EVA RoyalLaurel + HelloKitty TG F x2 UA J 789: Japan, Thailand, Australia
Feb 27, 2015, 8:25 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058
EVA RoyalLaurel + HelloKitty TG F x2 UA J 789: Japan, Thailand, Australia
On the road, in the skies and dotting around...
Run of show:
-Air France Lounge JFK
-EVA Royal Laurel JFK-TPE
-EVA Infinity Lounge TPE & Premium Laurel Hello Kitty "Speedpuff" TPE-NRT
-The Tokyo Station Hotel
-Tokyo
-Nozomi Shinkansen "Green Car" TYO-KYO
-Hotel Granvia & Kyoto
-JR West Haruka Express, Thai Lounge KIX, Thai First Class A380 KIX-BKK
-JW Marriott Bangkok
-Thai J BKK-CNX + Royal Orchid Lounge
-Siripanna Resort, Patara Elephant Farm, Chiang Mai
-Thai J CNX-BKK + Royal Orchid Lounge
-The Banyan Tree
-Bangkok
-Thai Royal First Lounge & Spa + 9F 747 BKK-SDY
-Bondi Beach & The Adina
-Virgin Australia Y SYD-BNE
-Brisbane & The Docks on Goodwin Kangaroo Point
-Qantas Y BNE-MEL
-The Art Series Blackman & Melbourne
-United Club MEL & Dreamliner-9 MEL-LAX
-The W Westwood & Los Angeles
-United p.s. BusinessFirst LAX-JFK
NB: As with lots of my TRs most of the flight stuff is Instagram/Twitter/iPhone pics and the cities and other things I use a mixed bag of my proper cameras.
Run of show:
-Air France Lounge JFK
-EVA Royal Laurel JFK-TPE
-EVA Infinity Lounge TPE & Premium Laurel Hello Kitty "Speedpuff" TPE-NRT
-The Tokyo Station Hotel
-Tokyo
-Nozomi Shinkansen "Green Car" TYO-KYO
-Hotel Granvia & Kyoto
-JR West Haruka Express, Thai Lounge KIX, Thai First Class A380 KIX-BKK
-JW Marriott Bangkok
-Thai J BKK-CNX + Royal Orchid Lounge
-Siripanna Resort, Patara Elephant Farm, Chiang Mai
-Thai J CNX-BKK + Royal Orchid Lounge
-The Banyan Tree
-Bangkok
-Thai Royal First Lounge & Spa + 9F 747 BKK-SDY
-Bondi Beach & The Adina
-Virgin Australia Y SYD-BNE
-Brisbane & The Docks on Goodwin Kangaroo Point
-Qantas Y BNE-MEL
-The Art Series Blackman & Melbourne
-United Club MEL & Dreamliner-9 MEL-LAX
-The W Westwood & Los Angeles
-United p.s. BusinessFirst LAX-JFK
NB: As with lots of my TRs most of the flight stuff is Instagram/Twitter/iPhone pics and the cities and other things I use a mixed bag of my proper cameras.
Last edited by JVPhoto; Mar 29, 2015 at 1:22 pm Reason: adding URLs
Feb 27, 2015, 8:38 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058
Air France Lounge JFK
Don't fly out of JFK that often other than p.s. usually in the mornings and OZ/SA from T4 so this being my first time in T1, left a bit earlier than normal.
Bit of a traffic in the tunnel and a fender bender took about 55 min to get from the East Village.
Found the EVA counter fine at the corner is roped off with 2 desks for Royal Laurel, was the only one there at about 9pm.
"Sorry there is a problem..."
OH GOD...what can it be, don't want to hear this before a 16 hour flight.
"...with the baggage tag printer let me get it from another terminal."
And then I saw this:
I don't even know what to explain other than utter chaos. I saw a F/J/VIP line, which ended up snaking around by the TK check in so I thought that it's length was added to wayward TK pax getting in it. I walked around for a bit and realized that was the only way into the gates.
Sort of swimming around and darting here and there I bypassed the line extending past the BP checker who was then getting lip from people about how it was all a mess.
After that it took about 45 min for me to get to the agent at the front of the line before the conveyer belts. After that a family of 6 went in our lane and took a bit for them to get through. From the time I was let out of the car and in the lounge it took an hour.
EVA has since switched from using the JAL lounge to the newly renovated 2 floor Air France lounge (interestingly enough it seems the LH lounges close during these midnight departures and haven't worked out a deal with their *A partner).
BP was stamped with the wifi password and was told that 2nd floor closes at 11:00 and the lounge closes at midnight (BP boarding time listed as 11:50).
I had read in a few things that the 2nd floor was reserved for AF pax but maybe that is just during the busier part of the day when they have all their flights going out...as I was entering the last AF flight was on final call.
On the 2nd floor happy to see some food set up. Salad, green beans, grilled chicken for the cold. Beef stew, risotto, eggplant w/ tomatoe sauce, basmati rice, stir fry noodles for hot. Cheese, fruit, yogurt and chocolate cake. Beer, wine, champagne, soda, water, tea, coffee all self serve.
The greens were fresh, dressing was good. The beef stew was delicious, the risotto rich & tasty and the eggplant dish kind of like eggplant parm w/o the cheese. All in all pretty good to get some light bites before the flight.
You can tell the lounge is winding down as it seems the cleaning crew is just waiting until it closes for the next past. Not that it is like a United Club but a few random pieces of bread on the floor, a few plates under the lounge chairs and needs some vacuuming.
Don't fly out of JFK that often other than p.s. usually in the mornings and OZ/SA from T4 so this being my first time in T1, left a bit earlier than normal.
Bit of a traffic in the tunnel and a fender bender took about 55 min to get from the East Village.
Found the EVA counter fine at the corner is roped off with 2 desks for Royal Laurel, was the only one there at about 9pm.
"Sorry there is a problem..."
OH GOD...what can it be, don't want to hear this before a 16 hour flight.
"...with the baggage tag printer let me get it from another terminal."
And then I saw this:
I don't even know what to explain other than utter chaos. I saw a F/J/VIP line, which ended up snaking around by the TK check in so I thought that it's length was added to wayward TK pax getting in it. I walked around for a bit and realized that was the only way into the gates.
Sort of swimming around and darting here and there I bypassed the line extending past the BP checker who was then getting lip from people about how it was all a mess.
After that it took about 45 min for me to get to the agent at the front of the line before the conveyer belts. After that a family of 6 went in our lane and took a bit for them to get through. From the time I was let out of the car and in the lounge it took an hour.
EVA has since switched from using the JAL lounge to the newly renovated 2 floor Air France lounge (interestingly enough it seems the LH lounges close during these midnight departures and haven't worked out a deal with their *A partner).
BP was stamped with the wifi password and was told that 2nd floor closes at 11:00 and the lounge closes at midnight (BP boarding time listed as 11:50).
I had read in a few things that the 2nd floor was reserved for AF pax but maybe that is just during the busier part of the day when they have all their flights going out...as I was entering the last AF flight was on final call.
On the 2nd floor happy to see some food set up. Salad, green beans, grilled chicken for the cold. Beef stew, risotto, eggplant w/ tomatoe sauce, basmati rice, stir fry noodles for hot. Cheese, fruit, yogurt and chocolate cake. Beer, wine, champagne, soda, water, tea, coffee all self serve.
The greens were fresh, dressing was good. The beef stew was delicious, the risotto rich & tasty and the eggplant dish kind of like eggplant parm w/o the cheese. All in all pretty good to get some light bites before the flight.
You can tell the lounge is winding down as it seems the cleaning crew is just waiting until it closes for the next past. Not that it is like a United Club but a few random pieces of bread on the floor, a few plates under the lounge chairs and needs some vacuuming.
Feb 28, 2015, 1:16 pm
#4
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: TK Elite Plus, SAS EBG, QR Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,297
Oh jebus, you're really fast with getting the TR's up. Hope you're having a good flight as I'm typing this.
Anyways it's nice that they have moved from the outdated JAL Lounge to the new AF Lounge. Hopefully they'll switch again to the TK Lounge once they open it in a year or so. My bet is that it will easily be the best lounge at JFK
Anyways it's nice that they have moved from the outdated JAL Lounge to the new AF Lounge. Hopefully they'll switch again to the TK Lounge once they open it in a year or so. My bet is that it will easily be the best lounge at JFK
Feb 28, 2015, 4:15 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058
EVA Royal Laurel JFK-TPE
Got to the gate about 10 min before boarding and announcement made that it'll board 15 min past schedule.
On the left is a big sign showing Royal Laurel, Premium/Deluxe, EVA Elites, *G line. When it comes to boarding the guy had a smaller sign first waving in group 1 which was Royal Laurel & EVA Diamond (and I think EVA Gold, not *A).
My seat for the next 16 hours. Reverse herringbone window seat. The seat is pretty firm, pillow was big and dense, the blanket was huge and thick. Getting out requires some deft maneuvers if you don't want to put the seat back up mostly upright. Also not being used to the tv that swings out a few times when getting up/adjusting I gave it a good bang with my knee/leg from below. Hope the guy in front of me didn't notice. All in all I got about 6 hours of sleep after dinner, up and used the bathroom and got some water and then had about another 2. Also after breakfast I dozed off in the lounge position for about 45 min.
Cabin even had a little Hello Kitty new year signs (excited for my next flight!).
Once it seemed Royal Laurel was boarded a FA on each side came down with a trolley handing out the Rimowa amenity kits and the pjs. The PJs were great, super soft (better than I got on LH F but I would say NH F was better than these).
No booze on the ground at JFK.
Seat gives you plenty of open space feeling with the 2 windows. However a 1am departure and a 5:30am arrival flying polar means darkness the entire way. It was cool when crossing over the top to look out and you see lots of white/haze and then notice a few big giant cracks that breakup the ice sheets.
EVA has recently switched from Dom to VC Le Grand Dame. While the credit card bloggers think this is just the UTMOST affront to their taste, I don't mind. To me DP is $80 champagne and $100 marketing...it's luxury to the same people who buy the cheapest Rolex Datejust and drive a 3 series. I'd rather drink bottles of Bollinger all day.
First course was a duck liver mousse/terrine/foie thing that was tasty, but I always find it to just be SOOO rich. I would have rather had just one little slab of it and then more greens or something else to go along.
I had pre-ordered the bacon wrapped pork tenderlions. I had red that EVA can't do red meat and I've heard praise and horror about the fish...plus it sounded good. I was really surprised that it was two rather large fillets and lots of risotto. The risotto was great, the veg was crunchy and overall the meat wasn't that bad. Great sauce, was a little tough to cook but not too dry.
As it is a "supper" instead of a dinner service the fruit and cheese cake came out together. Fruit was good, the kiwi was rock hard I couldn't even bite it. Cheese cake I picked at, good consistency and flavor.
Made a bit of my own mint green tea. I absolutely loved the tea dishes with the leaf saucer and small cup, would love to get a set.
After I woke up with about 6.5 hours left to go I decided I would do the burger. I noticed in the cabin when I used the lav most of the Asian pax were having the noodle soup that was on offer. I had to try the burger. It was great, super juicy and tasty, fresh tasting vegetables with it, soft bun. The fries on the other hand were all one giant curly mass that I tried to pick a few at and then just gave up as they were this weird mix of crunchy/chewy/cold.
I also then ordered up some of the Kavalan single malt (Taiwanese) whiskey. Wasn't too bad, I had 3 with the burger and 1 with breakfast.
Bathrooms stocked with Harnn prodcuts, great scents in the lotion and face mist. The amenity kit had toothcare, socks, eye mask, Harnn lip balm and then lotion. Also at the seats were a pair of slippers.
Breakfast instead of being thrown out at you 80 min before arrival like on UA the cabin lights came on 2.5 hours before landing and then a few trolleys went down. First doing juice/tea/coffee. Then another run to give out the tray with the first fruit plate, then came a cereal and yogurt trolley and then my main was brought after. I pre-ordered the carmelized onion omelette. It was pretty tasteless, needed s&p. The mushrooms, asparagus, potatoes and what not were great. Plenty filling breakfast.
We ended up touching down a bit late (given our 20 min delay and some headwinds) at 5:50. Taxied for a few minutes and then parked next to an EVA 747. Also got ushered into the Premium Pax transfer security line which was nice as it looked like 2 planes got off just before us.
So all in all I am spending an extra 8-9 hours getting to Tokyo.
1) I wanted to fly EVA and Royal Laurel and I don't really know when I will again in the future.
2) I wanted to fly Hello Kitty jet!
3) The dates worked so that I could arrive in Tokyo on the 1st with other options I would have had to leave 2 days early or a day later.
So far have to say I am happy with the choice. I don't think I would ever do this again to backtrack to North Asia but in the future if something presents itself to fly EVA RL again en route to S.E.A. I would certainly consider it!
Got to the gate about 10 min before boarding and announcement made that it'll board 15 min past schedule.
On the left is a big sign showing Royal Laurel, Premium/Deluxe, EVA Elites, *G line. When it comes to boarding the guy had a smaller sign first waving in group 1 which was Royal Laurel & EVA Diamond (and I think EVA Gold, not *A).
My seat for the next 16 hours. Reverse herringbone window seat. The seat is pretty firm, pillow was big and dense, the blanket was huge and thick. Getting out requires some deft maneuvers if you don't want to put the seat back up mostly upright. Also not being used to the tv that swings out a few times when getting up/adjusting I gave it a good bang with my knee/leg from below. Hope the guy in front of me didn't notice. All in all I got about 6 hours of sleep after dinner, up and used the bathroom and got some water and then had about another 2. Also after breakfast I dozed off in the lounge position for about 45 min.
Cabin even had a little Hello Kitty new year signs (excited for my next flight!).
Once it seemed Royal Laurel was boarded a FA on each side came down with a trolley handing out the Rimowa amenity kits and the pjs. The PJs were great, super soft (better than I got on LH F but I would say NH F was better than these).
No booze on the ground at JFK.
Seat gives you plenty of open space feeling with the 2 windows. However a 1am departure and a 5:30am arrival flying polar means darkness the entire way. It was cool when crossing over the top to look out and you see lots of white/haze and then notice a few big giant cracks that breakup the ice sheets.
EVA has recently switched from Dom to VC Le Grand Dame. While the credit card bloggers think this is just the UTMOST affront to their taste, I don't mind. To me DP is $80 champagne and $100 marketing...it's luxury to the same people who buy the cheapest Rolex Datejust and drive a 3 series. I'd rather drink bottles of Bollinger all day.
First course was a duck liver mousse/terrine/foie thing that was tasty, but I always find it to just be SOOO rich. I would have rather had just one little slab of it and then more greens or something else to go along.
I had pre-ordered the bacon wrapped pork tenderlions. I had red that EVA can't do red meat and I've heard praise and horror about the fish...plus it sounded good. I was really surprised that it was two rather large fillets and lots of risotto. The risotto was great, the veg was crunchy and overall the meat wasn't that bad. Great sauce, was a little tough to cook but not too dry.
As it is a "supper" instead of a dinner service the fruit and cheese cake came out together. Fruit was good, the kiwi was rock hard I couldn't even bite it. Cheese cake I picked at, good consistency and flavor.
Made a bit of my own mint green tea. I absolutely loved the tea dishes with the leaf saucer and small cup, would love to get a set.
After I woke up with about 6.5 hours left to go I decided I would do the burger. I noticed in the cabin when I used the lav most of the Asian pax were having the noodle soup that was on offer. I had to try the burger. It was great, super juicy and tasty, fresh tasting vegetables with it, soft bun. The fries on the other hand were all one giant curly mass that I tried to pick a few at and then just gave up as they were this weird mix of crunchy/chewy/cold.
I also then ordered up some of the Kavalan single malt (Taiwanese) whiskey. Wasn't too bad, I had 3 with the burger and 1 with breakfast.
Bathrooms stocked with Harnn prodcuts, great scents in the lotion and face mist. The amenity kit had toothcare, socks, eye mask, Harnn lip balm and then lotion. Also at the seats were a pair of slippers.
Breakfast instead of being thrown out at you 80 min before arrival like on UA the cabin lights came on 2.5 hours before landing and then a few trolleys went down. First doing juice/tea/coffee. Then another run to give out the tray with the first fruit plate, then came a cereal and yogurt trolley and then my main was brought after. I pre-ordered the carmelized onion omelette. It was pretty tasteless, needed s&p. The mushrooms, asparagus, potatoes and what not were great. Plenty filling breakfast.
We ended up touching down a bit late (given our 20 min delay and some headwinds) at 5:50. Taxied for a few minutes and then parked next to an EVA 747. Also got ushered into the Premium Pax transfer security line which was nice as it looked like 2 planes got off just before us.
So all in all I am spending an extra 8-9 hours getting to Tokyo.
1) I wanted to fly EVA and Royal Laurel and I don't really know when I will again in the future.
2) I wanted to fly Hello Kitty jet!
3) The dates worked so that I could arrive in Tokyo on the 1st with other options I would have had to leave 2 days early or a day later.
So far have to say I am happy with the choice. I don't think I would ever do this again to backtrack to North Asia but in the future if something presents itself to fly EVA RL again en route to S.E.A. I would certainly consider it!
Feb 28, 2015, 4:53 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: TK Elite Plus, SAS EBG, QR Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,297
Nice continuation of the report, and good to hear that you had a nice flight on EVA Air. The food looked quite similar to what I got when I flew the route last summer, though the cheesecake dessert seemed much nicer than the mystery cake I got. And also the burger as mid-flight snack looked slightly more substantial than the quiche. It's a shame that you weren't able to order the Eggs Benedict for breakfast though. Btw how did the VCLGD compare to the Dom?
Mar 1, 2015, 10:02 am
#7
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: 6km East of EPAYE
Programs: UA Silver, AA Platinum, AS & DL GM Marriott TE, Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,582
EVA has recently switched from Dom to VC Le Grand Dame. While the credit card bloggers think this is just the UTMOST affront to their taste, I don't mind. To me DP is $80 champagne and $100 marketing...it's luxury to the same people who buy the cheapest Rolex Datejust and drive a 3 series. I'd rather drink bottles of Bollinger all day.
Amen! I'm looking forward to the rest of this TR.
Mar 1, 2015, 3:46 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058
EVA Infinity Lounge + EVA Premium Laurel Hello Kitty "Speed Puff" TPE-NRT
First order of business was a shower. At JFK I had gotten a print out invite to The Infinity Lounge. Arriving in RL, departing in PL and being *G I'm really not quite sure lounge access but it seems Infinity and Star are for those pax and then The Garden and The Club (I think it was called) seem to be for EVA elites and certain credit cards. There's also an SQ lounge.
When I arrived she mentioned that all the showers in Infinity were full but there was some open in Star that I could use. Took my BP and gave me a key.
The shower was very big, they could have used half the space for the extra shower and added it to the area where you can change and get dressed etc. Had all the Harnn products out and other things like combs, qtips and what not. Felt much refreshed. I had blown past the shower and walked to the end of the Star on accident and it looked pretty "normal" and I had heard Infinity was like a Vegas night club so I got my BP back and crossed the foyer.
Welcome to Asia!
There was a lot of food out. Some of it while I am sure I would have liked I wasn't still sure how to properly eat (i.e. congee which I gave a go). I stuck with some veg rice, chicken with some beans and then wok fried veg. After looking in the drink case for about 2 min I was able to figure out that this was a non-sugar added green tea drink. There was also Kavalan, some typical gin/vodka and red/white wine also out even at 7am. There was a Movenpick ice cream case but I didn't have any or look at the flavors.
The lounge was pretty full, but kept clean. I sat listening to an AC pax talk to two other Americans about fare classes and miles earnings. The rest of the time it was kids playing and toddlers yelping. Luckily right after I got my food did one of the kids decide to sneeze halfway on the counter & his hand and then help himself to some food. One guy continued to walk his toddler up and down the entire length of the lounge for 20 min...it wasn't crying but more of just discovering the noises it could make. Would have been nice to let the kid tire itself out in the big upper level area that leads to the lounge.
When I went to the lounge the agent gave my gate info which was B8 and said it would take 15-20 min to walk there. I don't move at a glacial pace but given that I was tired of the lounge and wanted to see the airport I headed out at about 7:55 for our 8:20 listed boarding time. She was right...it was pretty far, it seemed right to be on the cusp of T2/T1.
Will he gate check that?
Got to the gate area and there was "Speed Puff" waiting for us.
Boarding was done via two lanes and two doors. I was the first person on and there were already 6 people in J...two male pilots and 4 female FAs presumably on the commute for work (the FAs were in regular clothes, the two males had EVA cardigans on and I saw their hats in another bag). Aside from that it would be, myself, a Western (I detected no accent in their English) Asian couple, and a solo male and female Asian pax. I was shown to my seat and also asked if I wanted a pair of slippers.
Another FA then brought around drinks, another one came up to verify my order/menu. Lots of attention!
Lots of Hello Kitty!
Air fresheners, coasters, napkins, menus, cross branded Harnn products, barf bags, safety card. Naturally I took along the menu, a coster, napkin, barf bag and was given a set of playing cards as well.
Hello Kitty flippin the biiiiird.
I had pre-ordered the Din Tai Fung. I should have got the Japanese option. I had DTF in Hong Kong and thought it was okay (not mind blowing), but of course on a plane just can't compete. Each time I tried to pick up the dumpling it ripped apart. Also I have almost no idea (except for the oystery thing on the right) what the little starters were and could have done without chicken broth with half the chicken and skin in it. Love me some shredded ginger and vinegar though!
The FAs were super sweet. We had 4 in the cabin taking care of the 5 of us (the crew just slept, one captain had tea). I was constantly cared for and they always came with a fresh Kavalan in hand or refill of green tea ( on the same lovely china as Royal Laurel). Great for a 2.5 hour flight.
Touch down at Narita. The airport wasn't too busy, I waited in line at passport control for maybe 5-7 min (took about 5-6 to walk from our gate). At the entrance to the line a man was ejecting people who didn't properly fill out their forms, even for things like "Please write your hotel name."
As I went down the stairs to baggage the carrousel was right off of it and my bag was turning the corner. Picked up and no lines at customs and got through to the arrivals hall. Exchanged some $ to Y and then thanks to LH4116 I found the Keisei bus counter (next to Airport Limo counter) to pick up the discounted Metro cards. I got a 2 day Y1200 for myself on this trip and since they are good for a while (until you first use it) I picked up 2 x 3 day Y1500 for myself and my Mom when we come back in a few weeks. You can't use them on the JR trains (like Yamamote etc) that run around Tokyo, it's only for the Tokyo & Toei Metro lines.
Got down at 1:30 to the NEX counters (kiosks were free but last time I tried I couldn't figure it out) for the 1:45 train. Waited in line for about 6-7 min got my (discounted with foreign passport) ticket to Tokyo Station for Y1500.
Got my Y130 bottled of warmed green tea (seriously my favorite thing about Tokyo) and was on my way to town.
First order of business was a shower. At JFK I had gotten a print out invite to The Infinity Lounge. Arriving in RL, departing in PL and being *G I'm really not quite sure lounge access but it seems Infinity and Star are for those pax and then The Garden and The Club (I think it was called) seem to be for EVA elites and certain credit cards. There's also an SQ lounge.
When I arrived she mentioned that all the showers in Infinity were full but there was some open in Star that I could use. Took my BP and gave me a key.
The shower was very big, they could have used half the space for the extra shower and added it to the area where you can change and get dressed etc. Had all the Harnn products out and other things like combs, qtips and what not. Felt much refreshed. I had blown past the shower and walked to the end of the Star on accident and it looked pretty "normal" and I had heard Infinity was like a Vegas night club so I got my BP back and crossed the foyer.
Welcome to Asia!
There was a lot of food out. Some of it while I am sure I would have liked I wasn't still sure how to properly eat (i.e. congee which I gave a go). I stuck with some veg rice, chicken with some beans and then wok fried veg. After looking in the drink case for about 2 min I was able to figure out that this was a non-sugar added green tea drink. There was also Kavalan, some typical gin/vodka and red/white wine also out even at 7am. There was a Movenpick ice cream case but I didn't have any or look at the flavors.
The lounge was pretty full, but kept clean. I sat listening to an AC pax talk to two other Americans about fare classes and miles earnings. The rest of the time it was kids playing and toddlers yelping. Luckily right after I got my food did one of the kids decide to sneeze halfway on the counter & his hand and then help himself to some food. One guy continued to walk his toddler up and down the entire length of the lounge for 20 min...it wasn't crying but more of just discovering the noises it could make. Would have been nice to let the kid tire itself out in the big upper level area that leads to the lounge.
When I went to the lounge the agent gave my gate info which was B8 and said it would take 15-20 min to walk there. I don't move at a glacial pace but given that I was tired of the lounge and wanted to see the airport I headed out at about 7:55 for our 8:20 listed boarding time. She was right...it was pretty far, it seemed right to be on the cusp of T2/T1.
Will he gate check that?
Got to the gate area and there was "Speed Puff" waiting for us.
Boarding was done via two lanes and two doors. I was the first person on and there were already 6 people in J...two male pilots and 4 female FAs presumably on the commute for work (the FAs were in regular clothes, the two males had EVA cardigans on and I saw their hats in another bag). Aside from that it would be, myself, a Western (I detected no accent in their English) Asian couple, and a solo male and female Asian pax. I was shown to my seat and also asked if I wanted a pair of slippers.
Another FA then brought around drinks, another one came up to verify my order/menu. Lots of attention!
Lots of Hello Kitty!
Air fresheners, coasters, napkins, menus, cross branded Harnn products, barf bags, safety card. Naturally I took along the menu, a coster, napkin, barf bag and was given a set of playing cards as well.
Hello Kitty flippin the biiiiird.
I had pre-ordered the Din Tai Fung. I should have got the Japanese option. I had DTF in Hong Kong and thought it was okay (not mind blowing), but of course on a plane just can't compete. Each time I tried to pick up the dumpling it ripped apart. Also I have almost no idea (except for the oystery thing on the right) what the little starters were and could have done without chicken broth with half the chicken and skin in it. Love me some shredded ginger and vinegar though!
The FAs were super sweet. We had 4 in the cabin taking care of the 5 of us (the crew just slept, one captain had tea). I was constantly cared for and they always came with a fresh Kavalan in hand or refill of green tea ( on the same lovely china as Royal Laurel). Great for a 2.5 hour flight.
Touch down at Narita. The airport wasn't too busy, I waited in line at passport control for maybe 5-7 min (took about 5-6 to walk from our gate). At the entrance to the line a man was ejecting people who didn't properly fill out their forms, even for things like "Please write your hotel name."
As I went down the stairs to baggage the carrousel was right off of it and my bag was turning the corner. Picked up and no lines at customs and got through to the arrivals hall. Exchanged some $ to Y and then thanks to LH4116 I found the Keisei bus counter (next to Airport Limo counter) to pick up the discounted Metro cards. I got a 2 day Y1200 for myself on this trip and since they are good for a while (until you first use it) I picked up 2 x 3 day Y1500 for myself and my Mom when we come back in a few weeks. You can't use them on the JR trains (like Yamamote etc) that run around Tokyo, it's only for the Tokyo & Toei Metro lines.
Got down at 1:30 to the NEX counters (kiosks were free but last time I tried I couldn't figure it out) for the 1:45 train. Waited in line for about 6-7 min got my (discounted with foreign passport) ticket to Tokyo Station for Y1500.
Got my Y130 bottled of warmed green tea (seriously my favorite thing about Tokyo) and was on my way to town.
Mar 1, 2015, 5:13 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058
Oh jebus, you're really fast with getting the TR's up. Hope you're having a good flight as I'm typing this.
Anyways it's nice that they have moved from the outdated JAL Lounge to the new AF Lounge. Hopefully they'll switch again to the TK Lounge once they open it in a year or so. My bet is that it will easily be the best lounge at JFK
Anyways it's nice that they have moved from the outdated JAL Lounge to the new AF Lounge. Hopefully they'll switch again to the TK Lounge once they open it in a year or so. My bet is that it will easily be the best lounge at JFK
You can see upthread that others mimic my sentiment.
Mar 1, 2015, 5:26 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: SEA
Programs: AS 75k, A3 Gold, AC 25k, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,043
EVA has recently switched from Dom to VC Le Grand Dame. While the credit card bloggers think this is just the UTMOST affront to their taste, I don't mind. To me DP is $80 champagne and $100 marketing...it's luxury to the same people who buy the cheapest Rolex Datejust and drive a 3 series. I'd rather drink bottles of Bollinger all day.
Mar 1, 2015, 6:35 pm
#13
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: United MP, HHonors Gold, SPG Gold, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 61
Great report so far. Brings back fond memories of when my wife and I took the same eva airways flights last fall. Menu looks much better than what we had. Can't wait to see the rest of the report.
Mar 1, 2015, 8:13 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
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Posts: 7,058