LegalBeagle

LegalBeagle has been feeling bored and cooped up lately. The SARS outbreak in SIN with the travel curbs that had come with it (cancelled participation in a conference in AMS in May L) has not helped my mood, and being “quarantined” by the office after coming back from a trip to YVR/ICN in early April was certainly not fun at all. So with the lifting of the travel restrictions in the wake of the improvement of the SARS situation in SIN, I was itching to fly somewhere, but didn’t really give too much thought to it due to busyness on the work front.

Early June was not kind to LegalBeagle. There was a lot of flak in and outside of work that I had to cope with. Went out with a good FlyerTalk friend (“FTF”) to a nice French restaurant on Wednesday, 11th June to drown my sorrows in good food and wine. FTF was kind enough during dinner to offer me points for travel over the weekend, and thereafter we were rather distracted from the great 10-course degustation menu in our attempt to check award availability to various destinations, including SYD, MEL and HKG, but there was nothing at such short notice. Finally FTF found availability through his AA FFP to NRT on JL C – given the tight situation, it felt as if I had struck gold there. LegalBeagle was, of course, understandably ecstatic at having something different to do over the weekend. FTF also managed to assist LegalBeagle in bagging a 2-night award stay at his favourite hotel, the Park Hyatt Tokyo, possibly one of the best modern hotels in the world, IMHO. LegalBeagle was now in 7th heaven and was counting the hours to flying again. Many thanks, FTF!!

Friday 13 June 2003
SIN NRT JL 710 C 2240 0630+1
Seat No. 5A
Equipment: Boeing 777-200

LegalBeagle was excited as he had never tried JL C (or to give its full moniker - Executive Class “SEASONS”) before. Also, I had not departed from Terminal 1 for quite a while (last time was early September 2002, travelling CX F SIN HKG). Terminal 1 seemed fairly quiet for a Friday evening, with clumps of passengers milling just outside the check-in counters. Went straight through to the JL C Class check-in counter and was served by a chirpy check-in agent who greeted me with “Konbanwa” when I approached. I guess since I was Asian-looking she assumed that I was Japanese. We had a nice chat while she clicked on her computer. I knew it was a pretty full flight in C but I tried my luck and asked her whether there were any window seats available with the aisle seat unoccupied. She checked, and informed me that there was none (oh well). She thereafter printed and gave me my BP along with the invitation to the Sakura Lounge, smiled and wished me a pleasant flight.

Check-in Rating: A-

Going through immigration took no time at all, and I headed towards the Sakura Lounge. The entrance I found to be a bit old-fashioned and slightly on the dark side (I was comparing this to the entrance of the new BA/QF First Lounge down the corridor which had a modern, striking feel from what little I could see). The lounge agent looked at me stonyfaced and did not say a word whilst I struggled, with some difficulty, to get my invitation out of my pocket to pass to her. She then pointed to my right and said “in there” and then went back to what she was doing. I was a bit taken aback by her attitude (which I would describe as unfriendly without being hostile) because the Japanese have always been a stickler for politeness and decorum, and that indifferent, casual attitude of hers struck a rather dissonant chord within me – it was just not right……

I went into the lounge, and found it to be furnished in a fairly basic, but elegant manner. However, I felt that it was beginning to show its age, and IMHO was up for some upgrading, if not a major overhaul. It was quite big and spacious, and there was ample seating for all the passengers there that night, unlike the overcrowding that takes place in the CX lounge (often) or the SQ Silver Kris J Lounge (sometimes). The food and drink spread was mediocre, with a few dry-looking sandwiches and sushi offerings, along with some salad. The spirits I noted were basically all the usual brands with nothing particularly distinctive on offer. What was really surprising was that there was no Japanese beer on offer – only Tiger and Heineken. I settled for a Heineken, proceeded back to my seat and made a few phone calls to while away the time. Noticed that there were no women about, except for the lounge staff. All the passengers in the lounge were men – interesting…….

Sakura Lounge: C+

At about 2215, I decided that it was time to get to the gate to board the aircraft. Not being familiar with Terminal 1, I didn’t realise that my gate – C26 – was literally at the end of the pier, which required an age to get to (even with the help of the people movers). I got off the last people mover and was confronted with this huge queue for security (well, actually 2 queues – one for C25 for QF 17 to CDG) and the other for the JL flight. Actually, gates C24, C25 and C26 form a little “satellite” at the end of that pier, sharing a common entrance (with different security clearance areas) leading to the individual holding areas for the respective flights. There was quite a bit of confusion in the queue cos there were passengers on QF17 that was queueing in the JL line and vice versa.

It took about 10 minutes for me to get to the head of the queue. Managed to go through the metal detector thingy without a single beep – that does not happen often – and my overnighter was not checked either. I briskly walked onto the aerobridge towards the aircraft, and turned into the gantry for business class passengers. I know it’s a cheap thrill, but it always gives me a bit of a buzz to do that. Anyways, I didn’t have a choice in the matter cos the other bridge for Economy Class was closed already……

Got onto the aircraft, and the first thing that struck me was that there was no one at the door to greet entering passengers, I walked along the aisle and noticed that the rather harassed-looking purser and the rest of the (as far as I could see) female FAs were all busy doing something, and they seemed to be quite oblivious to the passengers. Found my way to my seat, 4A, and stowed my overnighter in the overhead bin and settled in.

The cabin looked quite new and well-appointed. The black upholstery of the seats contrasted well with the white background of the cabin. The configuration was the usual 777 J class 2-3-2, and the J class section was divided into 2 cabins by a galley – 6 rows in the front cabin, and 3 rows in the 2nd. The seats were quite comfortable, but the seat controls were not electronic. However, the controls worked well so I had no issues with it.

I rummaged through the seat pocket, and found that a pair of slippers and the menu had already been placed there. The pair of good quality slippers came with a shoe horn, which I thought was a nice touch if you needed assistance in putting on your shoes afterwards (as feet expand inflight). I looked at the entertainment offerings and was pleased that this aircraft was installed with the MAGIC III system. Movies could be viewed at any time, although (and through no fault of JL) none of the 12 movie offerings for the month appealed to me. The video programs on the main screen were the NHK Daily News and NHK Weekly News & Sports. On the audio front, while it was not on demand, the great thing about the MAGIC III system is that you could hear the audio programs on the flights originating to and from Japan, which amounted to 18 channels in all. I concentrated mainly on the audio entertainment on both my flights, enjoying especially the classical programming and the J-pop selection, which I got rather hooked on as there was a lot of good stuff on the J-pop chart at the time I was in Tokyo, and heard quite a bit of it on the radio, TV and in the shops. There were also a good selection of games on MAGIC III but as I’m not really a PlayStation person, I just noted it and moved on.

I read in the Japan Entertainment Network (JEN) Guide that JL offered a PC rechargeable battery loan service for First and Executive Class passengers, which was available on flights to and from the Americas (except Hawaii), Europe, Australia and some Asian routes. I didn’t ask whether it was available on this flight, though. As I noticed that JL did not seem to have in-seat power supply, I guess it was their way of offering the service to match the competition.

I checked out the rest of the stuff in the seat pocket, flipped through the in-flight and duty-free shopping mag, and had a cursory read of the safety card and the seat operating guide. I noticed that there was no pre-departure drinks offered, unlike on SQ (and maybe CX). The FAs came round offering magazines and a selection of in-flight amenities, and they did not say very much although they smiled quite a bit. Generally, they seem rather reserved, and having travelled almost exclusively with SQ and CX (and NZ once) over the last year or so, it was a different experience.

The headphones were also in the seat pocket. Not noise cancelling though. I wasn’t too bothered, but nothing beats the SQ ones……

The doors closed at 2240 sharp, and the aircraft pulled back shortly thereafter. They featured the nose camera which was quite interesting as one can see the view directly in front of us. The purser went around the cabin with the passenger manifest in hand which she kept on referring to, and personally welcomed what I would think were the JL premium passengers. It was a swift taxi to the runway, and then we took off towards the south.

As far as I can remember, after taking off from the south, we made a 180 degree turn to the right quickly thereafter, and after turning around, I could see the bright lights of the city of Singapore for a while before we headed out towards Malaysia in the direction of Tioman Island. Just before Tioman Island, we made a sharp right heading due east towards Kuching, which was interesting because the normal flight path would take a more north-easterly route. About 30 minutes later, the aircraft veered towards the north-east towards the South China Sea, flying across water in a fairly straight line before hitting landfall at the southern tip of Taiwan, and thereafter we proceeded to fly just east of Naha, towards Kyushu, and tracked the Honshu Island coastline all the way before turning inland towards NRT.

After the seatbelt sign went off, hot towels were distributed by a silent FA who offered them from a wicker basket (no amenity kits distributed). A bar service was offered thereafter from a drinks cart along with some really yummy rice crackers (I had 2 - Otsumami, I think they were called) and a packet of dried fermented natto, which was quite good too. Started with a glass of the champagne (Piper Heidseck Brut – not great) and continued with my book while listening to the audio IFE. I also took out the video monitor which was rectangular and larger than average. The only problem with the screen was that, being so big, it kept on getting in the way of the meal because it jutted out quite a bit and I had to keep on adjusting the glasses on the tray and on the armrest so that everything “fit” (that was breakfast – the midnight refreshment was fine). So everything felt rather cluttered during meal times with the screen out.

The menu and wine list for this flight was a follows:

REFRESHMENTS

Sandwich
Roast Chicken Croissant Sandwich
Egg Salad Sandwich

Coffee Tea
Consomme Soup [that I didn’t try, but I would like to next time just for the experience]


We are pleased to offer you any of the following snacks at anytime. Please contact your cabin attendants.

JAL Original snack noodle
“RAMEN de SKY” “UDON de SKY” “SOBA de SKY”


BREAKFAST

WESTERN

Fresh Juice

Fruit Starter

Blueberry Yoghurt

Scrambled Eggs in Pancake
Sauteed Mixed Mushrooms/Broccoli/Cherry Tomato

Fresh Garden Salad
Vinaigrette Dressing

Croissant
Raisin and Almond Danish
Zoft [sic] Roll

Coffee Tea

JAPANESE

Salt Grilled Salmon
Egg Roll
Grilled Fish Cake
Pickled Seaweed
Bayberry in Jelly

Braised Chinese Cabbage

Japanese Rice Porridge with Sundried Silver-fish

Japanese Pickles

Miso Soup

Fresh Fruits in Season

Green Tea

JAL Wine Selection

Champagne
Piper Heidseck Brut

White Wines

Chablis 1999, Laboure Roi (Bourgogne) *
Beringer Founder’s Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2001 (California)

Red Wines

Chateau des Belles Graves 1998 (Bordeaux)*
R.H. Phillips Dunnigan Hills Merlot 2000 (California)*
Santernay 1998, Louis Latour (Bourgogne)

Dai-Ginjoshou
Japanese Sake Dai-Ginjoshu “Tamanohikari” Omachi”

*Seasons Wine Selection

Note: This was also the menu for the SIN-KIX route, which has since been discontinued due to SARS.

The FAs came round with the refreshments. It consisted of 2 small sandwiches – the roast chicken and egg salad – which was OK, but not particularly exciting. I was looking to do a Sake-fest with the Tamanohikari but was feeling very pooped from the events of the week that I only managed to do 2 bottles (180 ml each) before dozing off – pretty poor showing, in my view – haha. Service was polite, but was still pretty aloof, and there did not seem to be much communication between passengers and FA during the service in general. Perhaps it was the time of night, and everyone may have wanted to finish off the refreshment service as soon as possible and get some rest.

Woke up at 0430 (JST) when the FAs came round with hot towels to freshen up. I noticed that my empty sake bottle and glass were not cleared – not good, I thought. Juice was served from Minute Maid cartons on a trolley, and I had my usual orange juice. The breakfast meal was served with everything on one tray. It got a bit dicey at one stage because as the sake things were not cleared, I had to manoeuvre about to place the breakfast tray and the glass of juice, and that’s when the video screen got in the way – haha. Anyways, things got better when I managed to signal to a FA to take away the sake bottle and glass, As I was still feeling pretty sleepy I just picked at the food, which was not particularly inspiring (then most airline breakfasts aren’t). Had a couple of cups of coffee to wake myself up.

I was gazing at the coast of Honshu Island passing by on my left and reading my book after the meal service, and managed to see Mt Fuji, which has always been a joy to look at, given its near symmetrical outline. There was no snow on the top of the mountain, which made it look a bit bare for this time of the year. Some of the rooms at the Park Hyatt have great views of Mt. Fuji in winter, and it looks wonderful, especially at dusk…..I digress here for just a bit…….

We began our descent into NRT, and the aircraft made a left turn inland. It was great to see the coast and the waves breaking onto it, along with the tidy green ricefields, and it felt exciting to be back in Japan again. We landed at 0608, 22 minutes ahead of schedule, and it was interesting to see the landing from the nose camera. I was listening to Joshua Bell playing the rousing 1st movement of Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole – very nice……..

We taxied to the gate very swiftly, and soon we were deplaning. Again, there was no formal goodbyes from the FAs as they seemed to be busy doing things. In that respect, the service was a bit disappointing. I have flown NH in F/J a few times, and felt that NH was definitely better in terms of quality of service, and there was some real warmth there. I remember in September 2002 when I was travelling from F*K to HND on NH, we were descending into HND when one of the FAs approached my seat and thanked me personally for flying with them – and this on a domestic flight even. I was very surprised by that. It may be because I am *A Gold, but still, not on NH. A very warm gesture indeed.

Seat : A-
Service : B-
Food: C+
IFE: B+/B

I cleared immigration and customs effortlessly and for the first time in a long while, I got to the arrival hall before any of the public transport systems started running. It was 0625 and the first trains only started to run at around 0640. Plonked for the “Friendly” (well they say they are, FWIW) Limousine Bus service which was convenient because it took me straight to the hotel, but departure was at 0705, which meant I had quite a lot of time on my hands. It was unseasonably warm for June, with the temperature reading of 25.6C at 0630 – far too hot for my liking as I was looking for some cooler weather, and I brought a couple of pullovers along “just in case” - what a waste of luggage space that turned out to be …..

LegalBeagle doesn’t want to bore you with too many details of his exceeding short sojourn in Tokyo, so will only state the highlights here:

· did “pilgrimages” to restaurants that I like and have missed. Called the concierge at the Park Hyatt to make reservations in advance, but it was a bit of a challenge to secure reservations for lunch on Fathers’ Day – lots of places packed out……

· went to various clubs on Saturday evening and stayed up till past sunrise – something that LegalBeagle hadn’t done for a long time – but it was easy to do so because sunrise was at 0425! –drank loads……..haha

· discovered that smoking a “foreign” cigarette brand in bars and clubs was a pretty good ice-breaker, and a great way to meet new people. It was a cultural exchange of sorts, as I tried the Japanese tobacco offerings such as Mild Sevens, Seven Stars, Parliament etc – mind you, LegalBeagle doesn’t usually smoke, but he had a couple of packs lying around, and when in Rome, well…..

· caught up with friends, which is always cool to do…….

· being given a Japanese nick – “Tsumi” – short for Tsugaro Miyazaki (or something close to it) – someone came up with that at 3am Sunday when we were all kind of inebriated……

Monday 16 June 2003
SIN NRT JL 719 C 1120 1715
Seat No. 4A
Equipment: Boeing 777-200


In no time at all, LegalBeagle found himself on the 0815 Limousine Bus to Narita, which was pretty uneventful and smooth going, as usual. Got to Terminal 2 at 0950, and proceeded to the JL check-in counter. It was pretty busy in the terminal with lots of passengers about, and definitely more buzzing than SIN. Walked towards what I thought was the designated Executive Class counter, past the security scanner for check-in baggage, where I was then directed by one of the ground staff to the no checked baggage check-in counter outside the metal “pen”. Check-in was efficient, courteous and as a first for LegalBeagle, conducted entirely in Japanese – well the agent went on in Japanese, while Legalbeagle just nodded and said “hai” at what he thought were the appropriate places to punctuate her spiel – it was all pretty interesting for me, although I probably only got like 20% of what she was saying…..haha…..

Check-in: A (extra points for novelty factor )

I managed to clear security effortlessly – queues were not long and once again I didn’t get “beeped”, so no frisking with the wand (twice in a row – it has been a good run). Immigration was efficient, and I headed to the duty free to buy a friend a pack of Seven Stars ciggies, before getting on the mini-shuttle train to the satellite terminal where my gate, C83, was located.

I went to the Sakura Lounge, and found it tastefully done up with pale wood furnishings – very Japanese. The lounge receptionist greeted me as I walked in, checked my BP, and directed me to the main lounge. It is quite a big lounge, with a fairly good view of the aircraft parked at the gates from some of the windows. Decided to have a go at the fabulous beer machine that only Japanese airport lounges seem to have (why they have not been exported around the world is still a mystery to me). Yeah, I know its probably gauche to start drinking before noon (apart from imbibing champagne), but I rationalised that since it was after 12 somewhere in the world like say, AKL, for instance, at that point in time, that would do me fine . Anyways, settled in comfortably into my seat with the draught beer, some rice crackers and a flying fish roe onigiri to chomp on. I was ravenous, having nothing to eat so far that day. It wasn’t too crowded in the lounge, and everyone generally got their own personal space……..

Went back for 2 more beers (cos I was still totally fascinated by the workings of the beer machine – and no, the novelty still has not worn off), a tomato juice (Vit C intake for the day) and more rice crackers before my flight was called.

Lounge: A (beer machine a major plus factor here!)

I got to the gate, fed my BP into the machine, and it spat out the small portion of the BP. Went onto the aircraft, which was another Boeing 777-200. Again, there were no greets at the door, but I was getting used to that so it didn’t come as a surprise this time. Found my seat and proceeded to stow my carryon in the overhead bin. This time round, a helpful, smiling FA came round and assisted me in hauling my carryon up and into the bin. Got that sorted out and sat down, and proceeded to take out the slippers from the seat pocket in front of me. This time, the menu wasn’t in the pocket, although the headphones were. One thing good about JL is that the audio IFE programming is already running on the ground, unlike SQ which plays the crap muzak you hear over the public address system through the headphones until the aircraft is airborne. So I was enjoying the programming whilst I was still on the ground, which made up for the lack of a pre-departure drink……

The FAs went through the usual drill of offering magazines and newspapers, this time from a trolley. A wide selection of the English and Japanese papers and magazines were offered – I was quite impressed. Then they came round with the basket of amenities, and I chose the usual toothbrush toothpaste set which always comes in handy for travel. Thereafter, I settled in with my book and the music whilst the doors closed and the aircraft taxied towards the runway.

Our flight was 4th in line to take off when we joined the queue, and we waited on the ground for about 10 minutes before our turn finally came. The aircraft took off amidst the strains of Dvorak’s lively Scherzo to his Piano Quintet toward the north-east. We flew past the coast and made a wide turn to the right until we were flying in the direction of Naha, Okinawa out in the open sea, and did not track the Honshu and Kyushu Islands. From Naha, the route back to SIN was a backtrack of the previous flight, except that we made a beeline for SIN in a straightforward south-west direction after entering the South-China Sea in between the China and Philippine land masses, landing into SIN from the north.

The drinks service commenced and menus were distributed when the seatbelt sign was turned off. I decided to go straight for the sake along with the rice cracker packs and the dried fermented natto. This set of FAs were definitely much more motivated and friendly, and they even addressed me by name at times. The FAs came round to top up the drinks after they completed their drink service from the cart. The FAs then came round and asked each passenger whether they wanted the Western or Japanese meal option, and then placed either a blue or red sticker on the top of the headrest to indicate who was having rice – very interesting indeed. Shortly after, lunch was served. Here’s the transcript of the menu:

Tokyo-Singapore

Today’s menu has been specially prepared for JAL Executive Class passengers with the cooperation of “Association des Disciples d’Auguste Escoffier du Japon”.

“Association des Disciples d’Auguste Escoffier du Japon” is an organization of hotel and restaurant chefs, which is headed by Mr. Nobuo MURAKAMI (Advisor of the Imperial Hotel). Through its various activities, the association introduces the latest techniques aiming for a higher standard of French cuisine in Japan.

We hope that you will have a pleasant flight and enjoy the “Escoffier Menu”.


WESTERN

Amuse Bouche
Terrine of Conger Eel & Eggplant/Rolled Salmon Mousse with Tomato Baked Chicken with Balsamic/Onion Pie/Boiled Green Soy Bean “EDAMAME”

Hor d’Oeuvres
Terrine of Lobster Crustacean Sauce with Caviar

Cold Soup
Vicchyssoise Soup

Salad
Chef Caprice Summer Salad/Onion Dressing

Main dish (Choice)

We are using the beef from the U.S.A

Pepper Beef Steak with Creamy Sauce
Grilled fillet of beef steak serving in a creamy mild peppercorn sauce. Accompanied by baked potato & season vegetables (366 kcal.)

*JAL Healthy Menu Selection
Light and well-balanced which is low in fat and salt

Stuffed sole with Mousse
Sea Urchin and White Wine Sauce
Stuffed fillet of sole with fish mousse, and poached in a white wine, serving with sea urchin flavor creamy sauce, and garnishing with steamed sea urchin. (322 kcal.)

Special Bread or Steamed Rice

Dessert
Cheese/Fresh Fruits
Éclair Pie Chou/Green Tea Mousse/Hazel Nut Café

Beverage
Coffee Tea Green Tea

Chocolate

JAPANESE

Amuse Bouche (same as Western Menu)

Hors d’Oeuvre

Spiny Lobster in Basket
Beef Teriyaki
Simmered Whelk Shell/Egg Roll

Kuchitori
Top Shell with “Miso” Vinegar Sauce

Kobachi
Grilled Eggplant with Ginger Soy Sauce

Main Dish
Rolled Beef with Chinese Cabbage in Japanese Starch Sauce

Japanese Pickles/Miso Soup

Steamed Rice

[Dessert and afters were identical to the Western Menu]

Meat used in today’s menu are all safe quality guaranteed [that was reassuring ]


REFRESHMENTS

Japanese Delicacies ‘Onigiri’
Sandwiches
Ice Cream

The wine list was identical to that on the outbound flight.

I chose the Western Menu. On hindsight, I think the Japanese Menu would have been more interesting. The entire meal (apart from dessert) was served all at once on one tray. The Amuse Bouche items were very tasty, and went well with the sake. They were all fairly bite-sized, and went down well as bar snacks, with the Edamame scattered all over the dish. The lobster terrine was OK but ordinary, and there was only a sprinkling of caviar to be seen. The Vichyssoise was decent, but I have never been a fan of cold soups, apart from Gaspatcho. I chose the beef which was a mistake. It was pretty tough and there was insufficient sauce to moisten it. I only ate 2/3 of it before giving up. I didn’t try the “special bread”, which were a selection of rolls.

I skipped the cheese, fruit and dessert, and went for the selection of chocolate and steadily depleted the number of truffles available along with a couple of cups of coffee. Settled in for a nice snooze and woke up after about 1˝ hours later in time for the refreshment service. Decided that I wanted something warm and chose the “Ramen de Sky” (a bit of a strange name), which was simple but exactly what I wanted at that time. Continued to read and listened to the music until we started to descend into SIN. It was a fair day, and we came in from the north, passing over Pulau Tekong on my left before landing in SIN. The final approach song I was listening to was “Together” by Exile, a Japanese group, which was No. 2 on the J-Pop charts at the time. We landed at 1720, 5 minutes behind schedule. We taxied to another very remote gate, cos I had to walk like “miles” (allow me some poetic license here) to get to immigration……

Service: B+
Food: B

It was a very decent, but generally uneventful flight, and definitely a notch up from the outbound one. The FAs were definitely more motivated, and the food offerings were quite interesting, although some of the dishes did not exactly hit the right mark. I was feeling a bit depressed being back in SIN as I was so missing NRT already. I guess the acid test with respect to JL was whether I would pay good money to fly with them again, and the answer was ‘probably not’ unless there was some inducement to do so. Being “tied” to *A through my LH M&M and SQ PPS, I would “naturally” choose a *A carrier over OW or other non-aligned carriers, if only for the points and/or status…..

LegalBeagle took quite a while to write this, as he has been busy with work and stuff. Looking forward to my next flight, and to writing another trip report. The writing experience has been very enjoyable indeed.



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"That which does not kill me makes me stronger" - Friedrich Nietzsche

PresRDC

Very good report. Thanks for posting it.

JohnG

Great in-depth report, LegalBeagle.

JohnG wishes he had a friend like FTF who would simply give him the miles for such a nice trip, not to mention the hotel stay too.What a great gift from FTF to LegalBeagle. JohnG can't believe the generosity of FTF.

Edited to add: JohnG is curious what LegalBeagle's japanese nickname (Tsumi) means ?

[This message has been edited by JohnG (edited 07-09-2003).]

Carfield

Thanks for the wonderful report! I am surprised the brand new Boeing 777s do not feature electronic controls for the seats.

"Woke up at 0430 (JST) when the FAs came round with hot towels to freshen up. I noticed that my empty sake bottle and glass were not cleared "
It happened on my JAL transpacific flight a couple weeks ago. No one seems to pick up glasses during mid flight. I think JAL service has tarnished a bit... ANA is defintely better and it is sad to see JAL's service...

THe slippers are very nice... but just want to let you know that JAL does not offer amenity kits in J class anymore. Only in F class, you will get amenity kits. ANA is the same too.

Thanks,
Carfield

Buster CT1K

Fantastic report! Thank you.

LegalBeagle

Thanks, everyone, for your kind and encouraging comments. I was a bit apprehensive as to how my trip report would be received, and your responses have given me inspiration to write some more – and now I am regretting not having started earlier instead of fretting behind the scenes and lurking around the FlyerTalk boards for the longest time – hehe…..

JohnG: yeah, FTF is a great and generous friend, and LegalBeagle thinks himself very fortunate to know him…As for my newly-coined Japanese nick “Tsumi”, I’m still trying to get my Japanese friends to tell me what it means, but given the time of night and the state in which we were all in, methinks it was chosen for its high cuteness quotient rather than anything else – but I will certainly let you know once I pry it out of them, they are all being rather coy at the moment….

Carfield: I agree with you that the service standards on JL are not as good as NH. NH FAs are really nice and motivated, but the weak points of NH (then when I flew them in 2000 to 2002, before the introduction of the new seats) were its uninspiring food and poor IFE system. I also remember a JL Y flight in March 2000 (JL712 SIN-NRT) where a FA refused (but in a very polite and regretful/contrite manner) to hang up my jacket. A Japanese passenger in the seat across the aisle then started on this long diatribe about how JL FAs basically “work to rule” cos they were a formerly(?) state-run and therefore they traditionally had a highly bureaucratic streak ingrained in them. That was an interesting outburst.

I also agree with you that the slippers are fantastic……..true Japanese standard!! J

Off to Meleka tomorrow for a long weekend of good food and rest – but a mere road trip – can’t wait to fly again!


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"That which does not kill me makes me stronger" - Friedrich Nietzsche

RTW4

Great report. I have been on the JL flight in business class from NRT-HKG and the menu was not as good

hvd

Could it be that your Japanese hosts were enjoying giving you a Japanese nickname that constituted an English pun on your profession? If the nickname also has a particular Japanese focus they should get some extra points for carrying off a two-language result.

Swiss Tony

LegalBeagle,

Great report! I'm a fan of the 'beer machines' in lounges too - perhaps we can start a thread off about those places that have them?

I don't know of many, but KLM lounges at AMS are equipped with them, and the Plaza Premium lounge at KLIA has them too - with decent sized glasses that they keep in the fridge!

Any more?

JohnG

JohnG thanks LegalBeagle for the reply and would recommend that LegalBeagle refrain from using his new nickname with new Japanese aquaintances before he knows exactly what it is, as JohnG lived in Asia for a few years himself and found that after imbibing copious amounts of alcohol with the locals the words/phrases taught to him by the aforementioned were often not the most polite words..

LegalBeagle

Back from Melaka…..had a great time eating, sleeping in and doing lotsa factory outlet shopping, and for a glorious weekend the bags under my eyes which seemed to be there forever disappeared. Unfortunately, after a busy day at work, they are back again……

Anyways, I digress……Thank you all for your kind comments on my trip report……

Buster CT1K : I wish you all the best in your forthcoming Bar exams – read your post from another thread on this…..

hvd : haha. Very interesting, indeed! I didn’t pick that up until you pointed it out to me – cool. However, methinks it was purely coincidental, actually, as my Japanese friends speak ‘straightforward’ English, and such wordplay would be a bit beyond them, and the fact that we were all kind of tanked up at the time definitely did not promote lucidity and sharpness of thought…….

Swiss Tony: A great idea! Now where can we start a thread on the airport lounges that feature these wonderful beer machines? I’m almost tempted to make a short hop to KUL just to check out the Plaza Premium lounge, and write a short trip report SIN-KUL-SIN in the process of getting there and back “since I would be flying anyway”……and I do fantasize about snagging the exclusive distributorship for these machines for the Asia-Pacific region…..haha

JohnG : LegalBeagle thanks JohnG for his wise words on being circumspect with vocabulary that one does not know the meaning of, especially those learnt in the course of major drinking sessions, where the nature of such cultural exchanges tends to be of a more earthy kind. Actually, after much humming and hawing with his Japanese friends (and some independent research on my part), LegalBeagle has been informed that Tsugaro/Tsugaru is apparently the name of a Japanese cartoon character, and Miyazaki is the surname of one of Japan’s foremost animation writers/directors (Hayao Miyazaki), or a prefecture in Japan. So, on a balance of probabilities, its probably quite safe to use it!

Cheers, all.



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"That which does not kill me makes me stronger" - Friedrich Nietzsche