SFO-NRT-SIN-BKK-MAA and back on UA C, TG C/F

[cricketer]

Was just cleaning up my laptop and came across this old trip report and photos that I apparently never quite completed or posted. Since I did write it, figure I may as well post it, but if I do say so myself, my other two trip reports are better reads!

1. My Lucky Day: SFO-PER in UA C/F and SQ Y
2. Thanksgiving in Colombo: SFO-CMB in UA C/Y and SQ old and new F

So without further ado:


Setting The Scene

This trip falls into a category that I’ve decided to call the “unplanned non-emergency.” I have no idea what that really means, but in this instance it translates to “a trip that I wasn’t necessarily required to take but felt compelled to embark on at somewhere approaching the last minute.”

A couple of personal matters to attend to in Chennai, coupled with the possibility of watching at least part of the crucial Cricket World Cup clash between New Zealand and Kenya (if you’re not a cricket aficionado, then just pretend I talked about watching a paint-drying competition). Why would one not travel from SFO to MAA for two days under those circumstances?

[cricketer]

Once I decided to go, about three weeks out, I then faced the great Flyertalker Conundrum. What is the optimal routing from SFO to MAA subject to the following constraints?

1. Maximise travel on UA in quest for Million Miler Status
2. Maximise use of Star Alliance airlines
3. Maximise EQMs and RDMs
4. Minimise cost
5. Minimise distance between seat and front of aircraft
6. Optionally minimize days off work
7. Maximise exposure to aircraft and/or seats never previously flown in.

I quickly realized that my brain was not manufactured by Cray, Inc, but hunkered down anyway to explore my options. With no NC space available on UA to anywhere on the planet, things weren’t looking great, and given the paucity of options, I finally settled on SFO-HKG-SIN, which was showing C9D9Z9 and looked fairly open on the seatmap. This was a direct contravention of my oft-stated preference for booking via NRT to maximize upgrade chances, and a folly that I would eventually, with the benefit of some twisted logic, get paid for.

Having established that I would wind up in Singapore, the next question was how to get to Chennai. This was a real tough one. The flyertalker in me came out swinging for the fences, and the rational argument for taking any number of non star alliance flights that would get me into Chennai in the middle of the day was very quickly suppressed. Instead, I found myself booked in business class on TG via BKK, on the A340-600 and A300-600. New airline, new airport, and two new aircraft, in business class, for the same price that SQ wanted for the back of the bus. The power of constraints number 5 and 7 is not to be underestimated!

72 hours prior to travel, I was performing my regular morning routine of repeatedly checking my upgrade status with waking up, showering and eating breakfast strategically interspersed, when I noticed 2 NC seats open up on SFO-NRT. At the same time, there was no longer a seatmap available for my SFO-HKG flight. This must have been how Donald Trump felt when making the final decision on whether to run for President or not. Indeed, there was no doubt in my mind – time to switch to the Tokyo flight.

I called in to do just that, and boy did that work out well. I asked what was going on with the HKG flight in C, and was told that C was 97% full. It was only after the call that I realized that with a 52 seat capacity on a 747-400, C could either be 96% full, or 98% full, but not 97%. Go figure. Anyway, I had no problem switching over to the NRT flight, with upgrade confirmed. Better yet, a W-fare was available, the difference swallowing the change fee and then some. Can there be a more satisfying, albeit admittedly pyrrhic, victory for a flyertalker?

Departure Day


A long trip started with a long morning during the course of which I ably demonstrated that vegging out in a metal tube for the next day or so was probably about as much as I was capable of at the time.

I started the day by participating in a corporate summit meeting on the East Coast. After checking the status of my NRT-SIN upgrade, of course. I was the only virtual participant, and had scheduled my presentation up front so as to not interfere with my travel plans. However the fact that I was talking at a time at which I am usually sleeping (no commentary required, Mrs Cricketer) became very obvious when my brilliantly constructed dry witticisms went down about as well as Jeff Smisek’s assertion that we will like his changes at United.

I had asked a friend to pick me up at 9am, with the specific intent of getting up to SFO and clearing security in advance of a 10am call that I needed to take. Twiddled my thumbs impatiently until about 9:15 when my frustration boiled over. I expressed some polite opinions to my wife about my friends’ sense of time, and picked up the phone to call him. The conversation went like this:

Me: “<name redacted>. Where are you?”
Him: “I’m outside your front door. Been here since 8:50am. Just come out when you’re ready”
Me: “*!&#(@**! Did you think to call me?”
Him: “I called you when I got here”

At which point I duly noted that my phone was in silent mode. In an effort to transfer some of the blame back to him, I should point out that it seems odd to me to sit outside my front door in your car for 25 minutes and not call again or ring the doorbell.

At the Airport

As tends to happen these days, my NRT-SIN upgrade had cleared after check-in, so on the drive up I kept my fingers and toes crossed that nothing funky would happen to cause it to disappear. There was no problem at the check-in counter, other than the agent repeatedly asking me if I was sure I wanted to waste a precious SWU on the NRT-SIN sector. I didn’t even bother getting into a discussion – figured I would just check later and make sure that 2 didn’t get pulled from my account.

After breezing through security I made my way over to the SilverKris lounge, which continues to be rather spartan by SQ standards, but wonderfully peaceful compared to the RCC. There were just 3 other people there, and the lounge agent said that they only get a few UA passengers in each day. Unfortunately, no outrageous conversations to report this time!

After a few nibbles and a cold drink at the lounge, it was time to head over to the gate. The monitor had UA 837 to NRT marked as departing from Gate 101, so, with some thanks to the powers that be for the extra exercise, I headed down to the end of the terminal. As I passed Gate 102, I noticed that the gate monitors were showing that it was hosting the SFO-TPE flight, which was marked as “RETURNED.” Wondering what exactly that meant, I continued onto Gate 101.

The first thing that struck me as odd was the absence of an aircraft at the gate. Very rare to see “Boarding” on the monitor when there’s nothing at the end of the jetway.

Then I noticed that instead of the usual throng of gate lice and other artifacts associated with the red carpet, there was actually nobody there. The gate area was a barren wasteland – not quite dystopic, but pretty close. I was totally perplexed. I walked back to the monitor near Gate 102, and sure enough, SFO-NRT was supposed to be at 101, and the “RETURNED” SFO-TPE was at 102. Only then I noticed that people were boarding via 102, which didn’t fit with the “RETURNED” status.

And then it finally twigged. SFO-TPE does not currently exist in the United system. But SFO-NRT-TPE does. That was my flight! And I had missed the opportunity to board ahead of the unwashed masses!
ready for boarding

[cricketer]

Our departure was delayed, first while the entertainment system was fixed, and then because one of the doors had a problem. Once we took off, the lunch service began – really nothing of note to report there. I remember when the prospect of an airline meal really excited me. Yes, I know it’s sad, but it was still a special experience, even in economy. It’s unfortunate that either I, or the airline industry, or perhaps both, have a reached a point at which the dining experience in business class is completely devoid of thrill.
The service from the crew was straight up and professional, and yet the weakest I had encountered on a trans-pac flight in years. Perfunctory is perhaps how I’d best describe it, and far enough removed from my typical experience that I left wondering whether all the great service I’ve had over the years is because of my kid(s).

sometimes the food tastes better than it looks - chicken brochette

For the first time that I recall in my flying life, I encountered a baby who was crying on and off throughout the journey. Frankly this had never happened to me before, and I found myself suddenly a lot more empathetic towards people’s frustrations. I really wanted some sleep, but there was going to be none to be had. The parents were trying really hard, so I had no issue with them, and in fact chatted to them at length later on in the flight.

However, even though my own kids have fortunately been great travellers, we have always deliberately avoided the upper deck when either one of them has been under 3, simply because it is a closed, confined cabin space and if something does go wrong, then everyone suffers. The downstairs business class cabin is noisier in general, and the wail of a screaming baby does get lost, relatively speaking, especially if families take the row 9 and 10 seats. I have no problems with babies in C or F, especially when the parents genuinely make the effort to keep their kids entertained and happy, but even then, I think there are some common courtesies that can be applied.

Even without the crying baby, there was little chance of me getting any sleep. As I noted when I measured the seats when they first came out, the upper deck doesn’t cut it if you’re even somewhat tall. The difference was far too obvious, and the impact of those 3 or 4 inches cannot be understated.

With sleep not expected, I decided to get some work done and listen to some music. I worked my way through the IFE music library, and it was going well until I looked in the Oldies section and found the likes of INXS in there. Seriously, United? I know I’m the wrong side of 30, but I refuse to accept that INXS are old, because that makes me old and I’m quite happy to be in denial.

For the first time in my experience, we landed on 16R, which resulted in a very short taxi to the gate. There was a bit of excitement as we landed, which is referenced in another thread. Local law enforcement came on board to have a little discussion with a couple of passengers involved in a seating related disagreement downstairs. As I exited I saw some passengers being interviewed, but there was no indication of anyone having been led away in handcuffs or the like.

After a short stopover at the Tokyo Red Carpet Club, it was back on board the 777 for the second leg into Singapore. This flight put paid to all the negatives of the previous leg. The crew were top notch, the food was palatable, although the salmon was a bit dry, but most importantly, I was back in the old recliner C which I still insist is excellent for sleeping on. It didn’t even bother me that the IFE was broken at my seat, although no doubt I am a fool for not requesting compensation.

I did notice, sitting in an aisle seat, a lady who looked very familiar. After digging through the memory banks, I remembered that she was one of the irate DYKWIA passengers from the October 10 cancellation fiasco at SIN.

My ride to Singapore

I've done many miles in these seats, and they're not quite as bad as people make out

Not the worst salmon I've had at 35,000 feet

Garlic Bread through a wine glass - aka "cricketer gets creative"

plateful of sugar for dessert!

[cricketer]

On arrival in Singapore I checked into the Transit Hotel in T1, having deliberately opted for the budget rooms in order to save a few dollars. I slept for a good 5 hours of my 6 hour block, and then headed over to the TG transfer desk to check in. They weren’t open for check-in, so I headed over to T3 to the SKL to hang out for a while. It was surprisingly easy to get into the SKL holding only a paper printout of my itinerary, although the lounge agent could not for the life of her understand why I wasn’t using the Royal Orchid Lounge in T1. Only when I tried it out later would I realize that she had obviously never been to the Thai lounge.

Budget room shower facilities

I had a decent lunch of chicken curry, pork with leek and olives, and paneer laziz at the SKL, and then headed back to Transfer C to check-in to my flight. All systems were down however, and I couldn’t get my boarding pass, so instead they issued me a lounge invitation and asked me to come back in an hour.

SKL lunch combo

I went up to the Royal Orchid Lounge, and was warmly greeted at the front desk. Turns out that was the high point of the lounge experience. Beyond the greeting, the chairs were comfortable enough, but there really wasn’t any food or drink worth mentioning, and at that point I started questioning my decision to fly through BKK.

Eventually the lounge agent informed me that the systems were back up, so I took that as my cue to escape the lounge and went back down to Transfer C to get my boarding pass, and then head onwards to the gate.

Iconic control tower as seen from the air train

[cricketer]

At the gate I asked if first class seating was available for this flight, and was told that FC was closed off. About five minutes later, one of the gate agents hunted me down in the gate area and said that as long as I was okay with a non-window seat, then they could offer me a seat in First. I wasn’t going to say no to that – I figured at the time that I’d try the F seat on the way out, and the C seat on the way back, to maximize my breadth of experience.

hastily edited boarding pass!

The service on this flight was absolutely outstanding. I’ve read often that TG can be hit or miss, but this was up there with the best I’ve ever experienced. I genuinely felt as if I was really special, and travelling in first class – neither of which was true!

The seat itself was not as exciting as I perhaps anticipated, though when in full flat mode, it was clearly comfortable enough for a solid sleep.

F seat on the A346

Seat Controls - the moving ottoman is a nice touch

The highlight for me was the table – I had no idea in advance that I’d be dining on the biggest table in the sky. The food itself was a little disappointing – though I suspect that was because the nature of the service raised my expectations a bit too much.

table for two, service for one!

this picture of the main course (fish) was a real effort to take as the A340 was flopping around like a fish out of water!

dessert

This was my first experience on the A340-600 and the one thing that I did notice was that I had never felt an airframe shake so much during what didn’t seem like major turbulence. I put that down to being sleepy, but a CX pilot I know later told me that the A346 really doesn’t handle turbulence as well as most others. Something to note if you don’t like shaking at 35,000 feet!

my orchids

[cricketer]

When we landed in BKK, we taxied for a while, and then came to a halt at a remote stand. I was pretty surprised to deplane by stair and get bussed to the terminal – I suppose I didn’t do enough research there. Interestingly, I noticed that the flight attendants all changed into a jacket-and-skirt combo for arrival. Not sure why – easier to walk in perhaps?

remote stand

I was really clueless when I entered the terminal, and there was no clear indication of which way to go, so I quite randomly chose East Transit. That turned out to be a good decision, although I was seriously doubting myself when not one other passenger headed in the same direction.

I started out by going to the Royal Silk D-East lounge. It is an absolutely massive lounge, which only served to heighten my disappointment at the pathetic RCC-esque food spread. I guess my experience at the TG lounge in SIN should have hinted at things to come.

Grabbed a drink and freshened up and then decided it was time to get my massage. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but by the time I was done I was trying to figure out how to sneak back in. I had opted for the neck and shoulder massage, though my masseuse extended the service to include back and arms as well. It was outstanding, and I was wonderfully relaxed when it was done.

I had a little more time to spare after the massage, so I went over to the SQ lounge. It was pretty small, and also stocked quite sparingly, but you can’t go far wrong with a tub of Haagen Dazs ice-cream, so I indulged accordingly. The next stop was the Royal Silk E lounge, which turned out to be small, but mercifully unpopulated, so I stretched out there for a short time before heading to the gate. Which was all of 1km away.


Boarding at the gate was more than a little amusing. As soon as the announcement for Royal Silk passengers went out, 200 people stood up and made a beeline for the door. I was right at the back of that crowd, but one of the agents noticed my boarding pass, and took me and a few others around the “back way,” to board ahead of the throng.

The dreaded TG Airbus A300-600 lived up to expectations for the most part. I can’t remember when I last saw a seat with the old style volume control with the dots on it.

international business class!

I had no idea these controls still existed on planes

My homework paid off this time. I didn’t have a seatmate, and I knew that the center armrest could be removed, so I removed it and stretched out across the two seats and had a good sleep after this meal. Ironically, I was able to sleep more easily on this flight than on the upper deck business class on UA.

The meal itself was nothing more than passable, and by the time they got to me they had run out of the lamb rogan josh which had been my choice.

appetizer and salad

NOT Lamb Rogan Josh

Fruit and Cheese Plate

[aircanada_loyal]

Originally Posted by cricketer

Once I decided to go, about three weeks out, I then faced the great Flyertalker Conundrum. What is the optimal routing from SFO to MAA subject to the following constraints?

1. Maximise travel on UA in quest for Million Miler Status
2. Maximise use of Star Alliance airlines
3. Maximise EQMs and RDMs
4. Minimise cost
5. Minimise distance between seat and front of aircraft
6. Optionally minimize days off work
7. Maximise exposure to aircraft and/or seats never previously flown in.

I quickly realized that my brain was not manufactured by Cray, Inc, but hunkered down anyway to explore my options. With no NC space available on UA to anywhere on the planet, things weren’t looking great, and given the paucity of options, I finally settled on SFO-HKG-SIN, which was showing C9D9Z9 and looked fairly open on the seatmap. This was a direct contravention of my oft-stated preference for booking via NRT to maximize upgrade chances, and a folly that I would eventually, with the benefit of some twisted logic, get paid for.

Having established that I would wind up in Singapore, the next question was how to get to Chennai. This was a real tough one. The flyertalker in me came out swinging for the fences, and the rational argument for taking any number of non star alliance flights that would get me into Chennai in the middle of the day was very quickly suppressed. Instead, I found myself booked in business class on TG via BKK, on the A340-600 and A300-600. New airline, new airport, and two new aircraft, in business class, for the same price that SQ wanted for the back of the bus. The power of constraints number 5 and 7 is not to be underestimated!

72 hours prior to travel, I was performing my regular morning routine of repeatedly checking my upgrade status with waking up, showering and eating breakfast strategically interspersed, when I noticed 2 NC seats open up on SFO-NRT. At the same time, there was no longer a seatmap available for my SFO-HKG flight. This must have been how Donald Trump felt when making the final decision on whether to run for President or not. Indeed, there was no doubt in my mind – time to switch to the Tokyo flight.

I called in to do just that, and boy did that work out well. I asked what was going on with the HKG flight in C, and was told that C was 97% full. It was only after the call that I realized that with a 52 seat capacity on a 747-400, C could either be 96% full, or 98% full, but not 97%. Go figure. Anyway, I had no problem switching over to the NRT flight, with upgrade confirmed. Better yet, a W-fare was available, the difference swallowing the change fee and then some. Can there be a more satisfying, albeit admittedly pyrrhic, victory for a flyertalker?

Departure Day


A long trip started with a long morning during the course of which I ably demonstrated that vegging out in a metal tube for the next day or so was probably about as much as I was capable of at the time.

I started the day by participating in a corporate summit meeting on the East Coast. After checking the status of my NRT-SIN upgrade, of course. I was the only virtual participant, and had scheduled my presentation up front so as to not interfere with my travel plans. However the fact that I was talking at a time at which I am usually sleeping (no commentary required, Mrs Cricketer) became very obvious when my brilliantly constructed dry witticisms went down about as well as Jeff Smisek’s assertion that we will like his changes at United.

I had asked a friend to pick me up at 9am, with the specific intent of getting up to SFO and clearing security in advance of a 10am call that I needed to take. Twiddled my thumbs impatiently until about 9:15 when my frustration boiled over. I expressed some polite opinions to my wife about my friends’ sense of time, and picked up the phone to call him. The conversation went like this:

Me: “<name redacted>. Where are you?”
Him: “I’m outside your front door. Been here since 8:50am. Just come out when you’re ready”
Me: “*!&#(@**! Did you think to call me?”
Him: “I called you when I got here”

At which point I duly noted that my phone was in silent mode. In an effort to transfer some of the blame back to him, I should point out that it seems odd to me to sit outside my front door in your car for 25 minutes and not call again or ring the doorbell.

At the Airport

As tends to happen these days, my NRT-SIN upgrade had cleared after check-in, so on the drive up I kept my fingers and toes crossed that nothing funky would happen to cause it to disappear. There was no problem at the check-in counter, other than the agent repeatedly asking me if I was sure I wanted to waste a precious SWU on the NRT-SIN sector. I didn’t even bother getting into a discussion – figured I would just check later and make sure that 2 didn’t get pulled from my account.

After breezing through security I made my way over to the SilverKris lounge, which continues to be rather spartan by SQ standards, but wonderfully peaceful compared to the RCC. There were just 3 other people there, and the lounge agent said that they only get a few UA passengers in each day. Unfortunately, no outrageous conversations to report this time!

After a few nibbles and a cold drink at the lounge, it was time to head over to the gate. The monitor had UA 837 to NRT marked as departing from Gate 101, so, with some thanks to the powers that be for the extra exercise, I headed down to the end of the terminal. As I passed Gate 102, I noticed that the gate monitors were showing that it was hosting the SFO-TPE flight, which was marked as “RETURNED.” Wondering what exactly that meant, I continued onto Gate 101.

The first thing that struck me as odd was the absence of an aircraft at the gate. Very rare to see “Boarding” on the monitor when there’s nothing at the end of the jetway.

Then I noticed that instead of the usual throng of gate lice and other artifacts associated with the red carpet, there was actually nobody there. The gate area was a barren wasteland – not quite dystopic, but pretty close. I was totally perplexed. I walked back to the monitor near Gate 102, and sure enough, SFO-NRT was supposed to be at 101, and the “RETURNED” SFO-TPE was at 102. Only then I noticed that people were boarding via 102, which didn’t fit with the “RETURNED” status.

And then it finally twigged. SFO-TPE does not currently exist in the United system. But SFO-NRT-TPE does. That was my flight! And I had missed the opportunity to board ahead of the unwashed masses!
ready for boarding

I usually do not comment on TRs, but since I am planning to go to NRT and SIN, via SFO in a few weeks I read your article.

At the outset, I am a Super-Elite with Air Canada (*G), and have had this status for number of years.

What's REALLY unusual in your TR are what I have highlighted above, and allow me to comment. I usually travel in J, and if in Y I get myself upgraded using my e-upgrades. Sometimes I am confirmed right away, and at other times I get upgraded at check-in, gate, and sometimes it never happens because J is full with revenue passengers. Traveling is tiring in itself, and I have realized there are more important things in life, than losing an e-upgrade. Health and happiness are more important. You dust yourself, and move forward.

Secondly, I was a bit disgusted with your TR, where you said: "And I had missed the opportunity to board ahead of the unwashed masses!" REALLY? So, people who board later, never wash themselves, and it's only priority passengers who really wash themselves? I have been traveling for decades, and I often meet high-level professionals, students, young and old, beautiful and ugly, etc... who board later and follow rules (simply because they do not have status), and I can guarantee there is no difference in their odour as compared to priority passengers. If you tell me those masses are "unwashed", I think your perception is very wrong. Smell them the next time you travel, and I look forward to your TR. Likewise, I encourage you to travel on an alliance where you do not have status, maybe in India or somewhere in Africa, with 400+ other passengers, and have fun. North America is much more civilized when it comes to boarding, as compared to many other countries. We complain on the smallest thing, but you only appreciate what we have until and unless you experience boarding somewhere else in the world, and where you do not have status with that airline. Have fun!

[cricketer]

Arrival in MAA was unbelievably trivial. I was the first person at immigration, waltzed right on through and as I had no checked bags made it out into the open air before the scheduled arrival time of my flight. Not often that that happens.

I was staying at my preferred Chennai hotel – the Park Sheraton, and received a wonderful welcome and escort up to my room by the manager on duty. When we got to my floor, I was a little surprised to see armed guards and a metal detector, but it transpired that my suite was on the same corridor as those belonging to the captains, coaches and managers of the New Zealand and Kenyan cricket teams there for their World Cup game the day after next.

The suite itself was amazing, with a massage chair amongst the fittings, and everything I could have wished for. Slippers were laid out by the bed, there was a bowl of fresh fruit and some cookies, and shortly after I entered the room the butler brought in some freshly squeezed mousumbi (a lime like fruit) juice.

in-room massage chair

my suite at the Park Sheraton

laundry returned in a wicker basket, beautifully pressed and folded, and with a rose to boot. Oh, and all free as a Platinum.

The breakfast buffet the next morning was also exquisite, and I thoroughly enjoyed my made to order dosais and masala omelette. The food was even better when you consider that I was sitting between a couple of cricketing celebrities.

Not the biggest crowd in for the Kenya-New Zealand game. Nobody missed much.

The highlight of the rest of my stay was of course my meal at what continues to be my favourite restaurant on the planet – Dakshin. The food was as stupendous as ever, and the basundi (an Indian milk based dessert) was to die for as it always has been over the years. If you ever find yourself in Chennai, you must eat here. In fact, I’d recommend flying to Chennai just to eat at Dakshin.

Shopping Mall emergency rules - part one

I like #15 - make sure you hit that desk hard if the smoke is overpowering you!

one of the planet's most divine experiences - basundi at Dakshin

[cricketer]

In contrast to my perfect arrival, my departure from Chennai was a disaster. The poor road-planning around the airport really doesn’t help one get in in the first place, but that was the least of my worries.

Check-in was going fine until I explained that I needed my one check-in bag, which was a duffel purchased for Rs.170 that afternoon, checked in MAA-BKK-SIN-HKG-SFO. The check-in agent tried a few things, and then told me that it would not be possible to check my bag into San Francisco, and that I would simply have to collect it in Hong Kong. Now clearly that wasn’t an option, but my explanation cut no mustard with her. She brought her supervisor in, and the supervisor brought in the manager, and the manager brought in a manager from Air India who were the baggage agents for Thai. Nobody could sort it out.

After all sorts of debate and discussion, it was determined that the problem was simply that the computer system would only allow 3 destinations to be attached to a single bag tag, and I needed 4. It was determined that the bag would be tagged until SIN, and I should get out in SIN and collect my bag there. Nice idea, but not useful if you’re flying onwards with UA and therefore will not have a boarding pass with which to get back into the airport! I explained that to the manager, and he said that he would send a note to both BKK and SIN requesting that my bag be retagged all the way to SFO.

Needless to say, I was pretty nervous as I headed over to immigration. The queue was absolutely nuts. I spent a solid 30-40 minutes snaking my way to the counter, and then headed up to the lounge. The waiter service was excellent, but other than that, it was yet another lounge that wasn’t worthy of the name.

I got bored after a while and left the lounge, only to find that right around the corner was the Lufthansa Clipper lounge. I went in, but they didn’t want to allow me in without a lounge invitation. Though they agreed that both as a business class passenger and star gold member I was entitled to lounge access, they insisted on checking with TG first. Eventually TG authorized them to let me in, though by that time I’d already been sitting inside for ten minutes. It was time to board anyway, so I thanked them politely and headed over to the gate.

The flight itself was great, and a first for me. Never in my life have I declined a meal on board a flight, but I needed to sleep, and sleep I did all the way to BKK. There was some in-flight-entertainment during boarding though, in the form of a South African gentleman who was more than a little surprised at what he was getting for his business class airfare! His exact words were, “what is this ........ plane? What ......... I paid for business class and I don’t expect this ......... This isn’t business class!” He got no response from anyone.

On landing in BKK, I went straight to the transfer desk to try and sort out the situation with my bag. I needn’t have wasted my time. The friendly lady at the desk firmly insisted that it was nothing to do with Thai Airways, and this was United Airlines’ problem as they were the ones taking me to San Francisco. I could only laugh inwardly at that point – I wasn’t confident that I would ever see my bag again, and as there was nothing I could do to control it, what else could I do?

I went over to the Royal Silk C lounges. Only one side was open, and I put myself on the shower queue. It was taking forever when I noticed that the lounge across the hall had opened up, so I crossed over and found that the showers were empty on that side. The shower was an experience – a wonderful looking shower room, seemingly carefully thought out… but when you turn on the shower, the water barely trickles out, and both the temperature and pressure keep fluctuating wildly. Not sure if it was my bad luck, or a minor plumbing oversight.

At around 7am I went over to the SKL and tucked in to some char siu bao and haagen dazs for breakfast, as you do. I hung out there until my flight, with just a brief 30 minute interlude for another excellent neck and shoulder massage!

entrance to the fabulous Royal Orchid Spa

[cricketer]

Turns out I never wrote this part of the trip report.

If anyone's desperately wondering about my luggage - when I landed in SIN, there was a TG agent waiting for me at the gate, and she explained that they had been contacted by the ground staff in MAA (so I take back my earlier criticism!). The agents were on the case, and I had nothing to worry about. When I checked in for my UA flight the next morning, needless to say they knew nothing about my luggage, but assured me that I shouldn't worry and they would sort it out somehow. They made up some tags, gave me a baggage receipt and sent me on my way. And they were right - when I reached SFO, my bags were there too. Needn't have worried at all.

Some photos:

full view of the TG F seat on the A346 - I never did get to try the C seat!

starters on BKK-SIN

another shaky main course pic thanks to minor turbulence!

dessert

Hainan chicken and rice on UA. Tasteless

isn't she a beauty!

[i] salted nuts, or nutted salt, I wonder?

compare this to the starter above on TG

actually, wasn't the worst chunk of red meat I've ever eaten

[i] this concoction however, I only managed a single bite of

Home, Sweet Home!

[cricketer]

Originally Posted by aircanada_loyal

I usually do not comment on TRs, but since I am planning to go to NRT and SIN, via SFO in a few weeks I read your article.

At the outset, I am a Super-Elite with Air Canada (*G), and have had this status for number of years.

What's REALLY unusual in your TR are what I have highlighted above, and allow me to comment. I usually travel in J, and if in Y I get myself upgraded using my e-upgrades. Sometimes I am confirmed right away, and at other times I get upgraded at check-in, gate, and sometimes it never happens because J is full with revenue passengers. Traveling is tiring in itself, and I have realized there are more important things in life, than losing an e-upgrade. Health and happiness are more important. You dust yourself, and move forward.

Secondly, I was a bit disgusted with your TR, where you said: "And I had missed the opportunity to board ahead of the unwashed masses!" REALLY? So, people who board later, never wash themselves, and it's only priority passengers who really wash themselves? I have been traveling for decades, and I often meet high-level professionals, students, young and old, beautiful and ugly, etc... who board later and follow rules (simply because they do not have status), and I can guarantee there is no difference in their odour as compared to priority passengers. If you tell me those masses are "unwashed", I think your perception is very wrong. Smell them the next time you travel, and I look forward to your TR. Likewise, I encourage you to travel on an alliance where you do not have status, maybe in India or somewhere in Africa, with 400+ other passengers, and have fun. North America is much more civilized when it comes to boarding, as compared to many other countries. We complain on the smallest thing, but you only appreciate what we have until and unless you experience boarding somewhere else in the world, and where you do not have status with that airline. Have fun!

I apologize if you were offended. I use a lot of sarcasm when I write, and it obviously missed on this occasion. Much of the time, I am one of the "unwashed masses". And for the record, North America is *not* so much more civilized when it comes to boarding. Have you boarded a flight in the US recently? It's often a free-for-all, just like anywhere else.

[greatmoosy]

this was a totally enjoyable read! except... you went for a cricket game and the result was just one photo. mind you, i don't follow cricket but i'm still curious as to what happened

[amolkold]

Originally Posted by aircanada_loyal

At the outset, I am a Super-Elite with Air Canada (*G), and have had this status for number of years.

Thanks for letting us know, even though it's not really relevant.

What's REALLY unusual in your TR are what I have highlighted above, and allow me to comment. I usually travel in J, and if in Y I get myself upgraded using my e-upgrades. Sometimes I am confirmed right away, and at other times I get upgraded at check-in, gate, and sometimes it never happens because J is full with revenue passengers. Traveling is tiring in itself, and I have realized there are more important things in life, than losing an e-upgrade. Health and happiness are more important. You dust yourself, and move forward.

Are you lost? You do know where you are, right? You just said yourself that you use upgrades from Y -> J yourself. Does it occur to you that the OP wanted this trip to be special and be in J as much as possible? At FT, we learn the tricks of the trade, and how to make the system favorable to us ... that's exactly what the OP did ...

Secondly, I was a bit disgusted with your TR, where you said: "And I had missed the opportunity to board ahead of the unwashed masses!" REALLY? So, people who board later, never wash themselves, and it's only priority passengers who really wash themselves? I have been traveling for decades, and I often meet high-level professionals, students, young and old, beautiful and ugly, etc... who board later and follow rules (simply because they do not have status), and I can guarantee there is no difference in their odour as compared to priority passengers. If you tell me those masses are "unwashed", I think your perception is very wrong. Smell them the next time you travel, and I look forward to your TR.

Oh please, it's a freaking euphemism . Maybe we should start calling them "the huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

Likewise, I encourage you to travel on an alliance where you do not have status, maybe in India or somewhere in Africa, with 400+ other passengers, and have fun. North America is much more civilized when it comes to boarding, as compared to many other countries. We complain on the smallest thing, but you only appreciate what we have until and unless you experience boarding somewhere else in the world, and where you do not have status with that airline. Have fun!

Actually, I've traveled to India (extensively) and parts of Africa, and I can say that it's not that much different that a lot of boarding in the US.

Also, are you saying that India is not civilized? Because I take offense to that.

[Stefan Sip]

+1. Well stated. I read and enjoyed the TR.

Originally Posted by amolkold

Thanks for letting us know, even though it's not really relevant.



Are you lost? You do know where you are, right? You just said yourself that you use upgrades from Y -> J yourself. Does it occur to you that the OP wanted this trip to be special and be in J as much as possible? At FT, we learn the tricks of the trade, and how to make the system favorable to us ... that's exactly what the OP did ...



Oh please, it's a freaking euphemism . Maybe we should start calling them "the huddled masses yearning to breathe free."



Actually, I've traveled to India (extensively) and parts of Africa, and I can say that it's not that much different that a lot of boarding in the US.

Also, are you saying that India is not civilized? Because I take offense to that.

[JoyRider]

One of these days i'm going to take trip to go watch live cricket. One of these days...WC 2015 Down-under perhaps...