Short hair Francis

I agree SFO777, Great Memories for sure and the crew was great
We are a fun bunch to be flying around for sure but can be demanding, especially my photos and the food

As for the carpet, I hope to see it again, it would mean LX lost their case with the CTA and I have another 2 RGN ticket.
May Rangoon keep striking again and again ^

The seat, you know you said those exact word too bahaha LOL

Sorry to KLflyerRalph and spikyone, I'll response in a bit, need to jump out the door!

Short hair Francis

They probably should've have put more thought on that paintjob
KLflyerRalph, It was a very fun flight, that's all I'm going to say


Thanks spikyone, brings joy to my ears when I hear that
Just you wait, I'm more impressive in some of the later parts! ^

I should've ask the FAs that question, if it was RGN catering, must've cost them a pretty cent.
I was leaning on thinking they cater them in NRT, then renting a refrigerator service from the RGN caterer myself

Wines you have to ask either jfkeze or SFO777, I just do the eating

Short hair Francis

Part 29 – 1 Hour Trek in Narita + Delta Airlines Jumbo 744 BusinessElite NRT – SEA


Welcome to Japan


Time for a half day in Tokyo, originally the plan was to catch the Narita Express to Central Tokyo for a couple of hours.
After deep group discussion, we decided against that
1) Seeing 3/4 of our group had been to Tokyo on separate previous occasions
2) We didn’t want to waste 5500 Yen on the train ride alone
3) When will we get a chance to fly Delta 744 Business again.
That being said, we decided to see if we can help our 1 friend, Ms. Mangosteen who hasn’t been to Tokyo before to change the ticket to the midnight HND – SEA which would give her whole day in Tokyo.

Jul 2, 2013 – Tuesday
DL 156 NRT – SEA 3:30pm – 8:15am (744/J)

As it was 7am by the time we entered into Japan, and Delta ticketing doesn’t open until 8am, time to have a sushi breakfast in the airport

Sushi Breakfast







*Sushi just taste different in Japan, priceless

After 8am, we went back to the counters. The 3 of us who were keeping our flight 156 to Seattle checked in as usual. As for Ms. Mangosteen, when it’s not your day, it isn’t and this wasn’t one of them.
The Delta counter lady refused to change the ticket, stating Sir and Madam, your fare is 13 dollars, we’re not changing it. And after a full court press by jfkeze, and SHF, we abandoned those efforts and she was willing to give us a US based ticketing line to try out likewise. Unfortunate, despite the effort, it was in vain.
Hell we even tried Twitter lol
I can’t blame the staff really, nobody in the right mind would want to touch those tickets, it really is sir, please fly them and disappear thank you.

With our huge delay at the counters, we were stuck taking 10:59 Narita Line train which didn’t leave us much time in Narita town

Narita Line







Narita Town






Part 29 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Narita-San Shinshō-ji











Guess we weren’t the cheap one trying to save 500 yen storing the bags at the airport

*Penny Wise, Pound Foolish, and not fun carrying over 20kgs of carry-on walking up the hill back to the Narita station.

Our quick little 1 hour jolt to Narita was done and we had to make it back to the airport for a shower prior to the Delta flight
We took the 12:36 train for the way back





We made our way back to Narita at 12:55pm, enough time for a quick bite prior to the flight

Tokyo Narita International Airport




Delta Airlines SkyPriority Check-in




Part 29 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

As none of us have had a shower in 1.5 day, we all battled for showers at the Delta SkyClub

Tokyo Narita Delta Airlines Gate 26 SkyClub
















The lounge was very big with a good view of the apron and 2 food stations at each end of the lounge. Some of the smaller bites were also plated separately at the station which is good but would waste a lot of washing detergent. Hell, I went through at least 10 of those little dishes lol


Action on the ramp




Around 2:30pm, myself and SFO777 decided to also check-out the Korean Air Lounge. I can’t see the next time I will fly a Skyteam carrier.
Then again, everyone has a price

Tokyo Narita Korean Air Lounge



Part 29 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

First Class Section, what’s the difference?




And after a 10 Minute stint, we headed over to the gate where SHF wanted to be Premium Gate Lice

In the meanwhile, the last 3 teams of the Amazing Race Season 23 were around the gate and on our flight, those folks were stuck in Coach








Part 29 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Delta Airlines Boeing 747-400



*35th Flight, 87304 Miles flown since Apr 28
Delta Airlines 156
Tokyo Narita to Seattle Tacoma
Scheduled – 3:30pm – 8:15am, 8 hr 45 min flight
Actual Departure – 3:23pm
On Time Arrival – 8:12am
Business Class, Seat 77A
Food – Dinner, Breakfast
Equipment – Boeing 747-400 (48J/42Y+/286Y New Config “74S”)





Boarding started at 2:40pm for the wheelchair and SkyPriority began at 2:45pm and SHF runs down again for more cabin photos

Delta Airlines Boeing 747-400 Main Deck BusinessElite Cabin





Up to the More Private Cabin


Delta Airlines Boeing 747-400 Upper Deck BusinessElite Cabin




Delta Airlines Boeing 747-400 BusinessElite Seat











Part 29 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Seat Across the aisle, or jfkeze’s seat today


Seat Amenities











If you have previously read SFO777’s report for this flight, I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment. The Main deck FA were 1000 times more motivated, while we hit a bad bunch of “Clock In, Clock Out” FAs, probably didn’t help the fact I explained how our entire group got on the flight for 85 bucks each, boy is this flight gonna be long…

As for the seat, I like reverse herringbone in general and do here again. It’s a fine full flat business seat and I hope AA will get more of the 77W in service faster too

Pre-Departure Beverages


Welcome back on US carriers where it does take 40+ Minutes to board a widebody, door were closed at 3:23pm and pushback 10 Minutes later.

Bye Bye Narita





After a wait of 2 Delta planes ahead of us, it was our turn





Part 29 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Finally airborne at 3:50pm Japan time with a flight time of 8 Hour 15 Minutes



Delta Video System



*I went with Safe Haven and the Pop Music channel for the flight, glad to know my video is complementary, thought they wanted more than 7 dollars for the Delta BE flight, bahaha


DL 156 Dinner

[i]Please Choose either Japanese or Western Meal Selection[/b]

Japanese Selection
Limited quantities of Japanese Meals are available on board. To guarantee a Japanese meal on your next flight, order via Delta.com or Delta Reservations 24 Hours in advance

Sakizuke
Sesame Tofu and Shrimp

Zensai
Marinated Salmon and Asparagus

Aemono
Sliced Sea Bream with Pickled Cucumber

Shusai
Chicken and Vegetable Roll with Yuzu Sauce

Western Selection
First Course
Eggplant Caponata in Radicchio Leaves

Thai Coconut Soup

Second Course
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese and Tomato Stack with arugula, served with basil oil dressing

Main Course
Grilled Filet of Beef with green onion smashed potatoes and lemon spinach

Fennel Spice Seared Salmon with barcalola sauce, corn polpetti and oven dried tomatoes

Lasagna Involtini with ricotta, spinach, Italian cheese and marinara sauce

Pork Stir-Fry with bok choy, bell peppers and rice

Dessert
Selection of Fine Cheeses offered with Fresh Fruit

Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae with your choice of sauces, whipped cream, and chopped nuts

Fruit Tart

I admit it, I had a brain-fart on this flight and completely skip the fact Japanese Meals were available, very rookie mistake

The Searing, water dropping Hot Towel


Starter Drink with Japanese Nut Mix



Bread Basket


Appetizer Tray


Appetizer, Eggplant Caponata in Radicchio Leaves



Soup, Thai Coconut Soup


Salad, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese and Tomato Stack with arugula, served with basil oil dressing


*I’ll say at least the FA remembered to serve me the salad instead of jfkeze who went from appetizer to main course, OUCH!!!

Main Course, Lasagna Involtini with ricotta, spinach, Italian cheese and marinara sauce

*What can I say, I love a good lasagna and it was good, same can’t be said for jfkeze and SFO777’s beef, that looked horrible

By this time, SFO777 completely passed out so the food thing went to me, hey, who else eat as much as SHF on the trip report forum


Part 29 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Dessert Cart


Ice Cream Sundaes and Fruit Tart


My uber-light chocolate sauce Sundae


Green Tea to end the service


The meal itself took 90 Minutes which was ok and left us with 6 Hours left inflight



Turndown Water

*I’ve never seen bottled water go so freely on a flight, would’ve be surprised if they didn’t stocked 5 bottle per passenger

Time for a snooze





Cabin Dimmed for the Night


I woke up about 2 hours later South of the Aleutian Islands

DL 156 SkyBreak Basket
A variety of sweet and savory snacks will be available for your enjoyment

Snack Basket



I went back to sleep for awhile and woke up about 2 Hr 30 Minutes prior to landing

Lights on for Breakfast


Rise and Shine over the North Pacific


Breakfast was served about 1 Hour 40 Minutes out

DL 156 Pre-Arrival Meal

All Pre-Arrival Meals served with seasonal fresh fruit and assorted breads

Main Course
Spinach and Cheese Omelette with roasted potato wedges and pork sausage

Cereal with milk and flavored yogurt






Part 29 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

And around 30 Minutes left, we made our descent into Seattle



Welcome back to the Pacific Northwest






Landed at 8:05am right on schedule on Runway 16C with a quick 7 Minutes taxi to the S gate




Only 2L was used for deplaning and the FA even blocked the aisle to let the upper deck deplane first, now time to run to the CBP so I don’t get stuck forever.

What can I say about Delta BusinessElite
Security – SkyPriority worked like a charm on the Skyteam side of T1
Lounge – Very Big, the little serving dish are kinda wasteful but it’s a fine Asia type J lounge
Boarding – Very coordinated by the NRT staff and overall good management, helps when I’m the premium gate lice
Ambiance – Lavatory was a dinghy 744 Design but the new overheads with the herringbone gives a very private feeling of flying on the upper deck
Seat – I love the seat <3 For Business Class, a window/aisle option and full flat is perfect. There are subtle differences to the CX Cirrus seat, and I’ll say it again, it’s a close match to the BA F seat
Food – Above Average, quality is fair, choices are ok, the beef for SFO777 and jfkeze looked horrible but the lasagna was good.
Entertainment – Above Average, options are ok for the US-Centric viewer, and just don’t expect a CX, SQ, EK type of option though
Crew – Very “Hit or Miss” Today was a BIG MISS, I probably would have a different opinion if we were in the cone instead of upper deck. SFO777 hits the spot, as long as Europe/Asian carrier are in business, he has no business flying them. Sadly for myself, I do need to use my AA EVIPs for some of my trips but even on AA I haven’t seen a crew so disinterested

As with most mistake fare, I’m happy that the carrier decides to honor it, and I’m glad to have tried the Delta product that otherwise I would not have the opportunity to ride on. I would have no issue to fly Delta BusinessElite if I really needed to especially with no Oneworld or Star options are available and the price is good. And like all things American, it’s nitty and gritty but does the trick


PS. I will like to thank everyone for their continual readership and support, finally 50% Completed
Looking forward to hearing any comments/criticisms! ^


Next Part
Part 30 – Rolling the Clock back 60 Years in Seattle

themapelligroup

You were right! I loved the Burmese part, Burma (or Myanmar) is actually on my list of countries to visit in the next 12/18 months.

Short hair Francis

Great to hear themapelligroup, I would say it's an opening of a new frontier ^

If you are an airplane enthusiast, then chances are you will love the next part I'm gonna put up shortly

Short hair Francis

Part 30 – Rolling the Clock back 60+ Years in Seattle


With the Delta main deck FAs letting the upper BusinessElite guest de-plane first, it was a quick 2 minute walk to the CBP checkpoint. Within our group, we had no delays, and I like the SEA setup, GE 1 line, US & Can citizen 1 line, all others last line. This really helps speeding up the process as CAN like me whom have very similar entry restriction into the US as those that are US citizen or Green Card, no iris nor fingerprint required.

We finally bid good bye to SFO777 here at Sea-Tac, he had to go back to Mrs. SFO777, she was saving up a good “Honey-Do” list for him. As for the rest of us, we had about 1.5 days in the Pacific Northwest before flying out on the Fourth of July.

After taking the shuttle to the off airport consolidated car rental facilities, I and jfkeze had a bit more headache, what car do we want? Last thing we wanted was another Pepi from the Northeast US trip especially when we were doing a St. Helens trip tomorrow driving up mountains.
We ended up settling for a Chevy Cruze which did quite well coming up to Johnston Ridge tomorrow.

All in all, it took us to about 9:30am to get out of Sea-Tac and off to the Grand Hyatt at Downtown Seattle

We were debating how to do rooms in Seattle as well. In the end, I agree to burn one of my Diamond Suite Upgrades and get an Executive Suite for the 4 of us. We ended up getting a Puget Sound view Suite on the 27th floor, where the Grand Club was on the same level. The ladies share the king bed and the boys each get a rollaway in the living room

Grand Hyatt Seattle












Had to call up housekeeping for some extra stuff

*That will do

Grand Club





A quick nap, shower and some cleaning up and we were off on our light day in Seattle, Ms. Mangosteen was dying for an American Manicure after 3 weeks of SE Asia so she was on her own while the rest of us took the car.

Pike Place Market



*That blur is the fish being chucked


Part 30 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

A Perfect Summer day in the Pacific Northwest




The Original Starbuck Store







Line were usually not great here and on a day like this, oh boy, even had to take issues with some tourist who tried to jump the queue on us

Space Needle



Seattle Monorail


We had plans to go up to Marysville for some outlet shopping but decided on a detour to Paine Field to go spotting some new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

Scrap Dreamliner for Sale






We also discovered a small hanger around the corner


Part 30 Continues Below