Seat 2A

November 14, 2013
Korean Air Hong Kong – Seoul 330p – 800p 747-400 Economy Class

In my younger days, I used to pull out the Official Airline Guide and piece together these fantastic itineraries that involved traveling all over America aboard airlines or aircraft upon which I’d not yet flown. I’m talking about the late seventies and early eighties, back in the days before the scourge of airline bankruptcies and later, consolidations and mergers. There were flights to consider aboard the likes of Braniff DC-8s, Pacific Express BAC-111s, North Central Convair 580s, Altair Fokker F28s and AeroAmerica 720s just to name a few. I wanted to fly them all! Although most of the itineraries I came up with were never realized, a few of them actually were. Here’s an example of one I turned into a trip report:

DENVER TO ALASKA ROUNDTRIP via SO, TI, DL, AA, AS, WC, CP, PW and UA

By the end of 1985, I’d flown over 1500 flights on sixty-three airlines. For a guy in his twenties, I reckon that’s a pretty impressive tally. Heck, with regard to airlines flown it’s a pretty impressive tally regardless of one’s age. Here in America, it was becoming increasingly more difficult to find new airlines to fly. I’d long since flown all the major airlines like Eastern as well as all of the long established regional airlines like Allegheny or Texas International. Deregulation spawned plenty of new airlines such as Air21 and Presidential Airways but unfortunately many of them went bankrupt before I could get around to flying on them. Additionally, it was more difficult at the time for me personally to balance time off from work with disposable income. The result has been that in the twenty-seven years since then - leading up to the beginning of 2013, I’ve averaged just three new airlines per year.

In this trip report alone, I’ll have flown upon twelve new airlines with five of them coming up in the next six days. Needless to say, I am a little bit excited.

I had an eight and a half hour layover here in Hong Kong, half of which I hoped to sleep through. As such I had no intention of heading into the city but instead was hoping to find a quiet corner of the airport to catch a few zzzs. That wasn’t going to happen though until I got on the other side of security and that in turn wasn’t going to happen until I got a boarding pass from the Korean Air transit desk. Unfortunately that transit desk didn’t open until about 9:30am, leaving me with the three hour wait in the brightly lit and noisy transit lounge.

Did I say noisy? My God! Who’s strangling the cat?! You mean that’s somebody singing?! Unfortunately, more than a few of the passengers sitting around the lounge area had no compunction about listening to their mp3 players with the speakers turned on. I moved away from three teenaged girls who were listening to an endless collection of sappy love songs, all of which said essentially the same thing over and over – Baby I want you! Baby I need you! Baby just love me tonight! All set against a backdrop of insistent electronic bass. Jeez, put your brain in neutral and just veg, why don’t cha? I was on the verge of catatonia so I relocated to the far side of the room where I enjoyed about a half hour of bliss before some middle aged Asian women decided to listen to this horrible, screeching caterwaul that evidently passed for music somewhere in the region. I’m sure there is plenty if Chinese music that I would enjoy listening to but this was like something out of a Stephen King movie. 9:30 could not come fast enough!

Later, having retired to the comparative tranquility of the Plaza Premium Lounge, I knocked off a couple of hours of fitful sleep along with a decent lunch and a hot shower. By the time I presented myself at Gate 17 for my flight to Seoul, I was actually feeling pretty good.


Korean Air’s 747-400 Awaits

I never actually heard a boarding call. It just sort of happened. People started heading toward the jet bridge and on to the plane. Okay then. Boarding was through door 2L which allowed me to get a look at Korean Air’s Business Class cabin, known as Prestige Class. The seats looked like cradle rather than lie-flat seats but for a three hour flight to Seoul they’d be just fine. Unfortunately, my lot was farther back, behind the curtain in the next cabin. That’s right. Row 33, seat C. My neighbors, two middle aged Asian women, were already seated. We exchanged smiles but otherwise said nothing – just like we do right here at home sometimes!

The seats in this cabin were all upholstered in blue print fabric and were surprisingly comfortable. I would guestimate legroom to be in the 33-34” range. As Economy Class seating goes, I thought it was pretty good. My aisle seat also gave a great view of the phalanx of beautiful Korean hostesses, all of them decked out in these form fitting cream colored uniforms. All but one of them had her hair pulled back in a tight bun with an odd V shaped accessory attached to it.

One thing is for certain – no two things – actually make that three things that are for certain. They were all beautiful, they were all young, fit and trim (not a prison matron amongst them!) and they were all busy. I was impressed. Even back here in Economy, they greeted each and every passenger as they passed, helped those who needed it with their coats and carry-ons and generally moved about the cabin with purpose and alacrity. They definitely didn’t seem robotic as I saw a number of instances where they took a moment or two to chat with passengers and especially children. I haven’t seen anything like this in America since the early seventies!

Seoul sits 1,290 miles north of Hong Kong. That translates into a three hour flight that included a full dinner service in all cabins. Back here at row 33 we were offered a choice of beef or fish. Beef, please. I was presented a tray bearing a large bowl filled about one third full with shredded beef and vegetables. Surrounding the bowl were some things I recognized and some things I didn’t. I recognized dishes with fruit and pickles and a covered bowl of miso soup. I didn’t recognize a decently sized container of something light weight but I couldn’t tell what it was because the writing on the peel back top was entirely in Korean. There was also a tube of some kind of paste as well as a sachet of sesame oil. Hmm…


Korean Air’s Bibimbap Dinner - Unprepared

The hostess (she was just too friendly, helpful and nicely dressed in that 1960s style uniform to call her anything less), seeing my confusion, presented me a card with pictures and instructions on how to put together a bowl of Korean Bibimbap. This involved dumping the container filled with what turned out to be rice into the large bowl, then squirting the tube of paste over it all along with the sesame oil. Then mix well and enjoy.


Korean Air’s Bibimbap Dinner - Prepared

And enjoy I did! It was all quite good and I ate everything on my tray except for the pickles, which I’ve never liked. Afterward our trays were efficiently cleared and the duty free cart made its way down the aisle. Based upon prices that I’m familiar with in North America, I’ve yet to see anything worth purchasing duty free – be it on a plane or in an airport. Granted, the only things I’ve ever looked at are liquor and cameras but in each case I can get the same things back home in the U.S. for the about the same price or lower. Maybe all those perfumes and colognes are where the real deals lie.

Seoul is a huge city but due to low overcast and an aisle seat over the wing I didn’t see much of anything until we landed. Incheon is quite a large airport but a very well laid out and organized one. Korean Air is unquestionably the dominant carrier here and judging by appearances tonight, a fair portion of the fleet was in town. We parked next to a good looking 777-200 and just like that, my first flight aboard Korean Air had come to an end. This was a great flight from start to finish, so I hope it is not my last! Well done, Korean Air!

Immigration and Customs were quickly negotiated and soon I was on my way to the information desk. My original plan had been to sleep in the airport but given my early arrival and late departure I changed my mind and made an advance reservation at a hotel called the Incheon Hotel Queen. The hotel was well rated, had an airport shuttle and the price was right at just $62.00. I had no Korean currency though and, since I was leaving Korea tomorrow morning, didn’t see a need to acquire any. Perhaps there was a hotel board with phones like you see in many baggage claim areas in the U.S. There was better. The girl at the information desk called the hotel for me and then directed me where to go for my pick-up. By the time I got up there a van was waiting with a uniformed driver who quickly relieved me of my bag and sped me off to the hotel.


November 15, 2013
Asiana Airlines Seoul - Beijing 100p – 210p A330-300 Business Class
EVA Airways Beijing – Taipei 845p – 1155p 747-400 Business Class

Getting that hotel for the night was a good move. The climate in Seoul was quite muggy but the hotel room was pleasantly cool and dry. I knocked off a good eight hours of sleep and awoke feeling like a local rather than someone who’d recently arrived from a land seven hours earlier.

I’d arranged for a 1000am transfer to the airport so by 10:30 I was sitting in the Asiana Business Class lounge sipping coffee and munching croissants whilst perusing this morning’s edition of the International New York Times. Asiana operates completely separate facilities for its First and Business Class lounges, i.e they are not attached but rather are about a five minute walk apart from one another. Posters near the check-in counter and in the terminal corridors advertised a new, refurbished Business Class lounge as of October 24th. Well good. My timing is excellent, then.


Asiana Business Class Lounge at Incheon


Asiana Business Class Lounge Library


Asiana Business Class Lounge Seating

This lounge is fairly impressive as Business Class lounges go. I immediately liked the colors and the lighting – beige carpet, light gray chairs, lots of wooden fixtures and huge floor to ceiling windows that provided an admirable view of the tarmac below. An entire wall of books and local pottery was a nice touch, as were the small potted trees interspersed amidst the seating areas.

At the far end of the lounge was a food and drink buffet. There wasn’t a whole lot of food to speak of – some cold Korean vegetable matter, a variety of breads including pretty good croissants and perhaps most interestingly, a hot dish filled with fried potato wedges. Over by the coffee and tea bar were some cups of noodles. All of the writing on the packaging was in Korean but I guessed that the yellow ones would probably be chicken. Mine tasted kind of fishy to me, though.

Interestingly, there was no alcohol present – either self-serve or from a bar. It could have been a time of day thing but when I left the lounge at about 12:30 there was still none to be found. Not that I was looking, mind you. I’ve never been much for anything other than coffee and orange juice in the morning.

Prior to leaving the lounge, I stopped by the Business Center where I successfully printed out a boarding pass for my connecting flight on EVA between Beijing and Taipei. I had a chance to see a bit more of this airport as I made my way down to gate 45. It truly is a very impressive and well laid out facility. The signage is excellent and there is no shortage of shiny and attractive shops and restaurants to entertain travelers.

I chose Asiana’s 1:00pm departure to Beijing because it’s operated by an A330, an aircraft I’ve flown upon only three times previously. When it comes to flying First and Business Class, I’m much more partial to widebodied aircraft. A larger cabin almost always translates into more comfortable and spacious seating – unless you’re flying on Qantas’ domestic A330s which go 2-3-2 in Business Class. Shameful!

I liked the boarding gate at Incheon. We took an escalator down through a glassed in area with great views of our colorful A330 waiting for us below. At the door I was met by a couple of attractively clad flight attendants, one of whom split off and escorted me to seat 3K. Seating was configured 2-2-2 and the beige colored seats were reasonably wide and surprisingly comfortable. Unfortunately there was no under-seat storage but there was a good 50” or so of seat pitch – another good reason for flying on the A330 as opposed to the A321 operating this morning’s flight.


Asiana A330-300 Business Class Seats

The load was light – I would guess there were only five or six of us up front – so the flight attendants seemed relaxed and unhurried in dispensing with the pre-flight services. Water and orange juice were presented on a tray - in real glasses with mixed nuts, no less – followed by slippers and hot towels. The captain welcomed us aboard in English and then informed us that there’d be about a forty minute departure delay due to heavy air traffic over China. This announcement was subsequently translated by flight attendants into Korean and Chinese.

Finally, we pushed back and followed a good looking Aeroflot A330 to the head of the runway. After years of wearing that severe blue, white and grey Soviet era livery, Aeroflot struggled to come up with something brighter and more hopeful. Their current livery - a sash of flowing red, blue and white against a blue background that sweeps from low on the forward fuselage back to encompass the entire tail - is modern and graceful and looks especially fetching on the A330.


Now It’s Our Turn

It’s a short 590 mile flight from Seoul across the East China Sea to Beijing – about the same distance as Denver to Phoenix. Flight time was estimated at about an hour and forty minutes. Back in the eighties, I used to fly a lot between Denver and Phoenix – often upgrading to First Class where on dinner flights we could expect a nice tray meal that usually included a decent sized portion of steak or chicken. I never received a menu but the meal portion and quality was always quite acceptable. These days – well, let’s not even go there.

Seoul to Beijing is an international route and the pricing schemes, especially on a full service airline such as Asiana, are entirely different than we’d find on similar distance routes in the U.S. So then, what kind of service can we expect in Business Class on such a short flight?

Well, the service began with presentation of a large and colorful menu. Drink orders were taken shortly afterwards. Let’s have a look at those drink offerings:


WINE LIST

Champagne
Cattier Brut

White Wine
Albert Bichot Macon-Villages Blanc Chardonnay 2011

Red Wine
Trilogy Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (Chile)

Korean Wine
“Makgeolli” Rice Wine

_______________________________________

Spirits
Ballantine’s Scotch Whiskey 17 Years Old
Jack Daniels Whiskey
Smirnoff Vodka
Beefeater’s Gin

Cognac & Liqueur
Camus X.O.
Bailey’s Irish Cream

Beers
OB, Cass, Hite, Max
Heineken, Beck’s, Budweiser



Asiana Menu & Bourbon

Well now, I’ll start with a Jack Daniels please. No water, lots of ice. My drink was delivered with a decently sized packet of mixed nuts and I was especially pleased to note that the cabin crew allowed us a few minutes to enjoy our drinks rather than immediately push the meals upon us. In America – even on much longer flights – the crew always seems in a hurry to dispense with the service so they can go sit back in the galley and paint their nails or otherwise engage in innocuous chitchat. This was much nicer, enjoying my nicely chilled whiskey while glancing out the window occasionally at the sunny day outside. So then, what’s for lunch?


LUNCHEON

Appetizer
Smoked Duck with Mixed Greens

MAIN COURSES

Beef Tenderloin Steak
Accented with green peppercorn sauce
Served with Mushroom, Pimiento, Zucchini and Potato

Grilled Spicy Chicken Thigh
Seasoned with hot spicy sauce
Served with Zucchini, Eggplant, Pimiento and Steamed Rice

Dessert
Fresh Fruit

Coffee and Tea


Nice. I think I’ll go with that Grilled Spicy Chicken Thigh. It was the promise of being seasoned with hot spicy sauce that really caught my eye. I grew up on spicy foods and my fondness for them still burns bright – thankfully never in the form of heartburn which I rarely ever suffer from.


Grilled Spicy Chicken Thigh

Well the thigh was pretty good but I didn’t think the sauce was all that spicy. It was good though, especially as accompanied by a delicious and nicely chilled glass of Chardonnay. Throughout the flight the service was quite gracious and for an airline that recently suffered a huge black eye to its overall image with the crash of one of its 777s at San Francisco, it was nice to enjoy – and report upon – a job well done.

As we made our approach into Beijing, I couldn’t help but take notice of how dirty the air was. This is particularly true during the colder months when the coal fired public heating system switches on. This is old 1950s era technology and it doesn’t burn very clean at all. Indeed it’s considerably less efficient than the electric, gas and oil systems that are commonly employed in southern China.

At least the visibility wasn’t so bad that the Captain couldn’t find his way to Beijing’s Capitol International Airport. We made a nice landing and then spent the next ten minutes taxing around the airport. Could it be the captain couldn’t find his way to the gate? In terms of area, PEK is a huge airport. In terms of passenger traffic, it is the busiest airport in Asia and the second busiest in the world behind Atlanta’s Hartsfield International.

In keeping with the BIG theme, we parked at Terminal 3, the second largest airport terminal in the world after Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3, and the sixth largest building in the world by area. It is an impressive edifice to say the least. I was quite taken with both the architecture and the interior design which featured an abundance of natural light from the multitude of windows, spacious corridors, efficient signage and even the occasional rock and water garden complete with attractive pagoda. Of course there were an abundance of trendy stores, although why anybody would want to shop in an airport and pay inflated prices for stuff they could easily buy later on (or in advance) for a lot less remains a mystery to me.

I had a six hour layover in Beijing, so after clearing transit formalities I made my way over to Air China’s Business Class lounge. I was curious as to whether my EVA boarding pass in combination with my Star Alliance Gold status would get me into this lounge as I had no indication from EVA as to their lounge facilities in Beijing. Additionally, as a recently minted Star Alliance Gold with United, I wasn’t totally familiar with their protocol and hadn’t yet taken the time to read up on it. As things turned out, the three attendants on duty were happy to welcome me into their lounge and so there I spent the next five hours.


Air China Business Class Lounge at Beijing


View of Terminal 3 from the Air China Business Class Lounge

I hadn’t planned it to be that way. My original plan had been to pop in, grab a drink, put in a bit of work on this report, maybe take a shower and then go out and grab a bite to eat. Well I did all of that except for the food part and that’s only because I because I discovered an excellent buffet area in the corner of the lounge that featured a nice variety of well heated regional foods that looked too good to pass up. I put an emphasis on “well heated” because many many many years ago I used to manage a restaurant and I am still pretty familiar with the U.S. based protocols regarding food temperature vis a vis food borne illnesses. In my various forays about Asia over the years, I have observed a fair number food presentations that would have violated that protocol, so I am ever vigilant here if only with regard to my own personal well-being.

It was about 8:00pm when I took leave of the lounge and headed down to gate E-12 to await the arrival of my EVA 747-400.


EVA Air 747-400 Arrives at Beijing

I’ve always liked looking at 747s parked at the gate. That big nose with all those windows emanating warm light from the forward cabin always looks so inviting and indeed all the more so when you know you’ve got a seat reserved up there. Tonight I was booked in 8A, three rows and about eight or nine windows back from the nose cone. When the call to board came, I was ready to go, excited to fly aboard my third new airline in the past two days.

Naturally we tend to think of the 747 as a long range aircraft – particularly the -400 model, but a few of these old birds soldier on operating regional flights around Asia with airlines like EVA, Thai, Korean and Asiana while the more fuel efficient 777s, A330s and now A380s handle the long hauls with increasing frequency.

EVA offers two different upgraded Business Class products on its widebodied aircraft. Premium Laurel Class is offered on regional flights operated with 747 and A330 aircraft. Royal Laurel Class is offered on EVA’s 777-300s, most of which are operated on longer intercontinental flights. Premium Laurel Class seating on my 747 was 2-2 up in the nose and 2-2-2 in the smaller Business Class cabin directly behind door 1. The good looking beige hard shell seats felt comfortable to sit in (my first consideration as I prefer remaining conscious over sleeping on these shorter flights!) and included all the usual features one would expect such as fully adjustable headrests and footrests and electrically controlled lumbar support and seatbacks. Seat pitch is 61” and although these are not complete 180° lie flat seats, they come pretty darned close. Tonight’s flight down to Taipei is only 1060 miles however and I don’t plan on sleeping. Flight time is projected at two and a half hours. Dinner will be served.

Shortly after takeoff we were presented nice menus with separate wine lists – pretty nice for a flight that’s about the same distance as San Diego from Seattle. Let’s check out that menu. I’m hungry!


WINE LIST

Champagne
Lallier Grande Reserva Grand Cru

White Wine
Palacio de Bornos Verdejo – Fermentado en Barrica 2011 (Spain)
Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen Kabinett 2012 (Germany)

Red Wine
Fleurie 2011 (France)
Monteabellon 14 Meses en Barrica 2010 (Spain)

Spirits
Kavalan Single Malt Whiskey
Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch Whiskey
Bombay Sapphire Gin
Smirnoff Black Label Vodka
Bacardi Light Rum

Liqueurs
Kahlua
Bailey’s Original Irish Cream
Midori
Choya Yoshu Dento Plum Liqueur

Beers
Gold Medal Taiwan Beer
Heineken Beer
Kirin Ichiban Beer

* * * ---------------------------------- * * *

DINNER
Beijing to Taipei

Hors D’Oeuvre
Marinated Prawns with Creamed vegetables Rolled in Parma Ham

Soup
Pork Shank Soup with Chestnut and Snow Fungus

MAIN COURSE

Chicken in Thai Chilli Sauce
Served with steamed rice

Beef Tenderloin with Black Olive and Mushroom Tapenade
Accented with red wine gravy and served with Gratin Potato

DESSERT

A Selection of Fresh Sliced Fruit
Raspberry Mousse

GREEN & SAFE
Taiwan Grandma’s Home Cooking Set

Hors D’Oeuvre
Braised Pork Tendon
Organic Vegetable Salad

Soup
Eco-Friendly Shrimp in Thickened Soup

Shredded Beef Taiwanese Style
Accented with Tainan Super Grandma’s Ragu Sauce and served with steamed rice

Dessert
A Selection of Fresh Sliced Fruit
Apricot Sponge Cake


This menu also had the Taipei to Beijing service on the first page, so I got a preview of tomorrow’s meal tonight. But more on that tomorrow.

My seatmate was an interesting fellow. He had homes in Taipei and Boston and worked as an investment banker. Of course his English was flawless and we had a good time chatting – about his travels and mine. Cocktails were served by the pretty green clad flight attendants and I requested a Bloody Mary. When it came time to order dinner, seatmate requested the Green and Safe meal while I opted for the Chicken in Thai Chilli Sauce.

Unfortunately, the crew was poorly equipped to put together a proper Bloody Mary. I should have suspected as much when the pre-departure orange “juice” turned out to be orange drink. My Bloody Mary tasted as if it were made with tomato “drink” as well. Watery, with only a hint of tomato flavor and zero spice – it gets a very qualified vote as the Worst Bloody Mary I Have Ever Had! I politely switched it out for a glass of the much nicer Spanish red wine.

The appetizer and soup course were delivered first. I was presented an artfully arranged tray bearing a plate with two prawns and ham rolls offset by a bit of foliage and two roma tomato halves. A flight attendant quickly followed that up with a bread basket bearing a bounty of rolls, sliced breads and toasted garlic bread. Garlic bread!! Yes, please!


Hors D’Oeuvres and Soup


Marinated Prawns with Creamed vegetables Rolled in Parma Ham

Now if you’d asked me before this flight if I’d be interested in a serving of pork tendon, I very likely would have replied “Noooo, thank you”. However, the pork tendon presented to seatmate looked surprisingly good, as did his organic vegetable salad. I’ve got three more flights coming up with EVA. I’m going to have to check out that Green & Safe option on one of them.


Chicken in Thai Chilli Sauce

My main course consisted of breaded chicken pieces in a sweet flavored sauce served atop steamed rice. Honestly, it tasted a lot more Chinese than Thai – and this is coming from one who is a frequent patron of the eight Thai restaurants we have back home in Fairbanks. That said, the meal was still very good, though once again I found myself looking longingly at seatmate’s dish of Shredded Beef Taiwanese Style. At the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder at the strange choice of wording for these foods: Green and Safe. What makes it “safe” as opposed to the rest of the items on this menu? I made a mental note to double check on the presence and location of my supply of Imodium®.

We both closed out the meal with colorful fruit plates and attractive good tasting dessert cakes. One thing I liked about the desserts was that they were small. I just had a big ice cream sundae after my dinner last night while flying back up to Anchorage (yes – I’m writing this up a week after the fact) and while it was delicious, it was also a bit much after a big dinner. My days of enjoying big desserts ended with my teenaged years.


Fruit Plate and Raspberry Mousse Dessert

The rest of the flight passed quickly. The duty free cart made an appearance and seatmate purchased a couple of items. Me – even if I wanted to purchase an item or two, I don’t have room to be hauling any more stuff around. It’s all I can do to find room for these beautiful menus that are piling up!

Upon landing at Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport I bid adieu to seatmate and headed over to the transit desk. Given the late hour (just after midnight) my plan was to spend the night here in the airport, preferably on the airside of security. The two young guys working the transit desk offered to check me through all the way to Singapore, but then were unable to generate a boarding pass between Beijing and Singapore on fellow Star Alliance carrier Air China. No problem, they said. Just pick up your boarding pass in Beijing.

Though there was no reason for me to suspect otherwise, this inability to provide that Air China boarding pass would actually turn out to be quite a big problem indeed.

After a short time reconnoitering the C Concourse, I found an excellent spot down at gate C4. I set up camp and slept undisturbed until my alarm went off at 7:30am.

Seat 2A

November 16, 2013
EVA Airways Taipei - Beijing 925a – 1240p 777-300 Business Class
Air China Beijing – Singapore 345p – 945p A330-300 Business Class

I’ve really been looking forward to this flight after reading about EVA’s new Royal Laurel Class service and suites. Here. Just click on the links and have a look for yourselves:

EVA ROYAL LAUREL CLASS ON THE 777-300

EVA ROYAL LAUREL CLASS VIDEO

The Royal Laurel Class service is designed to be EVA’s flagship product on longer international flights to North America and Europe, so to have an opportunity to enjoy it on the short Taipei to Beijing route will be quite a treat. In truth however, I’ll only be experiencing the hard product as the inflight service on this 1060 mile flight up to Beijing will not be of the advertised intercontinental standard.

First things first, though. After breaking camp, I made my way over to the EVA Lounge Complex where a hot shower and a good buffet breakfast awaited. EVA operates four lounges here at Taipei. All of them are located in the same area, upstairs above the terminal and shops below. I’d been told that The Club was for Silver members and did not offer the same facilities as the Infinity and Star lounges. The Garden Lounge is reserved exclusively for Diamond level travelers. Wicker furniture, soft lighting and large potted plants dominate and in terms of ambience, it was my favorite. Unfortunately, I’m not a diamond level flyer, so the lounge reception staff redirected me across the way to the Star and Infinity Lounges. These lounges are connected – Star on one side and Infinity on the other. The only marking outside was an electric sign reading “EVA Lounges”. As a Premium Laurel Class passenger I’m good to go into either lounge.

I’m only here for a quick shower and a bite to eat, so the lounge receptionist directed me to my left – assumedly the Star Lounge. First however, she took my name for the shower list and handed me one of those vibrating caller contraptions. Well no sooner had I poured myself a cup of coffee than the buzzer went off. Grrrreat!!

EVA’s showers are true shower suites – very spacious with all the usual amenities you would expect of a quality First or Business Class shower. Afterwards, I paid a quick visit to the buffet area where a nice variety of hot and cold Asian and Western breakfast items were available. I limited myself to just a coffee and Danish in expectation of a full meal enroute to Beijing. The lounge itself looked to be your basic everyday Business Class lounge with the usual comfy chairs, newspaper rack and buffet area. I didn’t spend much time sitting around though, so for me the most impressive aspects of this lounge were the spacious shower suites and the impressive breakfast buffet along with the proactive and helpful lounge attendants, all of whom spoke excellent English. There was a small business center just off the entrance and I stopped briefly there to check my email before heading down to the gate.

Waiting at C1 was B-16710, a five year old 777-300ER looking resplendent in EVA’s green and white livery offset by a thin orange cheat line. Parked next door was a Uni-Air MD-90, painted in the EVA livery. I recently read somewhere that a couple of MD-90s were built in China at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory. I know of no mainland Chinese airlines operating the MD-90 anymore and since JAL has also sold off all of its MD90s to Delta, I think Uni-Air is the only Asian Airline still operating them. I expect that when Uni-Air is ready to sell its MD-90s, Delta will be a willing buyer. The MD-90’s seat mile costs are comparable to the 737-800, but of course a used MD-90 joins Delta’s fleet at a fraction of the cost of a new 737-800.

One thing I’ve really liked about all the Asian airports I’ve flown through of late is that each gate has separate jet bridges – one for First or Business Class passengers and another for everyone else in Economy Class. It makes a big difference in the forward cabin when you don’t have a couple hundred extra passengers traipsing through the cabin which in turn allows the flight attendants to perform their pre-departure services in a more efficient manner.

I was greeted at the door and escorted to my seat at 5A. There was no immediate service beyond this however, i.e no offer to hang my jacket or bring me coffee or juice. Granted, this is only Business Class but it seems to me that escorting me to my seat is rather an empty gesture if it’s not then followed up one or both of these most basic services. It’s certainly not like a young feller like me needs help finding my seat. The lady immediately behind me might have benefitted from a little help in that regard though. She was beyond elderly and didn’t appear to be acutely aware of her surroundings. Surprisingly, she didn’t have a traveling companion either. Every now and then she would launch into a prolonged coughing fit which would prompt one of the flight attendants to come over and help her along with a few forceful pats on the back.

EVA’s new Royal Laurel Class seats are more suite than seat, arranged in a herringbone or - perhaps more correctly - reverse herringbone configuration since the seats face toward the windows while the center suites face inward toward the center of the cabin. EVA’s 777-300s offer 38 of these suites in two cabins.

EVA’s gone to a lot of effort to promote its Royal Laurel Class service and in particular these new suites. Based upon the website and video referenced above, the suite looks fantastic. For me however, the reality was not as good as the hype. No doubt the suite does look impressive – there’s adequate width, a large video monitor and plenty of table and storage space. The seats are also equipped with 110-volt power outlets and individually adjustable LED reading lamps. The real test though was actually sitting in the suite and that’s where I uncovered the usual problems endemic to so many of these new Business Class suites. My biggest complaint was that the seatback cushions felt stiff. The seat doesn’t “welcome” you as you settle into it. The ergonomic support seemed minimal. I suspect this is not uncommon with these new lie-flat seats because their primary benefit is to provide a good firm surface for sleeping. Well when it comes to sleeping, I like a nice firm surface too. However, even on an 11-13 hour trans-Pacific flight most people are not going to be sleeping all the time, so I think there’s also a lot to be said for actual seating comfort and in this regard I feel this seat comes up a bit short.

Granted, this is just my opinion and it’s also worth noting that I’ve got some back issues that may color my opinion somewhat. At the same time, having flown over 4.5 million miles aboard 171 airlines, I’ve sat in an awful lot of airplane seats and lower back issues notwithstanding, some of those seats I find quite comfortable. Just as a point of current comparison, I think Cathay Pacific’s First and Business Class seats are excellent, as is Singapore’s Business Class seat.

The other issue I have with this suite is its congestion. Once you get sat in there, everything is right up on you. I know, I know – I’ve probably sat in too many First Class suites such as those on Cathay Pacific that are incredibly spacious but honestly, it’s not so much that I feel physically cramped as it is a sense of being cramped – and that’s almost as bad. It’s the MRI tube effect. This was especially true when the seat was lowered into its fully flat position. Like the Business Class seat on Austrian, the space from mid-thigh down to my feet seemed very tight. There’s a tiny little area for your feet that narrows down to about 10” wide at its very end. For a six footer like myself, unless I were to sleep flat on my back and not move, I’d be pushing up against the sides of the suite pretty regularly. My preferred position of sleeping on my side, legs slightly bent, would be out of the question.

Ben Schlappig’s outstanding blog One Mile At A Time at BoardingArea.com has an excellent photo of the Royal Laurel Class Suite that shows exactly what I’m talking about. I have provided a link to Ben’s excellent review of his flight on EVA’s Royal Laurel Class right here and here’s a link to a picture of the Royal Laurel Class Suite right here.

Aside from the seat and suite, I thought EVA provided an excellent service on this flight. A large pillow and blanket were at my seat when I arrived and even though I wasn’t immediately relieved of my jacket, I won’t be writing any letters to the customer relations department. It wasn’t long at all before a flight attendant did eventually stop by, took my jacket and returned shortly thereafter with a tray of juices and water. Menus and Wine Lists were distributed as were lightly scented hot towels. With a projected flight time of two hours and forty seven minutes, there’d be plenty of time to enjoy a nice relaxed service and maybe even take in a movie.

Pushback was right on time and soon thereafter I was enjoying the mild G-forces as the twin GE90-115B engines – the most powerful commercial jet engines in the world – generated a combined 230,000 pounds of thrust and easily pushed us down the runway and up, up into the clear blue yonder.

As we levelled out, I accepted a cup of coffee and took a few minutes to peruse the menu:

Coffee Break on EVA Air


LUNCHEON
Taipei to Beijing

Hors D’Oeuvre
Goose Liver Mousse and Glazed Scallop with Pesto

Soup
Double Boiled Pork Broth with Pear and Apricot Kernels

MAIN COURSE

Golden Fried Shrimp
Coated with Almond Flakes in Spicy Sweet and Sour Sauce
Served with noodles

Pan Fried Beef Fillet with Stroganoff Sauce
Served with Creamy Potato with Asparagus

DESSERT

Freshly Sliced Fruit
Apricot Sponge Cake

* * * ---------------------- * * *

GREEN & SAFE
Taiwan Grandma’s Home Cooking Set

Hors D’Oeuvre
Eco-Friendly Shrimp in Thai Sauce, Stir-Fried Organic King Oyster Mushrooms in Three-Cup Sauce

Soup
Taiwanese Style Fish Ball Soup

Braised Pork Belly
Accented with Tainan Super Grandma’s Ragu Sauce and served with steamed rice and bok choy

Dessert
Freshly Sliced Fruit
Apricot Sponge Cake


When I first saw this menu on last night’s flight down to Taipei, two items jumped out at me – the Goose Liver Mousse and the Beef Fillet with Stroganoff Sauce. You’ll recall I was also impressed with my seatmate’s Green & Safe meal, but since I’ve got two more flights with EVA coming up, I’ll think I’ll have that fillet right now. I want to check out that Stroganoff Sauce!


Goose Liver Mousse and Scallop


First up was a nicely presented plate of the goose liver mousse and scallop – both of which tasted every bit as good as they looked. United Airlines used to serve fois gras as part of its appetizer presentation on longer flights and it was always accompanied with cheese and bread sticks. As a result I really like my pate - or mousse as it were today – with bread but unfortunately that didn’t make an appearance until the next course.


Double Boiled Pork Broth with Pear and Apricot Kernels

Unlike last night’s service, this flight’s crew presented the soup as a separate course. The soup is served in a covered bowl and was accompanied by a impressive bread selection that included a nice variety of rolls as well as my personal favorite, hot buttered garlic bread. The main courses were rolled out on the trolley along with bottles of wine. I’d started with another glass of that tasty German Kabinett and though I’d intended to switch to a red with my fillet, I was so enjoying the white wine that I decided to just stay with that.


Pan Fried Beef Fillet with Stroganoff Sauce

As for the fillet, it was pretty good. It would have been better if it had been cooked just a bit less (it came out medium well which, all things considered, is par for the course for an airline steak) and been served with a proper stroganoff sauce. As it were, the sauce was okay but it tasted more like a tomato cream sauce. A fruit plate and a tasty little apricot sponge cake brought this meal to a satisfying conclusion.


Fruit Plate and Dessert

I traded out my wine for another cup of coffee and, with an hour and a half left in the flight, settled in to watch the rest of a movie which I’d started during the meal. EVA’s “Star Gallery” inflight entertainment system offers a nice selection of AVOD movies, television programs, music and games. Though nowhere near as extensive as Cathay’s Studio CX or Emirates ICE systems, the Star Gallery is a good system – easy to use with a good variety of programming. I selected a Chinese legal thriller called Christmas Rose.

By the time the movie ended, we were just beginning our descent into Beijing. Raising my window shade to check out the view, I noted that Beijing’s air quality was – if anything – a bit browner than yesterday’s. Coming from a place like with Alaska with some of the cleanest air on the planet, it’s quite disheartening to realize that millions of people have to live in these conditions day after day. After day.

Disembarking into Beijing’s modern Terminal 3, I followed the signs to the transit desk and presented my passport and flight information to the agents for my connecting Air China flight to Singapore. Tap-tap-tappity-tap-tap-click.
Hmm… Tap-tappity-tap-tap-tap… Hmm…

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

There was indeed. Apparently, last night when the EVA agents attempted to generate a boarding pass for my Air China flight but ultimately couldn’t, they ended up locking up this reservation. Nothing could be done with it until EVA released it. The solution sounded simple enough. Call EVA and get them to do just that.

Amazingly, this was unable to happen.

It was about 1:00pm when I first showed up at the transit desk. With a couple hours to work with, I wasn’t overly concerned. Thankfully there was a lull in incoming flights, so with no new arrivals at the transit desk it was just me and three agents, two of whom were on the phones working to get me on my flight. Calls were made to all the airlines involved but ultimately it all came back to EVA in Taipei and they claimed they could not unlock the reservation.

2:00pm came and went. 2:30pm – my flight departs in less than an hour. We tried calling United’s stateside reservations but could only get the local reservations office which wasn’t any help at all. 3:00pm. I need to get going RIGHT NOW. No boarding pass, no go. 3:15pm arrived – I heard last call for my flight. Damn those idiots at EVA!

One of the agents allowed me to use his phone in an effort to get through to United and see if I could get transferred to an agent in the U.S. I was on that phone for a good hour and a half to no avail though I did get to listen to Rhapsody in Blue way more than the recommended daily allowance.

The transit desk agents got off work at 6:00pm and two of them helped me get a 72 hour transit visa. Then they were kind enough to escort me down to United’s operations office located a train ride, a couple elevators and a long walk away, way down in the bowels of Terminal 1.

To quite literally make a long story shorter, once there we did get ahold of United reservations back in the U.S. and once again, there was nothing they could do. It was Friday and amazingly, EVA’s offices – the ones that would be empowered to unlock my reservation – would not be open until Monday.

So what am I supposed to do? Here I’ve done nothing wrong, I’ve followed the instructions of Star Alliance member airline EVA to get my boarding pass in Beijing and now I’m being told nothing can be done and I’m potentially stuck in Beijing until Monday?! I’m not one to yell and scream – all of the agents involved were doing their best and essentially just relaying the information as it was – but this really was unacceptable. Unacceptable or not, it was what it was and if I was going to travel on my current ticket, I’d have to wait until at least Monday. I had reservations out of Singapore on Sunday however, so that wasn’t going to work either.

Throughout all this I was more frustrated than worried. I knew I wasn’t going to be stuck in Beijing because one way or the other I could get a ticket out of there using Alaska or United miles or even cash if need be. Of course I didn’t tell the airline this in the hopes that it might spur them to come up with some novel response but they never did.

Ultimately, I ended up spending 22,500 miles from my account to book a completely new ticket on a late night Singapore Airlines flight nonstop to Changi. I had the reservation cross referenced with my original one in the hopes that United will refund the miles I had to use to get out of Beijing that night. I expect they will. Part of me wants to say I’ll never fly EVA again but every airline has its bad days and my only hope is that once this situation has been brought to light, everyone involved will learn from it and implement measures to see that it doesn’t happen again. Well, one can only hope…

By the time I got this all figured out and settled, it was close to 7:30pm. Singapore’s counter wouldn’t open until 9:15pm so I headed off to a very impressive food court where I dined on hot curried chicken and cold local beer to the tune of about $18.00 USD. By 10:00pm I was back in Terminal 3, relaxing over a cold bottle of water in the Air China Business Class Lounge.

A couple of things about the Air China lounge. It certainly looks nice with comfy chairs, nice lighting, quiet sleeping rooms and a good hot buffet. However, there are no work stations, the Wi-Fi only works if you can register with a local phone number, I never could find a working electrical outlet and the showers were no more than a shower and a sink in a closet sized cubicle. There was no chair in there and the shower attendant seemed unfamiliar with the concept of towels. Initially there were none in there and when I requested one I was handed a plastic wrapped hand towel. Finally, I managed to finagle a floor mat out of her but I never did get a proper towel to dry off with.


November 17, 2013
Singapore Airlines Beijing – Singapore 1210a – 6:50a 777-300 Business Class

I do not like flying at night. No, I’m not scared of the dark but because I am usually tired I am looking to get some sleep. That means I am not awake and enjoying the service – what of it there is on a late night flight. Unfortunately, when I rebooked these reservations the only Business Class seats available were either tonight or tomorrow night. Given the many Star Alliance carriers in the region I suppose I could have finagled some exotic connection but after the way things had gone in Beijing, I didn’t want to risk further potential problems staying overnight. Here I had a confirmed seat on a flight out tonight and as the saying goes, a bird in hand is better than…

So it was that eleven hours after I first arrived in Beijing I was comfortably reclined in a spacious Business Class seat aboard a Singapore Airlines 777-300 as we climbed away from smoky Beijing and set course for Singapore – six hours and 2,770 miles away.


Singapore Airlines 777-300 Business Class Seating

Now the Business Class seats on this 777, while not true 180° lie-flat seats, were indeed a lot more comfortable than any other Business Class seat I’d sat in of late. Arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration, the wide leather seats felt immediately soft, comfortable and supportive when I first sat down. Yes!!! At each seat were a large blue pillow and blanket. Although the color clashed horribly with the beige interior, the pillow was large enough to matter and the blanket warm and large enough to cover me comfortably.

The Singapore Girls buzzed efficiently about the cabin, delivering everything from slippers to the hottest towels I’d yet enjoyed on this trip. Pre-departure servings of orange juice and water (there may have been Champagne Mimosas as well) were presented in real glasses and a large menu was presented.

Getting back to the present however, here we are climbing out of Beijing with an all too short six hour flight ahead of us. The Singapore Girls were already taking drink and meal orders and they’d be back at my seat in just a couple of minutes. I’d better have a look at that wine list and menu!


WINE LIST

Champagne
Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut, France

White Wine
2012 Bouchard Pere et Fils Pouilly-Fuisse, Maconnaise, Burgundy, France
2011 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Riesling Kabinett, Mosel, Germany

Red Wine
2009 Chateau Loudenne Medoc Cru Bourgeois, Bordeaux, France
2011 Dandelion Vineyards “Lionheart of The Barossa” Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Australia

Sweet Wine
2009 Chateau Filhot Sauternes

Port
Taylor’s 10-Year Old Tawny Port, Portugal


“Lionheart of The Barossa”… That sounds like a wine I’d like to try. Mmm! And it tastes like a wine I’d like to buy! That’s one of the tastiest shirazes I’ve had in a good long while. Now then, what to pair it with…

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s to avoid eating just before bedtime. Food energizes me so sleep will be put off that much longer. I definitely need sleep on this flight because I’ve got things I’d like to do tomorrow in Singapore. At the same time, there’s just no way I’m going to just sleep through a quality Singapore Airlines premium class service. Let’s see…


SLEEPER SERVICE MENU

Warm Rosemary-Olive Bread
Served with pastrami and mustard mayonnaise, grilled vegetables

Seafood Glass Noodle Soup
Mung bean noodles in rich broth garnished with steamed seafood and vegetables

Selection of Chinese Dumplings
Steamed soupy pork dumplings, shrimp and chives dumplings, pan-fried chicken mushroom dumplings

American Breakfast
Fruit yoghurt, mushroom omelet with chicken sausage, roasted tomato and gratin potato
Bread selection with preserves

Continental Breakfast
Assorted bread with preserves

Your meal will be served with a selection of sliced fresh fruits


I asked about the possibility of sleeping first and eating later – specifically how late in the flight could I order that breakfast. Two hours out was the reply. Whaaaaat?! That hardly leaves any time for sleeping! Hmm… okay then, how about this? I’ll go with a plate of those Chinese Dumplings after which I’ll trade out the Shiraz for a couple glasses of Jack Daniels. Sounds like a plan!


Selection of Chinese Dumplings

And so it was. The dumplings were delicious without being too filling and three glasses of Jack Daniels induced a quality torpor that allowed me to sleep quite nicely despite the seat reclining to only about 170°. Seriously – it was almost flat and exceptionally comfortable. Being the quality operation that they are, I suspect Singapore Airlines sent a few people down to the factory to try out these seats and actually sleep in them before committing to purchase the seats. Some of the other Business Class seats I’ve sat in such as Austrian’s and EVA Air’s would seem to suggest that the airline was so overwhelmed with all the shiny whistles and bells surrounding the seat that they never put the actual seat to the real test of sitting and sleeping in it. Whatever – that was one comfortable seat with its only downside being that the person on the window would not have unfettered access to the aisle. Thankfully tonight’s flight was only about half full in Business Class and so I had the seat pair to myself.


On Final Into Singapore

We landed on a cool, rainy morning in Singapore. Despite the comfort of my seat, the brevity of the flight meant that I only managed about four hours of sleep. I needed more. So – rather than go through immigration and then catch a ride to my pre-booked hotel which might or might not let me check-in early, I instead found a cool dark area underneath the stairway to the Rainforest Lounge. There I unfurled my Thermarest pad and blanket and slept undisturbed for another four hours.

Although my preference would have been a hotel down in the Orchard Road district, the 9:30am departure time of tomorrow’s flight dictated that I book a hotel a bit closer to the airport – that is, if I wanted to spend any time in Singapore’s Silver Kris Lounge prior to my flight. As such, I’d booked a room at the Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel, located just ten minutes away from Changi with a complimentary airport shuttle. After checking in, I changed into some lighter clothes and then caught a bus out to Jurong Bird Park.


My Room at The Grand Mercure Roxy

Unfortunately, all pictures of my travels end here because – for the second time this year – I went and left my camera onboard a plane. That flight was a couple of days from now and I’ll miss some good photos I took from Jurong Bird Park as well as some great sunset thunderheads seen on the flight between Jakarta and Taipei. Like the other cameras that I’ve left on planes over the past three years, this one’s unlikely to ever be returned. Maybe I’d be less forgetful if I purchased a larger camera. At least the cameras that I’ve lost have been worth less than $200.00 each. Some people here pay more than that for a single night in a hotel. But still -

Seat 2A

November 18, 2013
Singapore Airlines Singapore - Jakarta 930a – 1015a 777-300 Business Class
EVA Airways Jakarta - Taipei 220p – 825p A330-200 Business Class

I got an early start this morning, up at 6:30am, out of the shower a few minutes later and on my way to Changi aboard the 7:00am airport shuttle. I’d checked-in and issued my boarding pass the night before, so it was a pretty expedited journey straight through to the Silver Kris Lounge.

Prior to yesterday, my only experience in premium class travel aboard Singapore Airlines came back in 1987 when I flew First Class between Brisbane and Singapore. The seats were the early generation sleeper seats arranged 2-2 up in the nose of the 747-200, but the inflight service was every bit as refined as it is today. However, my only Singapore related lounge experience was via a small room in the Brisbane airport. My First Class ticket beyond Singapore was on Thai, so this would be my first visit to a Silver Kris lounge of any stripe.

If there’s a way to write up lounges in such a way as to get you all fired up and excited, I have yet to discover it. I suppose it would start with either me getting all fired up and excited about lounges in general or the lounge itself would be of such high quality that the mere reporting on its various amenities and attributes would be cause for exhilaration and delight.

No don’t get me wrong, gang. I look forward to a little pre-flight lounging every bit as much as the next person. After all, it beats the heck out of hanging out in the gate lounge. And there’s food! Besides, I truly am curious as to the differences in each airline’s lounge, but in most cases there really isn’t much. In most Business Class lounges you can expect to find comfortable seating, a decent selection of newspapers and magazines, and a small business center with computers and a printer. The better lounges will have showers as well as a nice food and drink buffet offering hot and cold foods.

For me at least, the scope and quality of the food offerings is where it’s at because otherwise I’m usually whiling away the time in a chair somewhere reading or working on my laptop. Now unless your chair is a recliner or a massager of some type, well. one comfy chair is pretty much the same as the next.

So – that in mind, I will say that Singapore’s Business Class side of the Silver Kris Lounge is a very nice lounge indeed offering all of the aforementioned amenities highlighted – for me at least – by an excellent food buffet that included about a dozen different local and western hot dishes including poached eggs Florentine. In anticipation of just such a buffet, I’d not eaten prior to my arrival at the lounge. The Eggs Florentine did not disappoint, nor did the chicken sausage and sautéed mushrooms. Once again though, I do apologize that some aircraft cleaner in Beijing is getting to enjoy pictures of this lounge instead of yourselves. If it’s any consolation, I’ve decided to install a new, larger and more colorful zipper attachment on my daypack in the hope that it will serve as a reminder to make sure I’ve remembered my camera on future trips.

Off to the gate and through security – now then, what’s the registration of this aircraft? I know a lot of you can’t be bothered with such trivialities but I’ve been logging my flights since I was but a wee lad and one of the more important and interesting parts of a complete log entry is the registration number of the aircraft. From that, you can often learn some fascinating details about your airplane such as its age or past history. Now these days Singapore Airlines doesn’t buy or lease used aircraft, and for the most part it doesn’t keep its aircraft much longer than ten years or so. This 777-312 was the second of its type delivered new to Singapore on September 27th, 2001. At just over 12 years old it’s definitely getting a bit long in the tooth by Singapore standards. I wonder which airline’s livery it’ll wear next?

As a side note to some of the fascinating stuff you can learn via your aircraft registration number, I once flew aboard an Alaska Airlines 737-200C that was made up with parts from three different 737s. It began life in 1974 as a 737-298C built for Air Zaire. In May of 1985 the airplane suffered a nose gear failure and slid off a runway at Kinshasa. The plane suffered a broken right wing and was deemed a write off by the insurance adjusters. It was subsequently abandoned in place, vegetating alongside the runway for the next few months.

In August of 1985 a British Airtours 737-236 was involved in a fatal accident during its takeoff roll at Manchester-Ringway Airport. As the aircraft approach V1, the number 1 engine exploded. The pilots managed to steer the airplane onto a taxiway but the resulting fire badly damaged the airplane and in the ensuing panic-stricken evacuation 55 lives were lost. Despite all this there was no damage to the right wing however.

Eventually it was realized that the African 737, despite having sat out in the elements for over a year (during which it also incurred a few bullet holes!) was imminently salvageable with the addition of the undamaged wing from the British jet. The African 737 was sold to Waites Aviation and transferred to Israel Aircraft Industries where it was rebuilt. Aside from the right wing, one of the other elements necessary to return this plane to service was a fore and aft galley. Those were obtained from the Aloha Airlines 737-200 that in 1988 had lost part of its fuselage skin and structure while cruising at 23000’ between Hilo and Honolulu. The rebuilt airplane joined Alaska Airlines in October of 1988 and flew another 19 years before it was retired in January of 2007.

The distance between Singapore and Jakarta is only 550 miles, flyable in a mere hour and twenty-five minutes. The short flight notwithstanding, the lucky few of us who were sat in Singapore’s Business Class had a lot of service to look forward to, starting with the usual pre-flight amenities such as juice and hot towels. Already placed in each seatback was a light blue menu card offering a surprising variety and amount of food for such a short flight. Check it out!


BRUNCH MENU
Singapore to Jakarta

MAIN COURSE

Bami Goreng
Indonesian fried noodles with chicken and prawns

Egg Frittata
Served with baked beans, tomato and chicken sausage

Poached Eggs with Mornay Sauce
Accompanied by a muffin, roma tomato and potatoes

FINALE
Roasted Nut Mocha Praline
Gourmet coffees and a selection of fine teas


As nice as the above menu is, I had previously decided to take advantage of Singapore’s “Book The Cook” option which allows Premium Class passengers to pre-book their meal from a wide variety of options. We’re not talking about 10 or 15 choices here. Honestly, the number is closer to 50 and the variety is most impressive. You can check some of the choices out right HERE.

I had read good reviews on the Lamb Shank, so that’s what I ordered. Wow! This was a great choice! I was presented a tray bearing a good sized portion of lamb accompanied by Indian curried lentils, some kind of tasty yellow stuff and delicious basmati rice. Had this meal been served on a plate, it would have passed quite nicely for a First Class meal and I kid you not when I say it was truly one of the best airline meals I’ve ever had.



Book The Cook Curried Lamb Shank




Book The Cook Curried Lamb Shank - Main Course Close Up

Well done, Singapore Airlines!

Due to either the late night or very short flight times of my two flights on Singapore, I never did get an opportunity to check out the KrisWorld inflight entertainment system. Arguably the best of its kind in the industry, it features more than 1000 on-demand options including over 100 movies, 170 TV shows from around the world, 740 music CDs and over 80 multiplayer 3D games. I’ll just have to come back again sometime – hopefully in First Class.

You could see the incredible humidity in the air as we descended into Jakarta. Located at just 6° south of the equator, Jakarta is about as humid as it gets. I’ve seen many days like this when flying into Atlanta and Miami during the spring and summer months and I know that once I get off of this airplane, it’s not gonna be pleasant.

As we dropped out of the steamy skies and touched down onto runway 25R at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, I was quite taken with first time sightings of local Indonesian airliners such as a line-up of colorful Batik Air 737-900s, a Mandala A320 and a small group of Batavia Air 737-300s, mothballed since the airline’s bankruptcy and subsequent grounding earlier this year. Parked off in a maintenance area was a Lionair 747-400. I didn’t know Lionair had a 747-400!

I really liked the looks of this airport – modern yet still retaining local style such as the Javanese-styled Pendopo boarding pavilions. Now – let’s just hope the air-conditioning works!

For some odd reason I was unable to check-in online and issue a boarding pass for my onward EVA Air flight up to Taipei. As such, I had to visit the transit desk where a uniformed ground services employee informed me that I’d have to wait for about 45 minutes before EVA’s counters opened. A rickety chair and a couple of wheelchairs were located beside the transit desk and so I took a seat in the wheelchair and waited. The transit desk was located in an open-air part of the airport and I was thankful that I’d been able to do some laundry the night before in Singapore. I always keep a couple of those stiff cardboard brochure cards in my jacket pocket – you know, the kind you see advertising local attractions at hotels and tourist information kiosks. A couple of those cards really come in handy for fanning yourself in situations like this.

Eventually I got my boarding passes and was then escorted by the ground services guy up to the airline lounge area. He pointed to the lounges and said I could use any one of them. Really?! The one with the EVA emblem at its door was the Jasa Angkasa Semesta Lounge, so that’s where I headed first. It looked cool and dark inside but was really more dark than cool. I continued down a narrow corridor which opened into a larger room with plenty of windows and even more chairs. There were so many chairs placed in there that walking around amidst them all looked a tad difficult. I headed for a bank of computers along the far wall and managed to pull up the Broncos – Chiefs game, currently in the fourth quarter with the Broncos leading 27-10. Yes!!!!

Once again, I was a little leery of the food selection. There were some hot items that included samosas and miniature wraps of some kind along with a couple of cold mayonnaise type salads that didn’t look to have been presented on ice. I limited myself to bottled water and some leftover nut mix from my Asiana flight a few days ago. I also had a look at the showers but ultimately decided against using them. The one I saw could have been cleaner, didn’t include any soap or shampoo and provided only a thin, skimpy towel. I’ll catch a proper shower in the EVA lounge tomorrow morning.

Boarding was from gate D-5, located way down at the end of the D Pavilion. I liked the rustic looking little shops along the way. Indeed, it was refreshing to not be assaulted by the bright lights and shiny glitter of all the high end retailers such as Bulgari or Chanel. For me at least, it's easy to resent stores selling things most people can't afford, especially when they're out of France or Italy rather than being homegrown. I’m a lot more likely to stop, look and maybe even buy something in little shops like these than those big annoyingly shiny ones.

This flight was originally scheduled to be operated with a 777-300 but given my recent complaints with EVA’s new Business Class suites, I for one was happy when the equipment was recently changed to an Airbus A330-200. The load was light in both classes this afternoon – about half full in back and maybe a third full up front. I love flights like this because everything seems a lot more relaxed. There’s plenty of space for everyone to spread out and the crew can relax a bit as well with less people to serve. Conversely, I don’t like flights that are empty. On a couple of occasions I’ve been the only person in an international First Class cabin. That’s just weird – like drinking alone. Today however was just perfect.



The painting at the front of the cabin lends a nice ambience

Large thunderclouds gathered ominously in the distance as we taxied past palm trees and airport outbuildings to runway 7R. We followed a succession of blue and white liveried Garuda aircraft onto the runway, finally taking to the air ourselves at 2:55pm local time. Climb out was a bit bumpy but I got a good view of Jakarta as we accelerated past the central business district and on out over Jakarta Bay and the Java Sea beyond.

With almost five hours of flying to look forward to until we’re due to land in Taipei, now seemed like a perfect time for a gin and tonic. Maybe a couple of them! I retrieved the menu from the seatback pocket to consider the possibilities… Since the wine list was the exact same as that on my previous two EVA flights, for the purposes of a mixed drink I’ll focus here on just the spirits:


Spirits
Kavalan Single Malt Whiskey
Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch Whiskey
Bombay Sapphire Gin
Smirnoff Black Label Vodka
Bacardi Light Rum

* * * ---------------------------------- * * *

Now last year, fellow FlyerTalker Chalkie responded to one of my trip reports wherein I’d mentioned that according to my summer roommate in Denali – a 68 year old ex-Marine we call “Texas Lee” who introduced me to the pleasures of a refreshing Gin & Tonic after work - it was my understanding that any old tonic would do. Not so! said Chalkie, who went on to provide an excellent tutorial on the virtues of using good gin and better tonic – the best being Schweppes Indian Tonic Water sweetened with cane sugar. I suspect the Bombay Sapphire will meet with Chalkie’s approval but unfortunately, the tonic water proffered by my EVA cabin crew was of a brand unknown to me. Further, they tried to accent my G&T with a lemon. Heavens no! Have you any limes? What’s a lime?! The flight attendant didn’t know what a lime was! Thankfully she worked for a company whose primary color was green. Indeed, her uniform was green. It wasn’t long before we’d sorted it out and I was presented a gin and tonic with three slim slivers of lime. Better, but not quite there yet. For my refill, I got her to add more gin and, since the limes were delivered already sliced by the caterers, a small handful of them. Apparently I was the only one using them anyway.



Cocktail Hour on EVA - Note the Lime Slices

Now then, what’s for dinner?


DINNER
Jakarta to Taipei

Hors D’Oeuvre
Beef and Spinach Roll and Curried Seafood Terrine with Potato Salad

MAIN COURSE

Steamed Chicken Thigh in Japanese Style
Japanese Mixed Vegetables and Steamed Rice with Sesame

Pan Fried Beef Tenderloin with Balsamic Sauce
Mixed Vegetables and Potato Gratin

Stir Fried Seafood with Tomato Cream Sauce
Mixed Vegetables and Buttered Spaghetti

AFTERWARDS

A Selection of Fresh Fruit
Chocolate Lemon Tart
Coffee and Tea



I was surprised to see that unlike the two hour flight between Taipei and Beijing, this one did not include the Green & Safe option, otherwise known as the Taiwan Grandma’s Home Cooking Set. Oh well, there was still plenty to choose from and I could always order the Green & Safe option on tomorrow’s flight up to Beijing. As for today, let’s go with the Japanese Chicken Thigh.

The appetizer plate was delicious. I particularly liked the beef and spinach rolls – a combination that doesn’t spring to mind when I think of beef but in this case it worked out quite nicely. The potato salad was also surprisingly good. I accompanied this with a glass of the Spanish white wine but soon switched back to my old favorite, the German Riesling.




Appetizer: Beef and Spinach Roll and Curried Seafood Terrine with Potato Salad

I’m not sure what made the chicken Japanese in style, but it was very good. It was mildly spiced with hints of ginger and soy, but then so are a lot of Asian foods. We’ve got three Japanese restaurants back home in Fairbanks. I guess I need to visit them more often. The problem is we also have nine Thai restaurants and I really like Thai food. Personally I was hoping that this flight would include an Indonesian meal choice. My only experiences with Indonesian food have come on a few occasions in Australia, but I really like what I’ve had so far.



Lemon Tart

When it comes to inflight entertainment, I’ve always liked the view out my window the best. After dinner I switched over to the other side of the cabin where a beautiful sunset was developing amidst towering cumulonimbus clouds. I love the clouds over tropical seas. There is such an abundance of humidity emanating off those warm ocean waters and as it rises and cools up in the troposphere the effects can be quite stunning.

As the show out my window came to an end, I turned my attention to EVA’s Star Gallery inflight entertainment system. It offers an impressive variety of movies and Woody Allen’s latest – Jasmine Blue – with Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin looked interesting. Not bad, not bad…



Sky Map

Then I discovered the trivia game. I do love a good challenge and just like that I got lost in time, space and trivia questions that ate up the remaining hour and a half in what felt like only fifteen minutes. When the captain interrupted to announce that we would soon be commencing our descent into Taipei, I was ascending through the third level enroute to a record setting charge into the fourth level. Alas, I missed three of the next five questions and plummeted back to the beginning. Man that was fun!

We landed on a nice clear night in Taipei and parked next to an EVA 777-300 wearing one of six unique Hello Kitty liveries. Prior to this trip I’d never even heard of Hello Kitty – a collection of cartoon cats of Japanese origin. Apparently they’ve been around since 1974 and now appear (in Asia) on everything from television programs to fashion accessories to Visa cards. There are even a couple of Hello Kitty theme parks. All combined, this phenomenon generates over $5 Billion U.S. dollars per year.

By the time I cleared transit formalities it was close to 9:00pm. I paid a brief visit to the EVA lounge where I was ever so thankful to successfully print out a boarding pass for my All Nippon flight out of Beijing tomorrow afternoon. I certainly wouldn’t relish a repeat of last week’s misadventure there. I then headed over to C-4, the gate where I spent the night three nights ago. It has a great little alcove over by the windows that’s nice and dark. Unfortunately, tonight C-4 was occupied by a San Francisco bound flight that was originally scheduled for a 1950 departure but now was delayed until 0300. Of all the darned gates…

I found a suitable place to camp just a couple of gates up. Thankfully the folks that operate this airport don’t pump out music and annoying announcements all night long. I got a good night’s rest and awoke primed and ready for my 142nd flight on a 747 and my first ever flight with All Nippon Airways.


November 19, 2013
EVA Air Taipei – Beijing 925a – 1225p 747-400 Business Class
ANA All Nippon Airways Beijing - Osaka 235p – 640p 767-300 Business Class

When I flew on this same flight just three days ago it was operated by a 777-300. I’m appreciative of the equipment change though because per my tastes at least, a Premium Class seat up in the nose or upstairs on a 747 is preferable to the same seat up front on a 777. Additionally, for reasons I’ve already covered here, I find the comfy older style seats in EVA’s Premium Laurel Class much more to my liking than the modern but comparatively cramped suites in EVA’s Royal Laurel Class. By the way, seat pitch in Premium Laurel Class on the 747 is 62”. It’s nice to be able to easily cross my legs – something I can’t easily do in those 777 suites.



My Chariot Awaits

It was a nice sunny day over Taiwan – a great day for a window seat as we climbed out over the shimmering deep blue of the South China Sea. Flight time was projected to be two hours and fifty-three minutes – plenty of time to put in some work on this report and then enjoy a leisurely lunch before our midday arrival in China’s capital city.

The cabin crew had other ideas, though. Despite the early hour – about 10:15am by the time we’d levelled out – and with a little over two and a half hours yet to go in this flight, they very quickly got down to the business of serving lunch. Meal and drink orders were taken and table cloths were laid. What’s the rush, ladies? Thankfully the gal working my side of the cabin said it wouldn’t be a problem to serve me lunch about an hour later, though she did seem a bit surprised at my request. Who knows – maybe people like to eat lunch early on this side of the Pacific because a quick look around the cabin revealed that everyone else was preparing to eat now. In any event, I started out with a couple cups of coffee and put in a request for the oddly named Green & Safe meal, highlighted by the Braised Pork Belly main course. Mmm!

By the way, here’s the menu:


LUNCHEON
Taipei to Beijing

Hors D’Oeuvre
Goose Liver Mousse and Glazed Scallop with Pesto

Soup
Double Boiled Pork Broth with Pear and Apricot Kernels

MAIN COURSE

Golden Fried Shrimp
Coated with Almond Flakes in Spicy Sweet and Sour Sauce
Served with noodles

Pan Fried Beef Fillet with Stroganoff Sauce
Served with Creamy Potato with Asparagus

DESSERT

Freshly Sliced Fruit
Apricot Sponge Cake

* * * ---------------------- * * *

GREEN & SAFE
Taiwan Grandma’s Home Cooking Set

Hors D’Oeuvre
Eco-Friendly Shrimp in Thai Sauce, Stir-Fried Organic King Oyster Mushrooms in Three-Cup Sauce

Soup
Taiwanese Style Fish Ball Soup

Braised Pork Belly
Accented with Tainan Super Grandma’s Ragu Sauce and served with steamed rice and bok choy

Dessert
Freshly Sliced Fruit
Apricot Sponge Cake





The Green & Safe Meal - All except dessert presented on one tray

I’ve heard of “eco-friendly” products but I don’t believe I’ve ever eaten “eco-friendly” shrimp. In fact, I can’t even imagine how the shrimp ever became “eco-friendly” in the first place or if that’s even something the little crustaceans achieved of their own free will or were instead made to do so under duress by like, well meaning hippies or something. In any event, the shrimp I was served today tasted about the same as their less eco-friendly brethren. Those mushrooms were pretty darned good, too.

I wish I hadn’t left my camera onboard this flight because the braised pork belly was every bit as photogenic as it was delicious! The pork took up most of the serving dish, sitting atop steamed rice and bok choy. The meat was moist, tender and flavorful made all the more so with the addition of this fantastic side dish of hot sauce. I’m not talking about that horrid sweet garlic chilli sauce that’s so ubiquitous to Asian accoutrements but rather this full flavored and spicy hot sauce that would complement just about any dish I could imagine. The thing is - I think the Ragu sauce is what the pork was served in, but this side sauce was something different. Anyway, it’s a moot point now because I forgot to ask about it. I’m just gonna have to redeem some more miles and return to Taiwan for a longer stay.

By the time we’d landed, taxied all around the airport and finally gotten squared away at the gate, it was almost 1:00pm. My ANA flight over to Osaka was due to depart in just an hour and a half so I wasted no time in re-clearing security and making my way over to gate E-20. As we’d taxied in to our gate on the other side of the terminal, I’d seen two ANA 787s parked nearby one another. Hmm… any chance the Osaka flight might have switched out from a 767-300 to a 787-800? That would have been awesome seeing as I have yet to fly on a 787. I was booked on one back in January but then the fleet got grounded.

Alas, it was not to be. Flanked on either side by shiny new ANA 787s was a dusty old 767-300 wearing the ANA livery but with Air Japan titles. Truth be known, my 767 wasn’t all that old – only 9 ˝ years in fact – and it’d be nice to fly on one again since the last time I flew aboard a 767 was early last year. In fact, a check of my flight log shows I’ve only logged three flights aboard 767s over the past three years. There’ll be plenty of time to log a few flights aboard the 787, hopefully starting next spring with flights aboard LOT and/or Ethiopian.

From its humble beginnings as the Nippon Helicopter and Aeroplane Co. back in 1952, All Nippon Airways has grown into Japan’s largest airline. It was strictly a domestic airline limited to the occasional international charter until 1986 when the Ministry of Transportation finally allowed carriers other than government owned Japan Air Lines to fly internationally. In addition to its extensive domestic network, ANA's international route network now extends through China, Korea, Southeast Asia, the United States and Western Europe. I’ve heard great things about ANA’s First Class service on its flights between Japan and North America, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how its Business Class service will be on this 1110 mile flight.

General boarding was announced at 2:10pm. I was initially surprised that there was no separate call for Business Class but the small crowd in the gate lounge and later – all the empty seats onboard – told the story. By the time the door had been closed and the jet bridge retracted, we had all of three people in the 35 seat forward cabin and maybe a couple dozen people in the back.

ANA operates two different seating configurations on its 767-300s. Both are configured 2-1-2 in Business Class but one offers 35 angle-flat seats at a 59” pitch while the other offers 35 recliners with a 50” pitch – the latter being perfect for a shorter flight such as this.

We followed a pair of Air China A330s out to the runway. One of them wore Air China’s basic blue, white and grey livery while the other bore the beautiful red and gold Zijin Hao “Forbidden Pavilion Liner” livery. I watched as they thundered down the runway and quickly disappeared into the hazy grey skies. Following a 31 second takeoff roll, so did we.

As we climbed smoothly away from the smoke and haze of Beijing and into the clear blue skies of the mid-level troposphere, I reclined my seat a bit and took a few minutes to peruse the attractive grey menu that was found in the seatback pocket. It contained the drink and menu offerings for a three month period covering September through November. The drinks never changed but the food offerings did. Let’s have a look at November’s selections…


WINE LIST

Champagne
Champagne Drappier Carte d’Or Brut

White Wine
Saint Véran Cuvée Prestige Terresdes Lices 2009/2010 Paul Sapin

Red Wine
Château Gravat 2009

Sake
Sawanoi Junmai Ginjo Soten

Shochu
Shima Senryo
Hanamugi Moriya

Spirits
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old
Jack Daniels Black
Bombay Sapphire Gin
Absolut Vodka


* * * ---------------------- * * *

JAPANESE CUISINE

Kuchidori
Smoked duck and grilled scallop with soy based sauce
Crab Claw
Vegetable Fishcake
Pickled vegetable Sushi Roll

Kobachi
Soft-simmered octopus with soy based sauce

Shusai
Fillet of beef steak with ponzu and onion sauce (215 kcal)

Rice
Steamed rice

Soup
Miso Soup

Petits Fours[/i]

* * * ---------------------- * * *

INTERNATIONAL CUISINE

Appetizer
Cheese flavored polenta
Crabmeat salad with sautéed zucchini
Roasted beef with Dijon mustard

Main Course
Sautéed Sea Bass with Tomato Sauce (284 kcal)

Bread
Laugen Roll

Dessert
Raspberry Mousse



Unlike my previous flight into Beijing, service was relaxed on this two hour and forty minute flight across the Korean Peninsula and Sea of Japan to Osaka. The English language ability of the flight attendant serving my side of the cabin was a bit rough, but then how many English speaking people regularly fly the Beijing – Osaka route? Honestly, I’ve been very impressed with the language skills exhibited on all of the flights I’ve taken on this trip, be it aboard Vueling between Frankfurt and Barcelona or Turkish between Istanbul and Kigali. As a native English speaker, I feel fortunate that English happens to be the official business language of the planet (for now, at least…) but really, everyone’s been just great. Tonight, I had no difficulty establishing that I’d like to start out with a Jack Daniels on the rocks. Lots of ice, please!

I would love to have watched the landscape unfold below but as we sped westward across the East China Sea, thick cloud cover soon obscured everything. The forecast for Osaka was rain.

When the time came to place my order for dinner, I went with the Japanese meal. This was due mainly to my preference of steak over sea bass rather than any real sense of culinary adventure. I accompanied my meal with a bottle of the Château Gravat, a Bordeaux blend that tasted every bit like the $8.00 bottle of wine that it was.

Alas, dinner was a bit disappointing. The crab claw and the octopus were okay but everything else looked and tasted tired and dry. The “fillet steak” looked and tasted more like a discarded meat scrap one would toss to the family dog than a proper cut of meat served in an international Business Class cabin. Whether this was due to the poor quality of the flight kitchen or a minimal investment in catering by ANA, I don’t know. Either way, based upon this meal I wouldn’t recommend ANA’s Business Class to anyone looking forward to a bit of inflight culinary entertainment. And to all those folks who say “Well what do you expect – it’s airline food!” I say stick a fork in it. Anyone who flies a lot and is able to be reasonably objective with regard to the limitations inherent to inflight catering knows that the airlines often can and do provide surprisingly good food onboard. Hopefully the meal I was served today was a one flight aberration.

ANA’s Sky Channel inflight entertainment system had a nice variety of movies including some older American films like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Grand Prix. Also spotted were some more recent (20 year old) “classics” like My Cousin Vinnie, A Few Good Men and Sister Act. I was tempted to check out My Cousin Vinnie but there wasn’t enough time left in the flight. That’s alright. This movie is part of my personal collection at home. Maybe I’ll watch it next week.

We landed on a cool rainy night in Osaka. As I stepped off the plane and into the jet bridge, the cold air was a refreshing change from the hot humid air I’d so recently experienced down in Singapore and Jakarta. I thanked the flight attendants shivering at the door and proceeded up the jet bridge and on down to immigration. I had a long layover here in Osaka – about fourteen hours – and would have to go landside to make my way over to Terminal 2 where tomorrow’s flight would depart from. First however, I had to clear immigration in customs.

I’ve entered a lot of countries over the past couple of months and in each case, once I’ve completed immigration formalities I’ve simply strolled unimpeded through the Nothing to Declare lane. Tonight was different. Maybe it was because I was leaving first thing tomorrow. Then again, maybe it was just random or perhaps it was just my luck to come across a couple of bored customs officials. Either way, tonight I got the third degree. Both my daypack and carry-on bag were thoroughly inspected, including a check of the sides and bottom of the roll-a-board in search of hidden compartments. My Thermarest Pad was unfurled and thoroughly probed for illicit imports. Meanwhile I was asked all the predictable questions about where I’d been and where I was going and why. I asked the agents what if anything did they usually find. Drugs, mostly was the reply. I told them my preference was good bourbon to anything illegal. They had a bit of a laugh at that and then I was told to follow one of them for a “Body Check”. A body check? Gulp! Actually, it just involved me taking off my shoes, emptying my pockets and subjecting to a pat down. Then I was free to go.

There are a number of hotels within three miles of Osaka’s Kansai International Airport. Unfortunately none of them was priced under $80.00 USD for a room tonight. That’s too much for what amounts to a simple sleeping room. It’d be different if it was earlier in the day and I had time to actually enjoy some of the hotel amenities or if I were here on business or vacation. Heck, I paid $125.00 the other night for my room at the Grand Mercure Roxy in Singapore. By the time I’d get to a hotel tonight however, all I’d be doing is reading for a bit and going to bed. I can do that right here in the Kansai airport for free. Besides, tomorrow I’d have to wake up early in order to get to the airport in reasonable time for an international check-in. Being as I’m already sleeping here at the airport, I can afford to sleep in.

Now I know that a lot of people have serious problems when it comes to sleeping in airports. I look at it as an adventure. And fun. Some airports, like Seattle, I actually look forward to sleeping in. Especially since the many of the airport police now know me. Most people however would never voluntarily sleep in an airport, regardless of the amount of money to be paid for a hotel room. I think many times it’s not so much a comfort issue as it is one of self-esteem and image.

“There’s no way I’m sleeping in any airport terminal! I’m better than that! Besides, what would people think if they saw me lying on some bench or worse – on the floor?!”

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Perhaps I’ve lived a bit rougher life than some; hitch-hiking all over the country in my younger years and sleeping wherever I could find a safe, out of the way spot. I’ve spent entire summers living out of my tent and slept just fine. The way I see it, who cares what anybody thinks if they see me lying on a floor in an airport? I’ll likely never see them again anyway. I’m not proud (at least not in that regard) and in the big picture there are far worse transgressions in life than sleeping in public. Like vanity and excessive pride or ego. Sure I’d rather sleep in a hotel room but I’ve also grown up appreciating the value of a dollar from an early age. I could easily afford to buy a room at any hotel in the world but why waste the money when all I’m gonna do is sleep? I’ll take the money saved and spend it on something I can enjoy when I’m awake. In this case, I’m thinking about a couple pounds of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Mmm!

Thankfully, I’m in better shape than most when it comes to sleeping in airports. In my roll-a-board I have a Thermarest pad, a full sized warm wool blanket, a small pillow, a mini-mag light with headband attachment for reading, an alarm clock and some very good First Class eye shades from Cathay Pacific. Whereas everyone else is sleeping fitfully at best in chairs or on benches, I’m snoozin’ like Rumplestiltskin, warm and comfortable atop my pad and under my blanket.

Tomorrow’s flight down to Hong Kong is aboard Japanese low cost carrier Peach Aviation. They operate out of Terminal 2, located about a half mile away from the main Terminal 1. A free bus service connects the two terminals. I used it and, after locating a suitable out of the way spot to sleep, set up camp and spent the rest of the evening reading before lapsing into a good seven hour sleep.


November 20, 2013
Peach Aviation Osaka – Hong Kong 830a – 1145a A320-200 Economy Class
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong – Los Angeles 1155p – 830p 777-300 First Class
Alaska Airlines Los Angeles – Seattle 930p – 1210a 737-900 First Class

Peach Aviation was formed in February 2011 as an affiliate of ANA Holdings Inc. According to the airline’s website, Peach is the first LCC to be established in Japan. It is based at Kansai International Airport and when I was investigating airfares between Osaka and Hong Kong, Peach was far and away the most affordable choice with a price of $139.00 one way - less than half that of the next least expensive option.

Check in was via kiosk. There were six kiosks and thankfully there were also a couple of pink clad Peach agents to render assistance to those of us who were unable to understand Japanese because the kiosks did not offer an English option. I had already gotten a seat assignment at the time I’d made my reservation, so once the kiosk spit out my boarding pass I was free to proceed to the gate. Those with bags to check were directed to the counter where a line of about fifteen people awaited.

Last night I’d exchanged $10.00 USD for the equivalent amount in Japanese Yen. I’d bought only a bottle of water thus far and so this morning spent the remainder on coffee and a couple of sandwiches to enjoy during the flight.

When it came time to board, it appeared that many of our Asian brethren get just as confused as some of us do on this side of the Pacific. Despite the gate agent clearly announcing in Japanese, English and assumedly Mandarin Chinese that boarding would commence only for those holding window seats designated A and F (she even held up a large sign to this effect), the gate lice abounded, seemingly impervious to the logic of the process.

Once onboard, I was thankful that I’d chosen to pay an extra $13.00 for a reclining exit row seat. The rest of the seats looked to have a seat pitch of about 29” – pretty standard for a low cost carrier. The flight was only about 60% full and both I and the guy ahead of me had rows to ourselves. Shortly after we’d leveled off, a young European couple tried to relocate into the empty non-reclining exit row across the cabin from me. They were quickly rousted by an alert flight attendant who sent them scurrying back to their proper seats. It was nice to see that they didn’t give the flight attendant a hard time about it. I once watched some self-entitled jerk throw a big hissy fit when a United FA ran his butt out of an Economy Plus seat. Those who want to enjoy larger seats have plenty of opportunity to pay for them in advance, but they have zero right to complain if the airline chooses to hold them to that agreement.

As is the case with most LCCs, everything is for sale on Peach. Even coffee and water come at a price. I was tempted to pay Ą200 (about $2.00 USD) for a cup of coffee until I noticed it was only a sachet of Nescafe. Aside from that though, the rest of the menu offered decent variety and looked reasonably priced. You can check it out HERE.

The four hour flight to Hong Kong passed relatively quickly, thanks in no small measure to the final 100 or so pages of W.P. Kinsella’s novel Dance Me Outside. You know how it is when you get near the end of an enjoyable read – time flies as quickly as the pages do. All too soon we were on our approach into Hong Kong. As usual, it involved descending through a layer of thick grey clouds. I’ve never seen a sunny day in Hong Kong…

We parked amidst a gaggle of Chinese Airbuses out on the North Satellite Concourse. This concourse was designed for narrow-body aircraft and is equipped with 10 jet bridges. A short bus ride connects it to the main terminal. It’s quite an exciting bus ride as we drove around the satellite and past all the parked aircraft before heading to the terminal. Many of the Chinese airline liveries are quite colorful. It would have been a great day to have my camera with me as we drove past primarily Airbus family airliners from China Southern, Sichuan, China Eastern and, Shanghai Airlines along with a 737 from China Xinhua Airlines.

It was a little past 1:00pm when I presented myself at the transit desk. My onward Cathay Pacific flight to Los Angeles wasn’t scheduled to depart until 11:55pm – eleven hours from now. I was hoping to get on the 4:25pm departure to LA but had been unable to get through to Alaska Airlines’ Partner Desk via the 1-800 number they’d provided for either Osaka or Hong Kong. (Any changes to an Alaska Mileage Plan award ticket must be done by Alaska Airlines) The problem wasn’t that I had a wrong number but rather that it couldn’t be dialed from the local pay phones. Cathay’s agents at the transit desk were kind enough to let me use their phone and that’s where things got complicated.

Initially, the word was that yes, there was a First Class seat aboard the 4:25pm flight to LA. Awright!! Alaska’s agent then asked me to please hold while she confirmed the reservation with Cathay and checked to see if there were any changes in taxes. Fair enough. Well I’m excited that now I get to leave Hong Kong sooner, and arrive in LA in the middle of the day rather than late at night. Aside from the fact that this is also more of a day flight than a night flight, the 1:00pm arrival time will allow me to fly up to Seattle on the 20th. My next flight won’t leave Seattle until 2:00pm on the 21st, so I’ll have plenty of time to possibly have lunch with friends and at the very least run a few errands. So I held. And held. And held.

And held some more.

F i n a l l y, the agent came back on, apologized for the lengthy hold and explained that Cathay wouldn’t confirm the seat. The weird thing was – even Cathay’s agents at the transit desk showed an empty seat. We tried it again and the same thing happened, but without the long hold time. Cathay wasn’t going to let it go and that was that, so I checked in for the 11:55pm flight and headed for immigration.

Because the earlier flights to both LAX and SFO had been showing unavailable for weeks and particularly in the days leading up to today (I’d last gotten through to the AS Partner Desk in Singapore two days ago) I’d done a bit of research as to what to do during my long layover in Hong Kong. The airport has excellent connections by train into the central downtown area and so, after storing my bags and exchanging a pair of unused Ł20.00 notes from last month’s travels through Scotland and England, I headed over to the Airport Express departure area.

Airport Express trains depart every ten minutes and they’ll get you into downtown Hong Kong in about 30 minutes. I knew even before I arrived here that I’d want to check out the views from the Hopewell Center, one of Hong Kong’s tallest buildings and maybe ride the tram to the top of Victoria Peak. Now I’ve mentioned that the sun has never come out during my many trips through Hong Kong (I actually spent three days here back in 1987) but today, joy of joys, it actually made a very nice appearance for the first time ever. People that live in Hong Kong didn’t seem overly excited – I should imagine most of them have seen the sun at least fifteen or twenty times in their lives – but for me it was great! The city just sparkled!

The elevator ride up to the 62nd floor of the Hopewell costs nothing and rewards its riders with one of the more awesome views in all of Asia. The glass walls provide excellent viewing all the way up and though I no longer have a camera, I’ll always have the memories. I have never seen so many skyscrapers in one place!

Next up I headed back to the Central station and made my way to the Victoria Peak tram terminal on Garden Road. I had ridden this tram when I was here back in 1987 but it was pretty misty up top that day. Unfortunately, the clouds had once again started to gather but rain or shine, the views of Hong Kong and the harbor are still fantastic. They’re just a lot better when it’s sunny. A Peak Tram Sky Pass will get you up the mountain on the tram plus access to the Sky Terrace for just $75.00 HKD – about $10.00 USD. The tram ride up the mountain is said to be the world’s steepest. I certainly wouldn’t contest that!

At the top of the tram is the Peak Tower, an architecturally impressive mall full of restaurants and shops. It’s a bit disappointing to see such commercialism up here but at the same time a bit of a welcome on a rainy day. Above that is a viewing area on the Sky Terrace. Even on a rainy day the Sky Terrace and its collection of historical photographs will attract a lot of people. The real attraction though is the view of the city. As city views go, it is hard to imagine one any finer on the planet. I’ll definitely have to return and do this on a clear night sometime!

I took some time out for a bite to eat before taking the tram back down the mountain. There are no shortage of dining options up here with everything from a Burger King to a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and many good looking local options. I also knew though that Cathay had recently refurbished The Wing and its restaurant The Haven so I decided to eat light here and have a proper (and free) dinner at The Haven later. As such, I settled on a panini and a couple cups of coffee at the Pacific Coffee Company.

It was almost 7:00pm by the time I arrived at the airport. I collected my bag from the storage place and made my way through security and immigration to The Wing. As I made my way down to the lounge, I had to admit that this airport is beginning to grow on me. Initially I saw an abundance of glass and steel but it has its warm edges as well. To be sure, it’s not as comfortable an ambience as Singapore’s Changi but it’s still a top flight airport and those who are stuck here for three or four hours without lounge access will find no shortage of nice restaurants and shops in which to while away the time. I was thankful to see on the monitors that CX 880 to Los Angeles was scheduled to depart from gate 4, just around the corner from The Wing. Otherwise, it’s a pretty long walk to most any other gate at this airport, especially those down past the Y. As much as I’ve enjoyed my many visits to Cathay’s “other” lounge, The Pier, I’m really looking forward to seeing what they’ve done with the Wing, Cathay’s flagship lounge at HKIA.

Entrance to The Wing is on the departure level and is guarded by a covey of nicely uniformed lounge receptionists. Once you’ve satisfied their entry requirements with the proper boarding pass or OneWorld program status, you are free to take the elevator up to the lounge.

If I could describe the new Wing with one word, I would say “stylish” or perhaps even “classy”. I was impressed by the new leather couches and chairs, the muted lighting, the marble floors, the high ceilings and the huge terminal windows overlooking the tarmac between gates 1-3. The overall ambience is one of refined elegance without being over the top.

I settled into one of the big leather chairs and placed an order for a Jack Daniels on the rocks with one of the lounge attendants. She had almost magically appeared at my side within seconds of my having sat down. To be honest, what I really wanted was a beer but they are so often warmer than I like that it’s a lot easier to just stick with something served on ice. My drink arrived a couple minutes later and as I enjoyed that first flavorful pull, I took a couple moments to sit back and soak it all in.

Ah… This is really nice. Out of 6.7 billion people on the planet and amongst the few hundred that I know of, very few of them ever get to enjoy this kind of indulgence whether in an airport or not – sitting comfortably in one of the world’s most stylish airline lounges with a nice cold drink, looking forward to a nice dinner followed by twelve hours of First Class flight across the world’s largest expanse of water while comfortably cossetted in a $120,000 high tech suite featuring a nicely padded 6’ 6” bed for when you finally tire of it all, at least in terms of remaining conscious. Again – this is so nice…

Before heading over to the Haven for dinner, I wanted to take advantage of a hot shower and a fresh change of clothes. The Wing offers twelve shower suites as well as five private shower equipped rooms known as Cabańas. A lot of people here get very excited about the prospect of staying in one of these cabańas. I am not one of them. I understand it’s a private room but closeting myself away in one for any reason other than sleeping holds no appeal to me. If I’m going to spend time in a lounge as nice as The Wing, I rather enjoy sharing the experience with everyone else – at least while I’m conscious.

Hong Kong is a humid place and after my busy afternoon visiting its high points, that nice hot shower was more welcome than most. I changed into my special forest green oxford (which I like to wear when flying First Class on Cathay) and then relocated to a table in The Haven. The restaurant is apparently serviced and catered by staff from Hong Kong’s famous Peninsula Hotel and I must say that in both service and food I was very impressed. A menu offers a la carte meals, but after looking at the extensive buffet offerings I decided I could put together a very satisfactory meal right then and there. Hors d’oeuvres, salads, soup, main courses and delectable desserts – it all looked delicious.

And it was! I had some salmon and capers, mushroom soup, Caesar salad and some tasty chicken, veggie and noodles dish that was delicious. There were a variety of exquisite and colorful looking pastries on display but by the time I’d polished off the main dish, I was comfortably full.

After dinner, I relocated to a table where I could plug in my laptop and check in with friends and family back home. From what I could see, the First Class side of the lounge doesn’t really have a proper Business Center but the large table allowed my plenty of room to spread out and as an added bonus, lounge attendants make themselves available now and then to fetch you anything you’d like. Why yes, a glass of Champagne sounds great, thanks!

It was about 11:15pm when I gathered my gear and headed on down to Gate 4. Boarding was already in progress when I arrived but the separate First Class lane ensured me an expeditious passage onto the waiting 777-300.

Once again, Ahh…

It just doesn’t get much nicer than this. Shoes kicked off, jacket hung, seat comfortably reclined and an exquisitely chilled glass of Krug at hand with a beautiful flight attendant stopping by to ask if I’d like a refill. But of course!

This is my first flight on one of Cathay’s 777-300s since back in March of 2011. Have the suites gotten larger? I’m sitting here in 1A and this suite looks larger than the ones I’ve had on the 747. Whether it is or isn’t, one thing it is for sure is just about the finest accommodation money can buy for anyone traveling by air between Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

As nice as I think these suites currently are, I understand Cathay is in the process of making further improvements to the suites – not a total redesign but rather more of a refurbishment as it were. Only the 777s will benefit from this upgrade as the 747s are slated for retirement in the next couple of years. To quote a CX press release:

“To offer our First Class passenger a more harmonious experience throughout their journey – from ground to the air - we appointed London-based architects Foster + Partners, the same designer of the First Class Lounge of The Wing, to bring elements of the lounge’s design into the First Class cabin.

A highly glossy dark grey textured material will be featured on the outer surface of the suite, while warm-tone natural leather is used extensively on most interior surfaces for a luxurious feel and soft touch. The new side console and the interior of the suite will all be wrapped in natural leather, with subtle linings, refined stitching and fewer panels for a more clean and sophisticated look. Leather pads with subtle stitching will also be introduced on latches to provide a softer touch. The seat fabric will be custom-made with a specially selected combination of materials that is soft and smooth to touch.

Complementing the new design and adding an element of interest to the cabin, hand-crafted sculptural artworks will be installed. These individual artworks, made of copper and steel and created by Maria Lobo and Linda Leviton, have been individually etched and painted by hand, with a harmonious color palette.

All the First Class bedding will be redesigned and improved, employing exceptionally high-quality materials with 500 thread count cotton fabrics for the duvets, pillows, cushions and bed mattress, giving a refined and soft touch. The thickness of the mattress will also be increased to enhance sleeping comfort”

Additional improvements will be of a technical nature with things like a new 4.3” LCD touch screen controller, an iPhone/iPod connector and a USB port, improved lighting and new BOSE QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones.

Emirates had touch screen controllers for its seats and LED monitors and I didn’t think they worked nearly as well as the old hand held controllers. As such, part of me reads this and thinks “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” while the rest of me looks forward to seeing the new suites. In this age of increasingly sophisticated technology, there are a lot of “cute” new gadgets out there but an old timer like me is more impressed with efficiency. If a simple stick will do the job better than a fancy electronic wand, I’ll take it!

Anyway, this airplane (B-KPG) had not yet received the upgraded suites but I was lovin’ life just fine in my comfy old fashioned suite. Hot towels, more Champagne, amenity kits, menu presentation – it’s a busy yet pleasant time up here in the six suite forward cabin, full of anticipation for the wonderful eleven hour and forty minute flight ahead.

Speaking of anticipation, let’s have a look at the wine list for tonight’s flight…


WINE LIST

Champagne
Krug Grande Cuvée

White Wines
Louis Jadot Meursault 2011
Saint Clair Marlborough Premium Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Red Wines
Finca El Origen Gran Reserva Malbec 2009
Cederberg Shiraz 2010
Wine Promotion: Château Figeac, Saint Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé 2007

Port
Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port

* * * --------------------- * * *

Aperitifs and Cocktails
Campari ~ Martini Rosso ~ Martini Extra Dry ~ Tio Pepe Sherry ~ Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry ~ Tanqueray Ten Gin ~ Bacardi Rum ~ Belvedere Vodka ~ Bloody Mary ~ Screwdriver

Whiskies
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old ~ Johnny Walker Blue Label ~ Canadian Club ~ Gentleman Jack Bourbon ~ MaCallan 17 Fine Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Cognac
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition

Liqueurs
Cointreau ~ Drambuie ~ Kahlua ~ Bailey’s Irish Cream

Beer
International Selection


You know, I don’t believe I ever got a chance to reacquaint myself with that 17 year old MaCallan on the flight over from Johannesburg. I’ll definitely have to address that as soon as we take to the air.

Following a 42 second take off roll, we did exactly that – climbing smoothly away from Chek Lap Kok island, leaving the twinkling lights of Hong Kong behind as we powered through the cloud layer and made our way up into the peaceful realm of the upper troposphere.

Service commenced as soon as the seatbelt sign went off – about fifteen minutes into the flight. Soon I was sipping from the rich and flavorful goodness of the 17 year old MaCallan. I’m not a big drinker of Scotch whiskies – most of them I don’t much care for. The MaCallan is different. A friend of mine who is a bit of an aficionado on the subject told me that for many years Macallan’s various whiskies were aged exclusively in sherry casks. The “Fine Oak” line is aged in bourbon casks, resulting in a lighter whisky with less sherry influence. Compared to the flavor of some Scotch whiskies I’ve tasted, this one is almost creamy initially, and the finish is amazing – it just goes on forever! What a treat to be enjoying a libation of such quality onboard an airplane.

On long intercontinental flights crossing many time zones I’ve found it’s really helpful to develop a strategy for the flight to help deal with the effects of jet lag. For most people it’s pretty simple – just sleep through the flight. If I were flying back in economy, I’d take that approach as well. Up here in the front of the airplane though, where one of the world’s finest inflight services is currently unfolding, I don’t want to miss any of it. After all, flying First Class on an airline of Cathay’s caliber is such a rare and cherished treat that I hate to miss any of it. At the same time, I need some sleep or I’ll just feel miserable tomorrow. There’s a balance to strive for and therein lies the need for a strategy.

So – here’s my strategy for this eleven hour and forty minute flight: Have a couple of drinks and have a light meal early on in the flight. Afterwards, try to get about four or five hours of sleep, then stay awake for the rest of the flight and enjoy a full meal – dinner, not breakfast. We arrive in LA at about 8:10pm local time and then I fly up to Seattle. By the time I deplane there it’ll be a little after midnight and hopefully I’ll be plenty tired enough to knock off another six or seven hours of sleep putting me in great shape to start the day in Seattle.

So then, now that that’s settled, let’s have a look at tonight’s culinary offerings…


MENU
Hong Kong to Los Angeles

Caviar and Balik
Oscietra Caviar and Balik Salmon “Tsar Nicolaj”
Served with Warm New Potatoes and Crčme Fraiche

Salad
Caesar salad with smoked pancetta

Soup
Cranberry turkey with vegetable soup

Bread Basket
Assorted Bread and Rolls

** ***** **
INTERNATIONAL FAVORITES

Grilled USDA Certified Angus Beef Striploin
Accented with Bearnaise sauce and red wine sauce
Presented with portabella mushrooms, potatoes and asparagus

Eggplant and Roasted Garlic Agnolotti
Accented with saffron tomato cream sauce
Served with asparagus and peppers

CHINESE FAVORITES

Starters
Chicken with American ginseng soup
Cold Plate ~ Szechuan style jelly fish and celery salad

Braised Duck with Taro in Preserved Red Beans Sauce
Served with steamed jasmine rice and sautéed pea sprouts

** ***** **
CHEESE AND DESSERT

Stilton, Pecorino, St. Paulin and Camembert Cheese

Fresh berries with cream

Warm hazelnut cake with chocolate ice cream and vanilla sauce

Lotus seed paste sweet soup

TEA and COFFEE

Pralines

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>

SNACKS

Leek and Cheese Pie
Served with red capsicum relish

Assorted Sandwiches
Shrimp with lemon cream cheese, mango cheddar cheese chutney,
Parma ham with sundried tomato and cornichon

Hot Pot Rice with Preserved Meat
Served with sliced chicken soup with Ceylon spinach

Shui Gaw in Noodle Soup

Ice Cream



Hmm… Be it in a restaurant or cruising at 35000 feet above the Pacific in an airplane, it sure is nice to have choices like these to decide upon. I think I’ll start with caviar and salmon because the only time I ever get to eat caviar is when I’m flying in international First Class on airlines like Cathay Pacific. After this flight, it’s going to be a while before I get to ask for seconds. The same holds true for Balik salmon. We’ve got a lot of salmon in Alaska, but for most of us it isn’t anywhere near the same quality as the Balik salmon served on Cathay. That texture and depth of flavor is downright luscious!

Beyond that, I’m having a hard time choosing between the Shui Gaw in Noodle Soup or the Hot Pot Rice with Preserved Meat. Since I’m hoping to get some sleep later on, I’d better keep it light though so I’ll go with the Caesar Salad and check out that soup later in the flight.

Well after all that hemming and hawing, I must say it seems a bit strange to be served such a small meal on Cathay Pacific. Add to that the fact that local Hong Kong time is approaching 1:30am and there’s nothing but blackness out my window. It’s a weird time to eat - especially all by myself. That’s right. A quick glance about the cabin showed mine was the only light on. Everyone else had called it a night. Maybe these folks get to eat caviar on the ground… More likely they’re just tired and don’t have the same level of passion for a quality inflight meal service as I do. Honestly, I’ve seen a lot of people over the years for whom the primary benefit of their First Class passage is their bed. Indeed, the surveys bear this out. Comfort and the ability to arrive rested and refreshed is the number one reason most people put out the money or the miles to fly up here. Guys like me are just oddballs.

Yeah, but then we’re the ones who take the time to write good, detailed trip reports. Imagine what those other “normal” people would write, if they could even be bothered: The lounge was very comfortable. I had a nice glass of Champagne after boarding and then slept comfortably most of the way to LA. It was a wonderful flight! Was there any food onboard? Uh… I think I had some coffee and a fruit plate before we landed.

Flight Attendant Evelyn took good care of me throughout the flight. After a delightful light dinner (Austrian Airlines still makes the best Caesar Salad in the skies!) she prepared my bed while I brushed and flossed in the forward lav. Looking at that beautifully made up bed as I returned to my suite, I couldn’t help but feel just a twinge of empathy for those poor folks squeezed into 18” seats just twenty rows back. It’s so easy to get caught up in this luxurious little world up here that occasionally I’ve gone an entire 10-12 hour flight without being aware of anyone other than the flight attendants and maybe a fellow First Class passenger or two. Sometimes, as you look around your suite and the parameters of your First Class cabin, it really is incredible to believe that just a few feet behind that curtain are two or three hundred other people hurtling through the skies along with you. It’s probably best not to dwell on these thoughts for too long. I hopped into bed, tucked in and read for a half hour or so before sleep overtook me.

Turbulence woke me up. It was pretty bumpy yet at the same time pretty comfortable. I checked my watch. Ohmigod! I’ve been sleeping for six hours! There’s only about three and a half hours left in this flight! I’ve gotta get up! Yeah, but it’s soooo comfortable just lying here under this nice warm duvet… And so I did – for another twenty minutes or so until the turbulence mellowed out. I could easily have slept another two or three hours but hey – I can sleep anytime back home.

It’s always a bit of a shock when sitting in the warm, dark world of an airliner cabin to raise your window shade and discover broad daylight outside. Down on terra firma, the first thing I do when I awake is open all my curtains. Even on a cloudy day, I’m a big fan of natural daylight. Peeking out my window today however, I was greeted by high clouds and diminishing daylight as we sped eastward at 586mph. It wasn’t a pretty sight and I quickly lowered the shade. I like a few clouds but they’re rarely a good sign up above 35000 feet as they often are part of a weather system that includes turbulence. Were it a nice sunny afternoon out over the Pacific, I might have wandered back to the loo for a bit of window time. Oh yeah, I forgot - this is a 777. No windows in the lavs.

Ever attentive to her charges, Evelyn stopped by convert my bed back into a seat while I headed up to the lav to change back into my oxford. I’d requested a cup of coffee and Evelyn had it waiting for me as I returned. Alright then, where did I put that menu? Ah, there it is – just one page back. I feel like I ought to be having breakfast but given our 8:30pm arrival time in Los Angeles, I’m going to go with dinner instead. Let’s consider the possibilities…

Alright – I’ll start with the Shui Gaw soup, followed by steak with Bearnaise Sauce and maybe some berries with cream for dessert.

It’s always with pleasant anticipation that I watch my table get set. First the crisp white linen tablecloth is laid, followed by the bread plate, a butter dish, salt and pepper, gleaming silver and glassware and finally a napkin. Wine is offered, water is poured and a bread basket is delivered. I hate to drink in the morning but oh yeah, it’s 5:00pm locally so let’s try out a glass of that Cederberg Shiraz.

Mmm… Oh yeah! That’s nice…

The Shui Gaw soup was a nice start to the meal. For those of you unfamiliar with Chinese cuisine, shui gaw are shrimp and pork dumplings. Added to a nice noodle soup, made all the more flavorful with the addition of Cathay’s “Sum Bi+ch!” extra hot Lee Kum Kee sauce, the result is just heavenly. Evelyn was kind enough to refill my water glass while I was sucking air between courses.

Ah… the main course. Now that is a steak! For the first time in years, I was presented with a cut of meat that actually looked like a steak. Better yet, it tasted like one too, albeit a very well done one. Over the years I’ve actually had some very nicely prepared cuts of meat on Cathay but this was not one of them. The rich Béarnaise Sauce along with the delicious portabella mushrooms, potatoes and asparagus provided a small measure of redemption for this meal but honestly – on the whole it was a disappointment. I struggled through it though, like a dog gnawing on a rawhide bone, washing it down with equal quantities of water and wine.

It’s hard to go wrong with berries and full cream – what a nice treat and in this case a light and delicious contrast to the dry and rugged steak.

All too soon we were into the final hour or so of the flight. By now many of my fellow passengers were up and about, making their morning visits to the lav and taking advantage of the extensive menu offerings, especially breakfast. For those of you wondering what was on the brunch menu, here it is:


BRUNCH

Orange, Apple or Grapefruit Juice
Mango and Passion Fruit Smoothie
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Natural or Low Fat Fruit Yogurt
Assorted Cereals

** ***** **

MAIN COURSES

Organic Free Range Eggs ~ Freshly Scrambled, Fried or Boiled
Served with your choice of pan-fried potato cake with cheese and spring onion, broiled back bacon, pan-fried pork sausage, roasted vine ripened tomato and parsley or sautéed mixed fresh mushrooms

Dim Sum with Chilli Sauce
Pork siu mai with scallop, seafood dumpling, chicken and ham in bean curd skin,
Conpoy vegetable dumpling, beef meat ball

Dried Scallop and Pomfret Congee
Served with stir-fried egg noodles and vegetables

Bread Basket
Assorted Breakfast Bread and Fresh Toast
Served with Preserves, Honey and Butter

Tea and Coffee



The distinctive clinks of glass and cutlery permeated the cabin, along with the hint of freshly cooked eggs and breakfast meats. I sipped on Mango and Passion Fruit Smoothies and watched a documentary on Bruce Lee until we began to prepare the cabin for our final approach into Los Angeles. By now the clouds had cleared and I had the forward facing nose wheel camera set to take in the action. Since we were flying southward down the coast there was more to see out my window until we made the big turn and lined up for an approach to runway 7L from the west. How often does that ever happen at LAX?!

Following a beautiful landing where both bogies had to have kissed the concrete exactly simultaneously, we took a long tour around the LAX grounds as we made our way to the gate. Please don’t let it be a remote gate!!! Honestly, I’ve had more than a few flights that were shorter than the amount of time we spent taxiing around that airport. Finally, we pulled up next to a beautiful British Airways A380. I couldn’t help but think how nice it would be to just step off this 777 and into a First Class suite aboard that A380! Where would I go from London, though? Hmm…

As I stepped off the airplane at 1L I bid adieu to Evelyn and her excellent coworkers from the forward cabin. As always, Cathay had delivered a quality inflight experience and even though the steak was a disaster, the rest of the service – from lounge to seat comfort to berries and cream – certainly met the highest standards for First Class air travel across the globe. Anyone who claims to hate flying really should experience a proper First Class service such as this at least once in their life. I’m sure they’ll reassess their position and agree that what they really hate is flying in coach.
Well done, Cathay Pacific!

Aside from the airports I usually fly into and out of the most, I really don’t keep up on airport issues. As such I was completely unaware of the 1.9 billion dollar upgrade that has regenerated and rejuvenated the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. I know the old TBIT had been a source of frustration and the target of derision by many here at FlyerTalk, but I never really had much complaint about it with the exception of the poorly run the TSA checkpoint. That said, I think the new terminal looks great! Mind you, I’m only experiencing it from an arrivals standpoint but from what I’ve read of it thus far, it looks like a major improvement over the old facility. Now if they can just upgrade the lounges from Third World to World-Class standards...

Today was the first time I’d had an opportunity to take advantage of my Trusted Traveler status via my new Global Entry card. A quick swipe at the kiosk followed by a finger print scan, then complete a computerized Customs Declaration and I was good to go! Sweeet!

Our early arrival combined with my expedited passage through immigration and customs meant a relaxed and stress free transit over to Terminal 6 for my Alaska flight up to Seattle. I have a long relationship with Terminal 6, dating back to the early 1970s when its primary tenants were Continental and Hughes Airwest. I used to fly Continental often between Los Angeles and Denver, usually on flight 600, the 5:00pm DC-10 departure that was often assigned gate 66. The current facility bears little resemblance to the building I remember from forty years ago and sadly, both Continental and Hughes Airwest have been relegated to the dustbin of history.

This flight up to Seattle was scheduled to be operated with a 737-900. Alaska displays the fleet number of its aircraft above the center of the cockpit windows. When I saw the number “431” I was a bit taken aback. What kind of plane is this? The only -400 series fleet numbers that Alaska uses are assigned to the new 737-900ERs. Alaska has received only eleven, with the first fleet number being “402”. I've only flown ships 402 and 407 thus far, so you'd think the eleventh jet in the sequence would be 413. Be that as it may, the plane at the gate was indeed a -900, the second newest in the fleet. I did a little check on the internet and found that some of the N-numbers missing from a proper numerical sequence had already been assigned to other aircraft – most of them civilian types such as Pipers and Cessnas.

I slept through most of the two hour and ten minute flight to Seattle but on a positive note, I will say that the new Recaro First Class seats that Alaska has installed on its new 737-900ERs are much nicer than the worthless assemblage of metal, foam rubber and naugahyde that currently masquerade as First Class seats on its 737-700s and -800s.

In Seattle, I retired to one of the best airport campsites I’ve ever known (I’ve spent well over 100 nights there over the years!) and slept comfortably until almost 8 the next morning. The police stopped by early on, quickly ascertained that I was cool and wished me a good night. I in turn thanked them for keeping an eye out around the terminal. Many years ago, an airport thief used a razor blade to cut my a wallet cut right out of my pocket as I slept on a bench in Chicago. Having just come from a three day concert at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin meant I hadn't slept in three days, so to be sure I was sleeping hard. Still, any efforts the police take towards ensuring that people who don’t belong in the airport stay out of the airport are fine by me.

Note: While I understand that very few readers here would ever stay overnight in an airport save for the most dire of circumstances, I have actually received a couple of PMs over the years asking about the locations of some of my favorite places. I will never divulge them. In this day and age of the internet and the way information travels, even inadvertently - are you kidding? Sorry gang, no way. You’ll have to find them the same way I did – look around and employ good common sense.

Seat 2A

November 22, 2013
United Airlines Houston – Chicago 906a – 1144a 767-400 First Class
United Airlines Chicago – Bismarck – Anchorage 338p – 945p First Class
Alaska Airlines Anchorage – Fairbanks, AK 1055p – 1155p Economy Class

I am within 6000 miles of achieving 1K status on United and since I’m already down here, now seemed like as good a time as any to address that deficit. Rather than bore you all with the details of my economy class flights from Seattle down to San Antonio, I’m going to finish with a day of First Class travel between Houston and Anchorage, continuing on to Fairbanks aboard Alaska’s late night Starliner.

Storm clouds had been gathering around the Houston metroplex throughout the morning. My flight inbound from San Antonio had some rough moments as the pilot struggled to line our 737-800 up for a landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. We landed without issue though and taxied briskly into a gate on the far side of the airport.

Along the way to my connecting gate, I stopped to buy a good looking (and tasting) breakfast burrito at a local food concession. By the time I’d boarded my Chicago-bound 767-400, the tempest raging just beyond the terminal windows had built to an impressive crescendo. As I sat in my Business Class suite sipping from a cup of orange juice, a bolt of lightning flashed brightly out my window, followed closely by a crashing boom from the nearby storm cell. The rain didn’t seem to be falling exceedingly hard but I could see light posts swaying and baggage cart curtains flapping wildly in the strong winds accompanying the storm. Shortly thereafter the captain came on over the PA and advised us that the airport had been closed. It shouldn’t be a big deal though, he said, as the storm was expected to pass through the area over the next 30 to 40 minutes. I wasn’t concerned as I had an almost four hour layover in Chicago. In the meantime, sure – I’ll have a refill on that orange juice!

This was my first flight aboard one of United’s ex-Continental 767-400s. The Business Class cabin is fairly large with eight rows of seats arranged in a 2-1-2 configuration. I haven’t followed the goings on at United closely enough to know if these were old Continental BusinessFirst seats or something United had installed post-merger, but the seat certainly looks nice enough – about 21” wide with about a 55” free standing pitch. It’s got all the expected bells and whistles such as AC power and 15” video screens and it felt reasonably comfortable to sit in. That said, I don’t think I’d be happy spending more than domestic flight’s worth of time in them. The problem – as usual for me – is when the seat is in its lie-flat position. Everything is right up on you and as with Austrian and EVA Air’s 777s, your feet and legs are forced into a small cubby hole.

Honestly, I the reality of it may very well be that it’s Business Class and I’ve been spoilt by years of spacious international First Class. Most people would likely be so thrilled to have a flat sleeping surface that they’d overlook the issues I’ve brought up, especially if they’re less than 6’ tall. That said, I actually slept really well in Singapore’s Business Class seat but then I had enough room to where I could comfortably lie on my side without worrying about my legs and feet hitting anything. I’ve also slept really well in LAN’s 767 lie-flat seats. Indeed, if you look at the Business Class seats aboard say - LAN and Ethiopian's 787s, you'll see that the majority of the sleeping surface is open and unencumbered with no claustrophobic spaces to squirrel down into.

It was almost 10:00am by the time we took to the air and, with a projected flight time of only two hours and ten minutes, it was estimated we’d pull into the gate at O’Hare only about a half hour late. Inflight service took a while to get started, most likely because of turbulence on the backside of the storm. It was about 45 minutes before I had a cup of coffee in hand, and another 15 minutes after that before I was nibbling on a Danish.

The meal offerings were a hot Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich or a bowl of Cheerios and some fruit. I’m not particularly impressed with either of these choices, so that’s why I purchased the breakfast burrito in advance of this flight. Heck, anyone can go down to their local 7-11 and buy that breakfast sandwich for about $3.50. What’s a bowl of cereal and a banana worth - about $1.50? I always get a laugh whenever I hear people who’ve never flown domestic U.S. First Class gush about how nice they presume the service to be up here. Ha! Forty years ago, maybe. I can just see them now, sitting there in expectation of their chocolate croissants and Eggs Benedict and then receiving a meal such as today’s. This is First Class? Yep, at least here in America it is. If you want something nicer to eat, you’ll need to buy it in the airport.

Over the years I’ve become rather inured to it all, but after a trip involving as many nice flights as I’ve just been on, the contrast in service standards is all the more stark.

In Chicago I made my way over to the nearest United Club, conveniently located just three gates away from my departing Anchorage flight. At 3:00pm I gathered my gear and headed down to the gate. Uh oh – no airplane. At the podium, the monitor indicated that the flight departing that gate would be going to Bismarck, North Dakota. Ah – there must’ve been a gate change then. An airport departures board was mounted about fifty feet away, but it too showed my Anchorage flight departing from the same gate. Hmm. I returned to the gate where the agent informed me that when the airplane arrived, it would be flying first to Bismarck and then on to Anchorage.

Bismarck?! Amazingly, she didn’t know anything beyond that – things any passenger would normally ask like why would this nonstop flight to Anchorage now be stopping in Bismarck or what’ll our new arrival time be in Anchorage. Perhaps she just hadn’t been told yet but I’ve often found that a phone call to reservations often yields information that for whatever reason hasn't been posted or isn't yet available at the airport. Sure enough, I learned from United Reservations that the Bismarck stop was due to high winds enroute and that our new arrival time in Anchorage was expected to be 8:55pm.

Fair enough. I had an 8:05pm connecting flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks but a quick call to Alaska got me rebooked on the 10:55pm departure. If there were a silver lining to all of this it would be two-fold: I’d never flown to Bismarck before and the ORD-BIS and BIS-ANC flights represented two new routes for me. As you can see from my flight memory map, there's a tiny bit of open space in the Dakotas that needs to be filled in.

I really like how United handles boarding these days. There are five separate lanes, all of them clearly marked. Even the gate lice know better than to mill around in someone else’s clearly marked space, and now with well marked lines there’s really no excuse short of blindness for them to do so. Group 1 may well have been the longest of the lines since it includes Global Services, 1Ks, Platinums and First Class. That said, most everyone in it are experienced flyers and the line moves along quite nicely.

It was almost 4:15pm by the time we took off. The captain explained that the reason for our stop in Bismarck was headwinds in excess of 120 knots. We’d be landing there for refueling purposes only, so we wouldn’t pull up to a gate and nobody would be getting off. He then apologized for the inconvenience and offered everyone free Direct TV for both flights. In the old days it would’ve been free drinks. It looks like United will be able to pay off the cost of those Direct TVs that much faster with savings like this!

Up in First Class, I started with a tall glass of Jim Beam Black 8 Year Old Bourbon and a packet of almonds from the snack basket. Flight time to Bismarck was two hours, so I had time for a couple of glasses which resulted in me sleeping through almost the entire one hour stop in Bismarck.

With a planeload of hungry passengers, the dinner service started as soon as we’d levelled out on the four hour and fifty minute flight to Anchorage. The choices were a baked chicken breast or pasta with marinara sauce. I chose the baked chicken and was rewarded with a laughably tiny little breast that looked more like an unbreaded chicken strip. There wasn’t much to it, that’s for sure. By contrast, my seatmate’s pasta bowl looked large and filling. I really miss the days when the quality and quantity of the meal service was predicated upon the length of the flight. Alas, no more. The ice cream sundae still looked like a First Class offering but I’d happily trade that out for a fortune cookie in exchange for a nicer main course offering.

We crossed over the border and into Canadian air space about forty five minutes after departing Bismarck. Passengers enjoying their free Direct TV had to have been disappointed when we lost the signal at that point. There were still four or five movies available as well as a rudimentary Sky Map. Shortly after dinner I turned it on and discovered that we were cruising along at a mere 386 mph. That’s like Dash 8 speed! Our altitude was only 30000’ though later in the flight I noticed we’d dropped down into the twenties. Despite the strong headwinds, there was surprisingly little turbulence. Once we’d gotten past Edmonton, the winds diminished a bit allowing us to speed up to about 470mph. That’s what we stayed at (plus or minus 10mph) the rest of the way into Anchorage.

We landed on a nice clear night in Anchorage and perhaps because it was clear, it was also cold. I suspect I was the only one aboard to pause for a moment in the jet bridge to revel in the refreshingly cold air. Ah… it’s good to be home!

Well, I’m not quite home yet. There’s still one more flight to go, and since that won’t be departing for another hour I should have just enough time to pop on up to the Alaska Boardroom for a cold beer and some tortilla chips. Well, maybe two beers and some chips.

Waiting for me down at gate C-4 were two gate agents and ship 569, Alaska’s 737-800 wearing the 1940s “Starliner 75” livery. The plane was painted back in 2007 to celebrate the airline's 75th anniversary. Inside on the overhead storage compartment doors are a collection of historical vignettes displaying milestones throughout Alaska’s 75 year history. I hadn’t seen this plane in over a year and was glad to see it still wearing the historical colors. The gate agents, however, were just happy to see me as I was the last passenger to board. It was 10:30 – 25 minutes before our 10:55pm departure. Alaska likes to leave early if they can, and anyone showing up at the gate less than fifteen minutes before the scheduled departure time does so at their peril.

Flight time to Fairbanks was a short 39 minutes. Even though I was sat back in coach, Alaska recognized my MVP Gold 75K status with a verbal thank you and an offer of free beer or wine. It’s a nice touch that makes Alaska such a nice airline to fly despite the many cuts to its once stellar onboard service.

As we lined up for our final into Fairbanks International, I enjoyed a pretty view of the nicely lit houses along the Tanana River just south of the city. Like Anchorage, the night was clear and cold. Shortly after landing, the captain informed us that the temperature was 8°F. Yes, but it’s a dry cold and I love it!

All told this trip involved just over 84000 miles of travel on eighteen airlines and a handful of trains. If this were twenty years ago, I’d do a load of laundry and then be ready to set off and take this trip all over again. These days I love where I live – both my cabin and the Fairbanks region – so I look forward to spending some quality time right here at home with friends and neighbors. Once Break-Up comes in April, maybe I’ll head back out for another adventure though it’ll be hard to beat the breadth and variety of this one. I’ll have all winter to think about it though.

In the meantime, for those of you who actually read this entire trip report (All 14 of you!) Thank You for reading this trip report! Coming in at just over 74000 words, it probably seems almost as long as the trip you’ve just read about. To be sure it might take a night or two to get through it but whether you’ve read it all or just a few select parts, I hope you’ll feel it’s been worth the effort.

Thanks again for reading, everyone. Happy Contrails!

GmK

Seat 2A - I salute you, with a glass of the Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC6 in my hand, neat of course, as I am settling down reading a report it seems I was waiting very long for.

So far it's been a pure pleasure!

lukedxb

What an amazing contribution this was great to read, thank you!

SFO777

Seat 2A, I am speechless. What an epic trip and an amazing report!
I only had time to skim thru this morning (that alone took 20 minutes) and will come back and read it in full when I have more time.

One question and you may have answered. How did you get SEA-DXB-FRA and LHR-DXB-SEA? And how many miles??

Thanks for an amazing report.

freeloader

Wow.... That was simply amazing. Masterful job!

FlyingDoctorwu

I'm writing in anticipation of a fantastic report... this thing is; as always epic... I've barely scratched the surface... I'm sure that the lack of replies currently relates to the fact that it's almost impossible to get to the end of this...

FDW

dat4life

Thank you, Seat 2A, for the wonderful read. It was a great way to pass time as I'm snowed/iced in Dallas... I know go ahead and laugh

SanDiego1K

Christmas has come early with another extraordinary report by Seat 2A. What a wonderfully dense and rich exposition on some great travel.

When I read the start, I thought "I'll have one of those, please". It would nicely fill in gaps in my own travel.

I was perplexed when I scrolled down and saw pictures of Emirates. I had to have missed a pivotal turn. And indeed I had when I returned to the start, and found:

That certainly sounds fascinating as well.

Your remark about tfung's trip reports resonated with me.

I remember those reports. He often traveled with his friend, Francis. (I've forgotten his FT handle as I know his real world name.) I was fascinated to learn that the two were in the US attending university and were taking these extraordinary trips as students. They had such gifts in describing them and opening up the world to me. I felt I'd met a celebrity then Francis introduced himself to me on a Cathay F flight from the US to Hong Kong. We're fortunate that tfung still participates on FT.

allset2travel

From this board, it is a pleasure of knowing how expertly you often mixed “The First (F suite) and the Worst (aka basic abode)”, and created a rather unique travel style all of your own . Never know you as a contrarian. As many UA fans had taken the AA challenge, but you ……
Obviously, this works for you as you will soon qual’d 1K. Congrats.

Awaiting for this story:
Pray that all is fine with your arm/hand.

jacobitetraveller

absolutely wonderful

an amazing mix of travel by trains and planes

Loose Cannon

Overwhelmed. Looks like at least two if not three Trip Reports combined into one.

noniron

I've been reading this for the last 20 mins and you have engrossed me again with your writing.

I have just splashed a shot of Bush into my 'special glass' and set it beside me, you can guess the moment in the TR that I had to stop reading and post this reply!