baskets, ice cream, and beverage numerous times. When I was awaken later, our F/A returned and offered the basket a few times as well.
Sky Break
Enjoy an assortment of snacks from our Sky Break Snack basket. You will find the basket in the galley after the first meal service. We invite you to help yourself at anytime.
Banana, apples, Hawaiian sesame crackers, cheddar and Swiss cheese, Chocolate, Japanese snacks, and fruit medley candies were offered.
Mid Flight Refreshment
Your flight attendant will offer ice-cream - a sherbet bar.
Then hot towels were passed out at 9:33pm Seattle time, followed by the juice tray with orange juice, apple juice, and tomato juice, and the one tray light meal service.
On Arrival
Fresh Fruit - ½ papaya with 2 ½ strawberries and a slice of lime
Warm Bread - croissants or bagels
A choice of:
Cheese Omelet with seasoned potatoes and breakfast meat
Or
Smoked Trout and Smoked Beef Tenderloin with melon salsa
or
Cold Cereal, Fruit Yogurt and Banana
I chose the omelet, which was fine, but not much cheese was tasted. The papaya was not too ripe and I was not impressed with this light meal service. Fortunately, the ramen bar was always there in Narita.
The tea and coffee service finished off the meal and we prepared to land at NRT - a very foggy afternoon. We landed on Runway 34 at 3:13pm and parked at Bay 404, which was a bus gate. Then I proceeded to the rather crowded security check points and returned to the NW pier.
March 6, 2002
NW 7 NRT-TPE Lv1800 Arr2115
Boeing 747-200 N631US
I went to the Azuma lounge located in the pier after my visit to the ramen bar. The lounge was pretty nice with soda machines, beer machines, tomato juice, coffee bar, mini Oreos (good stuff), cheese ball, snickers and light snacks. They were asked to fill in a survey concerning the Caravali coffee served on board. I took a seat and watched planes for another hour before returning to the gate. Our aircraft arrived late from San Francisco and our boarding time was pushed to 5:50pm. Fortunately, boarding was more civilized here with a WBC and Y line. Once aboard, a Taiwanese F/A (our F/A this evening) and a Japanese F/A was helping out with pre-takeoff checks. We got the pre takeoff beverage tray and I immediately noticed that the short haul amenity kits and slippers were no longer featured on this intra Asian flight (maybe only to HKG, BKK, and SIN). Then I got the menu, which featured a minimal dinner service, which was unacceptable for a three hour and forty-seven minutes flight from NRT to TPE. Local Taiwanese and Japanese newspapers were offered, and the door was closed at 6:13pm. UD was not full and my neighbor moved to the empty bulkhead row. I got my pair of seats. We pushed back from Gate 47 at 6:17pm and headed to the busy line at NRT this evening. I saw the CX's Boeing 747 taking off for Hong Kong and we took off from Runway 34 after another Northwest Boeing 747-200 landed. As we began our take off run at 6:43pm, I saw a long line of JAL and NWA flights waiting for takeoff and the legendary Tokyo Disney Sea 50th JAL anniversary Boeing 747-400 waiting in line as well. What a beautiful plane!
We climbed to 39,000ft and the F/A took our beverage and entrée order. Hot towels were offered and the cold mixed nuts were offered again. Here is the menu transcript:
Champagne Supper
For those of you wishing to dine quickly this evening, may we suggest our cold champagne supper, along with a glass of our featured champagne - Champagne Billecart Salmon Brut NV.
Smoked Salmon and Grilled chicken with Consomme Sauce served with assorted bread, salad, and dessert
Or
Full Meal service
Salad
Seasonal Greens with Cucumber and Tomato
accompanied by yellow pepper stripes, shredded carrots, and lettuce.
Assorted rolls - includes soft rolls, hard rolls, and thick toasts
Main Course
Beef Fillet in shallot sauce with mashed potatoes, carrots and zucchini
Nice entrée
Or
Sweet and Sour chicken with steamed rice
Dessert
Cheesecake with citron favor and a raspberry sauce
Caravali Gourmet Coffee or Tea
Green Tea and Oolong Tea was also available
The dinner service was pretty basic. Everything including appetizer, entrée, and dessert came as once. I was very disappointed at this so called full meal service - not even a separate appetizer service. Tea and coffee service was offered next and the F/A passed out water a couple times. I watched the movie, "Zoolander," which was pretty crazy. Then we began our descent into TPE at 10:02pm and the F/A offered us mints. We touched down on R/W06 at 9:30pm local TPE time and parked at gate B5. The bags came off pretty quickly and I stayed overnight at this pretty simple CKS airport hotel - not great but not too bad.
In conclusion, Northwest WBC service failed to impress me and the ground agents in the US really needed some basic training. They are very rude and unpleasant and there is no wonder that NWA's reputation is so bad in Asia. If CO service is "Executive Coach," NWA service is like "Economy Minus", except the seats. NWA really needs some help.
Coming up next - SQ to SIN and MEL!