btang

I really like flying. Period. But then again that's nothing unique with the bloggers and readers of this site. Even though I've flown for as long as I know what an airplane is, I still get very excited whenever I'm heading to an airport and jetting off to some far flung destination. Flying in business class? Now that's the cherry on top of the sundae. I'll take it. For sure. So in order to maximize the value and flying time out of a business class award ticket, I always like to take indirect routes.

This time is no different.

Table of Content

The busiest route in the world: Hong Kong to Taipei BR 852 Business Class

Taipei Lounge Hop: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge and EVA Air Lounge

A cabin all to myself: Taipei to Narita BR 196 Business Class

Revisiting my favorite carrier: Narita to Chicago NH 12 Business Class

Uninspiring: Chicago to Philadelphia US Airways First Class

Hope you guys enjoy the trip report!

btang

There’s something about waking up early for a morning flight instead of work that really gets me excited, I don’t know exactly what that is, but nonetheless to be able to go far away is simply delightful. Not to mention for this trip, I would be trying something new, and revisiting some old ones, most importantly to fly on ANA again, my carrier of choice across the Pacific.



I start off the morning with checking in at Kowloon Station. The process was quick and easy, with all my bags tagged to Narita.

Security at the airport was also surprisingly quick, given that this is usually a busy time as most schools in Hong Kong are still having summer holiday. Today, EVA Air would be using Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse, and I’ve said before, it’s a good choice.


I have reviewed this lounge before so I won’t go into detail, and I’ll also recycle some pictures from my previous trip report. If you want a more detail report, please see my previous trip report

EVA Air Royal Laurel Experience Take Two: HKG-TPE-YYZ



It’s good that there’s an a la carte menu, so that I could get a full breakfast in the lounge and then skip the meal on the plane, or at least most of it. To begin, I chose a bowl of wonton noodles followed by a bowl of XO sauce fried rice. Both were very delicious. Coffee was offered, but having had one already at Starbucks before going to the airport, I passed and chose orange juice instead. The thing that annoyed me most was when a passenger sitting close by playing his songs loudly without earphones and treating the lounge like his own karaoke room. Some courtesy would be nice.





I stayed for a little while to catch up on some email, before hearing the announcement that the flight was ready for boarding. Flight was leaving from Gate 60, and so the walk was very short. By the time I reached the gate, boarding was already well under way.



The A321 taking me from Hong Kong to Taipei today was one of the newest in EVA’s fleet. Although the seat was arranged in a 2-2 configuration and was comfortably padded, I still prefer the A330 and 777 that fly this route, but hey this is little more than an hour, so no complaints. The flight was absolutely jam-packed both in business and economy classes with almost all seats taken.



I was offered a choice between orange juice and water, as well as an assorted selection of newspaper, the usual pre-departure service. The menu was distributed and today the choice was between spicy chicken rice and pork belly egg noodle, to which I chose the former. I also requested a cup of Ti Guan Yin tea to go with the meal.

After leveling off at cruising altitude, the crew wasted no time to prepare the meals for the passengers. With a small business class, this was a relatively quick and efficient process. The chicken rice was actually quite delicious, and together with my favorite garlic bread, I was satisfied.



After finishing my late breakfast, the captain came on the PA to announce that we would begin our descent in 10 minutes time. So a quick and on time arrival at Taipei allowed me to make the connection comfortably and unrushed.

btang

The first order of business arriving was to go through transit security, and luckily it was empty. Having already tried the EVA lounge, I decided to try something different, and so I walked over to the Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge. The lounge attendant advised that because the lounge was quite full, I should go to the EVA lounges instead. I said I wasn’t going to stay for long, and so she let me in. The lounge was dated, but the good thing was the food selection was quite good, with a good variety of hot options. I chose to try the mushroom soup and dumpling, and the taste was good.





After a little while, I wanted shower and so I returned to the EVA Air Infinity lounge. This time, I received the Metro Forest shower room, still don’t really know what the difference is, but hey A for creativity, even if it’s just for the shower room.





The lounge itself was pretty empty



Here's some of the food on offer





The boarding time for the flight to Tokyo was delayed until 2:30, so I had enough time to print out boarding passes for my ANA flight the next day. Something that was really weird was that there were no passport checks, for all I know I could have just rolled onboard with someone else’s boarding pass. I don’t get it.

btang

For the flight to Tokyo, EVA uses the A321, same plane, and I chose the same seat as before. When the doors closed, I was surprised to find myself as the only business class passenger, while economy was very much full. I knew that this would be a great flight, because right from entering the aircraft, the flight attendants addressed me by name, and they even offered to prepare my meal whenever I wanted it, a la first class.



Unlike the previous flight, I was offered a pair of slippers and because I had already pre-ordered the Japanese main course, the flight attendant looking after me didn’t even bother with distributing the menu and instead just gave me the drinks list. I asked for it anyways so I could take pictures, she smiled and said no problem.

After take off, my glass of champagne was delivered and presented along with a packet of Japanese crackers. The champagne, unlike in Royal Laurel Class, is not Dom Perignon, and so the taste of course was noticeably not as smooth and rich, but honestly it’s not half bad either.



The Japanese meal today consisted of an assorted array of intricate appetizers, and I have no idea what those things are, but they were divine. For the main course, it was beef sukiyaki and teriyaki chicken thigh, along with pickles, rice and a bowl of miso soup. Again, it was also very delicious and the meat very tender. I chose to have the Chardonnay to go along with that. Dessert was a plate of egg rolls named “Cigar”. Not sure how relevant the name is other than the fact that it looked like a cigar? Surprisingly, this was the best meal I’ve had flying on EVA Air, better than the lobster or caviar in Royal Laurel Class.






For the rest of the flight, I decided to check out the entertainment system and listen to Shakira’s latest album, all while working on this trip report. From time to time, the flight attendants came by to refill my cup of Pu Er tea.




Around 210 miles out of Tokyo, the captain announced that we would begin our descent into the somewhat rainy Tokyo metropolitan area. The occasional sudden ups and downs seemed to scare some of the younger ones in economy, but at least we landed smoothly. Taxi was quite long, since we had to get to Terminal 1 from the runway on the other side via Terminal 2.

The crew overall was very nice and friendly, but of course it helps that I’m the only one in the cabin. Lucky me!

The lines for foreigners were incredibly long at immigration, but thankfully it turned out the wait was reasonable, around 20 minutes and I was off to the baggage reclaim area. While I stood there wondering where my bags were, one of the ground staff, in a somewhat out of breath manner, ran over and asked “Mr. Tang? We have already got your checked bags.” I was a bit taken aback, and thought “Ok? Nice! Free porter service!” But the ladies were incredibly helpful and even offered to escort me through customs. I don’t really know if it has something to do with me probably being the only passenger with a priority tag on my bags, or do they do this for every business class passenger?

Around 30 minutes after landing, I was all set and ready to head out.

btang

I arrived at the airport around 7:50 a.m. for the 10:40 flight to Chicago, allowing myself enough time to take a shower, which I have not done so at the hotel, and to get some breakfast (because I wanted to save some money). Checking in my bags was absolutely painless. Boarding passes were issued for the remainder of the itinerary, and all 3 of my heavy and slightly overweight bags fastened with priority tags and sent on their way.



First on my to-do list after security was to buy some Japanese snacks at the Fa-So-La duty free shop. Then, it was time for me to head to the ANA lounge for a much needed shower and some food. After shower, I was reinvigorated, and so I went back into the lounge area to relax for an hour or so.




A portion of the lounge was cordoned off presumably for renovation but luckily the noodle bar was still there, just with slightly less seat options. That didn’t matter. Because of the time of the day, the lounge was relatively empty, but this will not be the case come late afternoon.




I wanted their soba but I was also tempted to try the curry, so why not? I had both. I also got some miserable pieces of sushi that paled in comparison to the ones I’ve had outside the airport.



I didn’t have a lot of time, so I had to check my email once again and see if there was anything urgent for me to respond to.

btang

Around 5 minutes before scheduled boarding time, I left the lounge and walked over to Gate 51, where the flight to Chicago would be leaving today. By the time, I got there, the line for Business Class was so long that I thought Economy Class was already boarding as well. As the gate agents checked passports and boarding passes along the line, they picked up some stragglers and invited them to take a seat first. Most were compliant, but I saw this one lady arguing that because she was a Star Alliance Silver cardholder, she could also use the line. I certainly blame United for this, because they are probably the only airline that offers priority boarding to entry-level elites.

I took a seat nearby and waited until the lines were a bit shorter before heading up to present my boarding pass. The thought of stepping foot onboard and flying with my favorite airline was certainly exhilarating. It’s been a year, ANA and I, we have a bit of catching up to do. Haha!

As I walked to Seat 8K, one of the flight attendant was already trailing behind me. The moment I tried to put my suitcase overhead, she came over to help me, even though it was quite unnecessary. Up next, the chief flight purser walked over and greeted everyone by name and introduced herself. I asked her for an extra pillow and a pair of pajamas, and she smiling called over one of her colleagues to accommodate my request.

Seat Area





Placed at the seat were slippers, amenity kit and the noise-canceling headphone, on top of that were the duvet and sleeping mattress, so my seat was quite full of stuff. I had to do a little bit of arranging before comfortably settling into my seat.

Not the most exciting amenity kit, certainly pales in comparison to those given out by EVA Airways



A choice of sparkling wine and orange juice was offered, and I chose the latter, trying to save my alcohol quota until lunch.



Whilst people were still funneling onboard, I took the time to fill in the declaration form first so I don’t have to do that later on inflight.

Just before doors were closed, one of the flight attendants came by and gave me my requested pair of pajamas, she also offered a hanger for my clothes. She asked if I would like to change before takeoff, but seeing as there wasn’t that much time, I said I’d rather change after takeoff. “No problem Mr. Tang! I’ll hang your clothes for you when you’re finished”. True to her words, after changing in the lavatory, she would be standing right at the door to take the hanger from me.

We pushed back on time, but the captain informed us that because of strong headwinds, we would actually be a bit late on arrival. No matter, I had scheduled plenty of connection time, so it should be fine.

btang

Leveling off at 31,000 feet, the crew immediately began work, curtains drawn, menu distributed, and of course going around to take meal orders. I knew beforehand I would be going for all Japanese on this flight, so of course I took the Japanese option for the first meal. I decided on a glass of California Merlot with the amuse bouche followed by the Chardonnay for when the appetizers were presented.

For those who are interested, here's the menu for the flight




The amuse bouche was quite delicious. It consisted of cheesy breadsticks, some sweet Japanese prune, and Japanese omelet with red radish I believe. Then again, I’m not a very good guesser.



Unlike the last time I flew ANA, the dishes were switched backed to the more traditional style as compared to the more modern chinaware used before. I quite like it, and of course in true ANA catering style, the setup and presentation of the appetizer dish was certainly inviting. Taste was also very good, with the only thing really that I can critique is that the duck slices were slightly under seasoned. I find the more times I fly with ANA, the more critical I become, and the bar is set ever higher. Slight disappointment, but it was nothing major, and miles ahead of what US legacy carriers would serve.






The main course was a salt-grilled sea bass, and if there’s anything ANA is good at, it’s serving really good fish 36,000 feet in the air.



The dessert trolley came by just as my tray was taken away by one of the flight attendants. The selection for today was peach mousse tart and pineapple coconut mousse. I chose to have the latter along with a plate of cheese, and to end the meal I settled with a glass of whiskey and then a cup of hot lemon tea.





Simply put, the meal was absolutely delicious, and serves as a clear reminder why I fell in love with this airline.

After lunch, I did not even bother with movie and went straight to sleep, so that I could get rid of jetlag as soon as possible. However, I only managed 3 hours worth, and so waking up in the middle of the flight and unable to fall asleep, why not eat? Not the most healthy way of living, but hey I can splurge from time to time.

I’ve tried Hakata Ippudo in Hong Kong before, so I was curious how good the ramen tasted in the air, so that’s what I ordered. A bowl of piping hot pork broth ramen was delivered in no time, and surprisingly it was quite good, not exactly the same, but close.



A glass of Kabosu to complement the mid-flight snack

btang

Working on this trip report made time go by more quickly. With around 5 hours more to go, I decided to try again and get some sleep. This time, with the help of some smooth jazz music, I was able to sleep right until the cabin lights were turned back on, just in time for the pre-arrival meal.
The one-tray affair consisted of a selection of sweet appetizers and cold side dishes, and the fish this time was the grilled yellowtail, which just like always is absolutely delicious. I don’t seem to get tired of this.





When the meal service was completed, a final round of hot towel was also distributed. Seeing as it was almost 40 minute before landing, I felt it was a good time to change out of the pajamas and back into my street clothes. One of the senior FA’s perhaps read my mind, and asked if I was ready to change. I replied with a yes, and she kindly asked that I wait a little while. When she returned to give me back the hanger with my clothes, she also said “Mr. Tang, the bathroom is ready for you to change”. I didn’t really know what she meant initially, but then after being escorted to the lavatory, it’s apparent that she specifically locked the bathroom to reserve it for me to change. Truly, amazing service worthy of a Skytrax 5 Star Airline, even though sometimes I think that designation is biased.

A glass of orange juice before final approach to Chicago





Landing into the cloudy Chicago area was a little bit rough, but at least we were 5 minutes earlier than promised, so the delay was only minimal, but they must have apologized like 5 times throughout the flight.

hlee628

Hi btang - Thanks for your really great report.

By any chance do you know if the NRT - ORD flight is always served by the plane with that Business Staggered seat config, or was it a last minute substitute?

I've been looking into booking the NRT - ORD flight myself, but the various dates I've looked into always have the old business class with the horrible 2-3-2 configuration.

btang

I think during Christmas time, it's back to the old configuration

btang

By the sheer fact of having a NEXUS card, I was able to skip the long immigration lines already pilling up after de-boarding. For those who are not familiar with what this is, it’s basically a pre-screened service for trusted travelers that allows you to go through immigration by just using one of the kiosks.

What’s interesting is that there were two carousels designated for this ANA flight. One is for First/Business/Star Alliance Gold passengers and the other for Economy passengers. I find this setup quite interesting, but then again it makes sense, given that those carousels are not the most capable of fitting more than 100 people, and even so when this day was a full flight. But thankfully, my bags came out in one of the first batches right after the First Class bags.



Right after dropping off my bags again at the American/US Airways counter, I had to take the train from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3. My first stop was the Admirals Club for a much needed shower. Now I don’t have high expectations for lounges in the States, given the experience of using the abysmal United Clubs in San Francisco and Chicago. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find this lounge not so outdated. The shower rooms were actually quite nice, and the seating area overlooking the tarmac was stunning. The lounge was above par by US standards of course.






Food of course was available for purchase, and if you don’t feel like spending, there are muffins and orange juice for breakfast. I was given two drinking chits, but I didn’t feel like having any alcohol when it’s only 10 in the morning.



Instead, I sat around for a little while before leaving to get a cup of Starbucks coffee to bring onboard the plane. Boarding was just about to start when I arrived at the gate area, and already there was a huge pileup of people eagerly trying to board first and get their carryon, and the gate agent had to refuse a lot of people boarding, so that first class passengers could board first.

I’ve never flown domestic first class with US Airways, and honestly seat pitch wise, it’s not that great, 36 inches, but at least the width of the seat was bigger than that of United First, not sure why, or at least it felt that way. Serving the cabin was a cheerful flight attendant who came around to greet each passenger and offer a choice of pre-departure beverages. I chose to have a glass of water, while some other passengers asked for coffee or orange juice.



Post take-off, a somewhat pathetic basket of fruits and snacks was brought around for passengers to choose from. I was so tired from the jetlag that I decided not to have anything to eat, and instead I chose to sleep for the rest of the flight. Overall, the flight attendant did her best to make the trip as comfortable as possible, but the seat, food and basically everything else was uninspiring. I am most definitely spoiled by the offerings from Asian carriers.

Landing into a somewhat rainy Philadelphia on time marked the smooth ending of my short trip. It’s good to be back state side.