ka9taw

Thanks to the Grand Hyatt Seoul and it's in room hi-speed Internet connection, I'm starting this report while on the road instead of the usual wait-until-it's-over approach. I'm about 9 days into a 12 day trip through several Asian countries, and it's been interesting...

Mumbai, India

AA#66 ORD-LHR in F

Got to the Flagship Lounge just in time for sushi. Lounge service was great almost to the point of too much; and I ate a lot as a result. Airborne on the 777, the Flagship Suites were everything promised and then some; I especially liked the fold-out working desk with reading light. Other than that, pretty similar to my F on BA, except no sleep suit or down blanket. That's OK, I slept plenty in this configuration. That is, when I wasn't laughing at how the flight attendants were putting up with a particularly rude, demanding couple in 2C/G. The cabin was only half-full, I can only imagine what they would have gone through on a full flight. I gave them both SOS's for great patience with 2C/G.

The menu was similar to my last trans-Atlantic.
- Start with roast nuts or veggies and dip
- Smoked salmon or caviar with toast points or blini, champagne or chilled vodka. As on previous flight, smoked salmon was a very small slice, I guess I could have asked for more but it seemed a bit stingy for F
- Salad cart including lobster tail/claw. I had elected to skip the main course (too much sushi etc in flagship lounge) so the FA gave me an extra serving of lobster. Guess that makes up for the salmon
- Mains were beef, lamb, seafood risotto, or pasta
- I wasn't paying too much attention to dessert but recall eating a fruit cup that they said had Grand Marnier sauce.

The amenity kit was back to Origins products (last time, it was Honeybee or something, I guess they had run out of Origins). The lip balm was particularly good.

Slept pretty much until approach into LHR, so I skipped breakfast (fine because I knew the next flight would serve something). The suites are definitely great for sleeping, slept more soundly than almost any other flight in recent memory.

Transit at LHR was the usual drawn-out process, I think it took almost an hour. Still, I had time to stop in BA's Terraces lounge in Terminal 4, but didn't stay too long.

BA#139 LHR-BOM in J

This flight was cool because I had a window seat on the 747-2, and the aisle seat next to me was open for whatever reason. It was one of only two or three opens in that part of J. Strangely, a man across the aisle asked me if I would like to switch seats. I still can't figure out why I would have wanted to switch...if I wanted an aisle, I would just sit on the aisle in my two seat side.

The punishment for taking OneWorld for this connection was that the second flight is longer than the first....tries my patience a bit. But BA's inflight service is fine which helps.
The lunch menu:
Appetiser: Crab timbale and smoked salmon or okra, cauliflower, spinach, and paneer
Salad
Mains: Navarin of Lamb, Hailbut with Potatoes, Courgettes, and spinach; vegetable curry; chicken ceaser salad
Dessert: Double Chocolate Ganache; Vignotte, Yarg with Nettles and Stilton Cheese; or Fruit (I fell asleep before dessert, but that chocolate ganache sounded pretty good)

I slept a few hours on this flight, watched a bunch of sitcoms, and did some reading. We had been delayed out of London a bit so that made things even longer.
About an hour before landing, we got a snack of finger sandwiches with ginger cake.

Landing in Mumbai, the baggage claim was quite a scene. It appeared to me that each passenger had checked four or five suitcases, and they kept coming and coming. Not surprisingly, my orange AA "Priority" tag meant my bag was one of the last to come out, along with the others who did the same connection. All told, about an hour to get out of the airport.

Leaving the arrivals area was one of the least organized scenes I've dealt with. You're dumped out onto the street, and there was a hoarde of people waiting. What I didn't find was a driver waiting for me, which was what was supposed to happen. Thankfully, someone found the representative of Taj Hotels. He called both hotels -- couldn't find my booking Oh well -- he set me up with a car and a room at the Taj Mahal Hotel. I was pretty freaked out about not being met on my first trip to India when I had no idea where I was going, so I was really appreciative of the guy from the Taj Hotels. Not sure what I would have done otherwise at 1 AM.

It turns out my booking was at the Taj President, but for arrival the next night. And they did not have a car request. Oh well.

Mumbai was unremarkable except for the number of people trying to separate me from my money. I had a guy try to hustle me on the street...first time in a long time I actually started to fall for it . Every taxi driver had a deal on where to shop, where to party, etc. Not a warm and friendly feeling.

(more in part 2 -- one of these days I'll understand how big the buffer is on FT)

[This message has been edited by ka9taw (edited 08-26-2001).]

[This message has been edited by ka9taw (edited 08-26-2001).]

ka9taw

Delhi, India

9W (Jet Airways) #361 BOM-DEL in Y

Leaving Mumbai was very sad. Since my arrival had been at 2 AM, I guess I didn't realize that all those shacks along the roads to the airport were actually slums with people living in them. During the day of course this was much more noticeable.

I had read here and elsewhere that they take security seriously at Indian airports, and certainly Jet Airways was a poster child for security.
First my bags were x-rayed and sealed shut with package straps.
Then I sent my carryon through the x-ray.
Then I was metal-detected and hand searched.
Then the Jet Airways staff started the process over again:
They had searched my carryon
They patted me down again
there had probably been another metal detector, too for all I know.

The flight itself was fine but the 737-8 was quite full. They passed out newspapers and cold towels to everyone in Y. They also served a meal of chicken and rice (also a vegetarian choice available) that had some yogurt and pudding or mousse. The chicken was pretty good, well spiced but not as hot as all the other stuff I had been eating for three days. My only comment on the flight was that they played background muzak in the cabin during the whole flight. This was not real conducive to sleeping which is really what I wanted to be doing.

On arriving in Delhi, I was met by a driver on behalf of my company (presumably vowing not to make the same mistake again). He took me to the Taj President hotel where I was staying. This hotel was absolutely amazing -- they upgraded me to a junior suite, the room service food was fantastic, and the staff was incredibly helpful. Well, 99% of the time.

I had made arrangements to slip away to see the Taj Mahal one day before our afternoon meetings. That meant leaving the hotel pretty early -- 2:30 AM -- convneniently, just after I'd be finishing a conference call with the US. At 2:30 the car company called that the driver was on his way. At 2:35 I went to call the elevator. None came for several minutes. After six or eight minutes, I got tired of waiting and picked up the house phone. The operator transferred me to someone who said they were "moving heavy equipment" and it would be a few more minutes but they'd send an elevator up.

Eventually, I was able to take the elevator down to the lobby. There were something like 50 people standing around...at 2:45 AM this struck me as odd. Especially since some of them were soldiers with large guns. So I walked down to the bell desk and asked if my car had arrived. They told me that no cars were coming in at the moment because Yasser Arafat would be arriving shortly. I asked what they wanted me to do -- surely I needed to go hide somewhere, right? Actually, no, I was told to just stand at the bell desk and wait; kind of like getting a front row seat, really.

About ten minutes later, a whole slew of cars pulled in at once, including a big stretch Mercedes S-class. Moments later, there was a swarm of people (30 - 40) moving into the lobby, flashbulbs popping, and then Chairman Arafat emerged with an expressionless face. He was whisked through the hotel entrance, down the red carpet, and into who knows where. And then it was all over. Five minutes later, my driver pulled up to significantly less fanfare

As I reflected upon this event, it seemed quite surprising to me that nobody asked me what I was doing in the lobby. It appeared that all of the hotel staff had been interrogated, as they were all carrying yellow index "Palestine" cards with their name etc . Yet I stood right there, with my bag o' stuff (water, snacks) destined for the Taj, and nobody said a word to me.

Anyway, the Taj Mahal was amazing. I recommend getting there early -- we got there at 6:30 AM and there were only about 20 people total. I sent a few people some of my digital pics and they asked what website I borrwed the pictures from They look like postcards since there are no crowds of people hanging around. The ride to Agra in the middle of the night wasn't much fun, though. I also enjoyed seeing a bunch of Delhi. I am glad I did things in this order; going Delhi to Mumbai would have been a real letdown (with no personal offense to current or former residents of Mumbai). Delhi was much more cultural and interesting to a foreigner/tourist is basically my point.

Hong Kong (and Macau)

UA#2, DEL-HKG, business class

I called for a car to the airport; for a 2:45 AM flight, the hotel wanted me to leave at midnight (fifteen minute drive to the airport) . It's not like Delhi International is the most exciting airport; the few small shops didn't offer much, the shared lounge was crowded, and there were few other services. I had heard that Indian Rupees must be converted before leaving the country, yet the only currency exchange was nowhere near the UA check-in ... and I didn't notice it until after I had passed through immigration (which, by the way, took 40 minutes). UA's ground staff was friendly and helpful, but again very security conscious. The zippers on my bags were tied shut after they were x-rayed. Anyway, this flight was fairly empty in C, not sure about Y; UA is killing the flight come October. I found this funny because there are ads all over the HK airport for UA's nonstop service to Delhi

If there was food on this flight (which the menu says there was), I can't tell you anything about it. Actually, can't really comment much on the flight at all because because I fell asleep upon takeoff and woke up when they turned the lights on for landing.

Hong Kong immigration also took about an hour, the first time it's ever been that long in my experience.

I was in HK for two days (Friday/Saturday). Stayed at the New World Renaissance Hotel in Kowloon. It was fine, nothing exceptional but just all around good. They did bring me a slice of cake one night, the cake had a "Marriott Rewards Silver" card stenciled on top.

I also did a day trip to Macau on Saturday, basically because I had never been and wanted to check it out. The ferry is HK$140-$150 each way and is pretty quick, also very stable ride. Immigration in Macau was 10 minutes or so. I hired a guide and did a city tour for a couple of hours, then went back and did some more shopping and gambling. I guess for some reason I envisioned Macau to be much smaller. I also expected their to be more non-Asian tourists...but when I visited the casino at the Lisboa Hotel, I was the only white face I saw almost anywhere (except maybe for those Russian hookers in the halls...at least I am pretty sure those were hookers from the looks of them). The return process was about the same, but immigration back into HK was a very quick process.

From HK, I flew to Seoul today (will report on that soon), then I go back the other way to Kuala Lumpur via Singapore, then I come back this way to Tokyo before coming home on AA. Will file the rest soon.

ka9taw

CX 410 HKG-ICN, in Y

Yes, I left for the airport at 7 AM for a 10 AM flight. Why? To check out the first class section of the CX "Wing" lounge! Now that I'm OW Emerald, I was looking forward to the pinnacle of loungeness. Check-in at Kowloon station was easy and a train was departing just as I reached the platform. 30 minutes later, I was in the Wing.

The first class section's biggest difference, as far as I could tell, was in the dining area. It is set up like a restaurant, in that there are individual tables, flatware/glassware/linen napkins. On the breakfast buffet was dim sum, assorted bakery, some malay noodles, congee, eggs,some finger sandwiches, and fruit. There were only two or three other people in the dining room. There is a small rock/water garden along one wall. The overall effect is quite peaceful.

I chowed down -- and needed to, as the plane was all the way at gate 50. I boarded and took my assigned 30H, the bulkhead aisle on the two seat right side of the plane. 30J was a pax who made this strange kissing/chewing noise when he ate, and belched a lot, but otherwise harmless. I actually found the bulkhead a bit cramped; not sure if the seat pitch was similar elsewhere.

In flight, we were served a choice of spicy Korean fish or beef satay. It came with some other stuff but I don't really recall (and I've packed the menu away). The cabin crew was professional and friendly. In fact, the chief purser came to see me -- twice -- to see how I was doing. I assume this was due to my OW Emerald status; he didn't seem to stop to chat with anyone else in my vicinity. Of course, the first time he did, I had hoped he was going to invite me forward to business class, but no such luck . I bought some Cuban cigars from the inflight shop to use as gifts at my next stop, and otherwise the three hour flight passed uneventfully. The new Incheon airport is indeed efficient, and I was out the door and onto a KAL Limousine Bus headed to the Grand Hyatt in about ten minutes total time. Of course, it's a long ride, maybe 70 - 80 minutes.

The Grand Hyatt was very nice, and very busy. Hyatt had sent me a targeted promotion the day before I left for this trip, granting me temporary Diamond status. So I had hastily changed to this hotel from the Ritz...I'm such a sucker for marketing (takes one to know one, I guess). The Hyatt folks put me on one of the Regency Club floors, in a nicely appointed room including a plush comforter and fluffy pillows. As mentioned above, it also had high-speed Internet which was a huge bonus. Dinner was room service; I planned to eat at the Korean buffet restaurant but it, and one of the other restaurants, were fully booked up for the night . I took breakfast in the Club lounge, and the highlight was a huge plate of smoked salmon...OK, it's not a typical Korean dish but it made my morning.

At the end of the day, I took a bus back to Incheon from the City Airport Terminal. SQ , my next carrier, did not have any staff there for flight check-in, which was fine because I had to reticket anyway. We were at Incheon about 80 minutes later.

There's nobody here! This airport is pretty quiet at this hour. There was nobody in queue for the SQ flight, and as such reticketing, check-in and immigration were all blindingly efficient.

I am now planted in the SQ Silver Kris lounge; this one is giving "The Wing" a run for its money. First of all, it's huge, built on the second floor overlooking the concourse. The decor is very nice, the Internet kiosks are plentiful and free, and the work desks nicely overlook the concourse. I had a shower in a shower room more than twice the size of my shower at home and munched on dim sum, salmon, and cookies. There are about 20 pax total in the lounge.

Well, it's about time to board, so I'll file the next segment later on down the line.

MilesDependent

Great report. India is a pretty wild place, hey? I've been to BOM recently and am heading off to DEL in January. Thanks for the tip about seeing the Taj early. I've always heard that it was better at that hour, but you've certainly given concrete proof to that effect. 20 people, wow, that must have been amazing. In India, there's usually way more than 20 people in any area at just about any point in time

As for security, I was told that flights to/from DEL are subject to extra security. That fits with my experience. When I was in Bangalore, the security on my flight to BOM was pretty tight. However, there was a 9W flight to DEL leaving at the same time, and there was a whole other layer of security just before you got on the plane, which we were not subjected to.

How did you find the service on 9W? I've only been on them once and found it to be very good. But they are widely regarded for having some of the best service in the air.

Anyway - looking forward to your comments on the SQ flight.

MD

[This message has been edited by MilesDependent (edited 08-27-2001).]

B747-437B

If you feel this way, you were obviously not shown around Mumbai properly!

Shareholder

Nice report. Brought back memories of the chaos of Indian airports, and 1 am arrivals. [Always book hotel room for the day before you arrive, common mistake.] What kind of a ticket are you on? Great mixture of carriers and classes. I think UA is on safe grounds with keeping the promo posters up. They are just dropping the LHR and HKG links and flying directly from the US, over the pole. Safe travels. Look forward to reading your final reports.

UAL Traveler

Lets not forget about JFK-HKG - which in a short time had become one of my all time favorite/convenient UA flights - also featured on those posters, which seem to be plastered all over Asia.

UAL Traveler

Very much enjoyed your report, ka9taw
. In addition to digital stills, did you have a video camera with you? If so, what, if anything, did you do with it? I was there early last month, and had to check it in the locker in the entrance to the Taj complex (building just before you walk down the steps to the first pond). The guard gave me a key, and said that the camera would be safe, and that there was only one key to locker. I sort of believe him, because I failed to ask him how many people had keys to the door in the back of my locker. When I got my camera back, the battery was run down, the switch was in the 'on' position, and the camera body was virtually too hot to touch (must have been left out on the cement in the hot sun after the 'guards' finished playing with it).

Anyway, I took a bunch of still pix, and I know what you mean about postcard quality.

You note I've departed DEL on both TG and UA in the past two months, and have never had my zippers (at least those on my bags) tied shut. However, as you note, they are very tight with security. Airport staff have always made sure I had a paper tag attached to each and every bag that they would stamp 'Security Check... IGI Airport...' etc.'

Agree that Delhi is a very interesting city, with plenty of fascinating historical elements and artifacts. It is also replete with many, if not more, of the shacks and slums you saw outside BOM (near Old Delhi, as an example of just one area).

ka9taw

Hi all, I'm at Tokyo Narita now, departing for home shortly. I don't have the energy to write up the three subsequent flights, but I will respond to some of the comments...

MilesDependent: The service on 9W was pretty nice. The crew was mutli-ethnic: Indian, Chinese, etc. They were pretty attentive and reasonably friendly. The gate check in was efficient. The meal service was prompt (preceded by cold towels) and, since I was pretty much asleep after that point, I can't comment any further. I would definitely fly Jet Airways again.

B747-437B: See, I knew I'd offend someone. I probably was not shown around Mumbai properly...I did hire a three hour tour from my hotel's concierge, but otherwise was out on my own. My colleages didn't come find me until my third day, I was actually kind of surprised they left me alone.

Shareholder: I am not on any kind of special ticket. I'm simply flying the carriers that are available at the given times that I need to fly, which have been pretty limited windows for this trip. I am AA ExecPlat so I tend to favor OW carriers, but SQ is fabulous, JL was my only choice to NRT today, and UA was basically the only game to Delhi.

As for the promo posters, maybe you missed that they are in the Hong Kong airport, advertising non-stop service to Delhi from Hong Kong. That's the flight that ends in October. It's kind of like when my company advertised heavily for jobs in February only to have a hiring freeze hit two weeks later

UAL Traveler: No, I don't tend to do video. Sorry to hear of your experience. I certainly had my guard up more in India than I have in recent travels, maybe going back to my Thailand trip earlier this year.

I didn't see the slums in Old Delhi...maybe my colleages there were just careful about where they took me. I think one of them said that they were more contained in Delhi...absolutely that they are there, but that they are only in certain areas. In Mumbai, any open space in the city seems to have been claimed by them.

Next posting, I'll cover SQ from ICN - KUL via SIN, JL from KUL-NRT, and AA NRT-ORD in F.

ka9taw

OK, I'm finally home now. So let's catch up the remaining flights.

Kuala Lumpur
SQ 15 ICN-SIN in Raffles class (C)
SQ 100 SIN-KUL in Y

SQ 15 was about half full on its continuation to SIN (originates in SFO). I was in Raffles class behind the galley, only three pax in this section (the forward C cabin looked somewhat more full). I actually have never flown SQ in C before, and the service was as excellent -- though programmatic -- as reputed.

SQ distributed what were supposed to be noise-cancelling headphones...I have to tell you, I couldn't notice any difference with them on or off unless they were plugged in and listening to something...and I didn't want to listen to music. I seem to remember some other airlines have an audio channel with no programming which serves this purpose, but I couldn't find any here. Menus, footisies, eye shades were also distributed. Drinks were ordered -- Of course I had to have a Singapore Sling. The drinks menu was quite extensive; it appears that on some flights, SQ is offering freshly made capuccino, mixed bar drinks, etc. Much more extensive beverage menu than any other airline I've flown.

The supper from Seoul to Singapore was:
Prawns with marinated seaweed salad
Chicken tagliatelle, Korean spicy fish, or stir-fried beef in black bean sauce (my choice). They also served a cheese course and ice cream (which I passed on). The menu on the SFO-ICN sector sounded pretty good, and quite generous.

Shortly thereafter, I was fast asleep and awoke only on descent into Changi. Arriving there at 3 AM is a pretty quite experience. I had hoped to stay at the Transit Hotel but it was fully booked when I checked over a week ago. Instead, I made my way to the Silver Kris lounge, hoping to beg my way in as I was only in Y on the connection to KUL. An SQ agent said that as long as I was in Raffles on the flight over, and I was travelling a "short hop" flight to Malaysia, then they will look at the incoming class-of-service and give you admission to the lounge. Phew...those benches in the halls would have been OK, but I knew the lounge would be better. The lounge was quite empty at this hour. I plugged into an Internet jack for a bit to catch up on mail, then went to a "couchette" to catch some shut eye. The SQ agents offered to wake me, but I set my phone's alarm instead which worked just fine. I was awake at 5:20 AM (yikes) to catch the 6 AM flight to KUL. I probably cut it a little close, as I still wanted to shave before heading out of the lounge. I was offered a shower, too, but knew I had no time for that. As I left the lounge, the desk agent told me not to run, that I had plenty of time.

The flight to KUL was packed, and i noticed a lot of other foreigners and expats. I was in 11H, which was actually a business class seat marked as economy for this flight. What a bonus...even on this short 35 minute flight, it was certainly a comfortable seat. The inflight service consisted of coffee, tea, or juice, and I passed on all and just dozed off instead.

I had been misled by some colleagues on the location of KLIA. They said it was close to the city -- no way, it's out in the jungle, man!! But my colleague met me at the airport and we were on our way only about 20 minutes after landing.

Tokyo
JL724, KUL-NRT in C
When I booked this flight, it was only available in C, though according to company policy it just misses the qualification for C class. So, the travel agent also booked a Y class seat; I was ticketed in C and instructed to reticket at the airport if Y became available. Sure enough, a couple of days later I had a voicemail that Y was now available and they cancelled my C reservation.

When I got to KLIA, I went to the JAL check-in desk which was staffed by Malaysian Airlines. They had no ticketing desk open but the check-in staff didn't know how to handle my ticket. So they sent me to another ticketing desk. There, the two agents spoke only minimal English. They spent about 10 minutes in the computer trying to figure out how they were supposed to downgrade my printed C class ticket to Y. While they were at it, I got frustrated and called my travel agent back in the US. I asked her what the fare difference between Y and C was -- she said it was US$130. So we were wasting all this time and process over a relatively small amount of money. I said screw it and took my C class ticket back to the counter, telling them to check me in for business class. They did and I was on my way.

KLIA has adopted the Heathrow school of airport-as-mall. Lots and lots of shops, so it gave me a chance to buy some more reading material and a gift or two. I also went to visit the lounge that JL was using; it is the shared "Premier Plaza" lounge. I found it pretty lame -- no telephones, only three Internet kiosks, and some average food. I had a quick snack and left in search of a payphone (cellphone batteries dying).

JL724 was reasonably full, though I had the aisle on the two seat side with the window open again. I was one of two gai-jin in C class, and I found it cute but slightly annoying how the flight attendants all switched to English to speak to me. OK, my Japanese is almost non-existent, but how much do you really need to know when they are offering you food, drinks, and newspapers?

The meal service started with a canape assortment shortly after takeoff: beef,trout, crabmeat sushi. I fell asleep shortly thereafter, waking for breakfast. Breakfast had Western and Japanese choices: Omlette, turkey bacon, fruit and salad with rolls/yogurt or spinach, chicken rice, miso soup, and fruit. I chose the Japanese which appeared to surprise the FAs.

We landed out of the fog at Narita....literally couldn't see the ground until about 15 seconds before touchdown. Proceeded through immigration and went to currency exchange, where I learned that they wouldn't take Malaysian Ringits for some reason. I then found my way to the Nikko Hotel bus and headed to Nikko Narita. I had booked a room there on the off chance my schedule changed and I came in the night before; I hadn't, but it was still only 7 AM, and I figured that I could use five more hours sleep before meeting my Japanese colleagues for lunch. The desk clerk seemed pretty confused ("no show") but gave me a room.

I woke in time for lunch and had a great sushi meal down the road at the Narita View hotel. My colleagues came with me back to the airport; first time I've ever come in by car, and I didn't know about the security checkpoint. Thankfully, my colleague had his passport handy (mine was in the trunk with my bags) and they let us through the checkpoint.

Going home -- Chicago
NRT to ORD on AA154, in F
Checked in with AA and surrendered my VIPOW (I had a boarding pass from KUL already, but knew that AA would want me to check in with them again). Did some shopping and then made my way to the Admiral's Club. NRT seems like a great place for AA to add a Flagship Lounge, though I do like this Admiral's Club.

In flight, the 777 on the Pacific route is the 2-2-2 seat configuration. I'm in 2G (the bulkhead) with 2E open. Preflight drinks are offered, along with menu, newspaper, etc. Once we take off, I notice that the legrest extension is not working on this seat; debate switching to 2E but didn't feel like it. Reported the problem to the FA. We later found that the dining table had problems coming out and going into the armrest, needed oiling; oh how I wish AA would use the suites on this route (though I think that would mean fewer overall F class seats, hence the reason they likely won't switch).

The dinner menu has Western and Japanese choices.
The Western starts with caviar or smoked salmon, followed by salad with chicken (not lobster on this sector), mains of Filet, chicken, grilled shrimp, fruit and cheese, and ice cream sundaes. I ordered the Japanese which has lots of plates full o' stuff; I don't want to transcribe the whole menu. The appetizer tray was actually not appetizing to me ... too many acquired tastes like sea urchin, salmon roe, foie gras. The second FA agreed with me, said she doesn't like the appetizers either. The main was a seafood mixed grill, with a simmered eel dumpling and vegetable mix, miso soup, and rice. I was also offered salmon/caviar when the cart came around, and I chose the salmon (got two slices this time! ); also offered the fruit/cheese cart (when will Asia learn about seedless grapes?); also offered the ice cream sundae.

After eating, I slept for about four or five hours. When I awoke, I had the "Midnight snack" of Japanese soba noodles and dipping sauce. Also available were some finger sandwiches and some cookies/crackers.
I then watched "What Women Want", did some work, and read a book.

Breakfast came by 2 hours before landing; at that point it was noon in Chicago so I really would have preferred a lunch. For those who eat eggs, maybe this was OK, as they were offering freshly scrambled or fried eggs, along with yogurt, cereal, rolls, and bacon/sausage. I should have asked what the J menu was; maybe they had french toast or something. All I know is I was pretty hungry only a couple hours after landing, which surprised me.

We landed early; immigration/customs were efficient at O'Hare and I was home by 4 PM.

I guess I expected the F class service to be slightly better on NRT-ORD; the ORD-FRA and ORD-LHR F segments I've done this year were plenty nice. This just didn't feel any more special than J with a fully-flat seat.

Now of course I can't stay away from ORD very long; headed to SFO and the W Hotel there...tomorrow.

MilesDependent

Great report!

Can you tell us what type of aircraft the SQ SIN-KUL flight was, and the JL flight.

You're company travel policy sounds better than mine. It don't matter if I fly for 24 hours, they still make me fly Y. Their attitude is, if I don't want to go Y, they'll find someone else who does.

ka9taw

Sorry about that, forgot to include aircraft...

SQ15 ICN-SIN: A340
SQ100 SIN-KUL: A310
JL724 KUL-NRT: MD11
AA154 NRT-ORD: 777

ka9taw

I forgot one other funny thing that happened on this trip!!!

While I was sitting in the Delhi airport waiting to go to HKG, I picked up a voicemail at my office. It was from AT&T, saying that there had been a number of calls on my corporate calling card from India, to all sorts of different numbers in the US, and were they legit calls or fraudulent? They asked me to call them back, at 800-xxx-xxxx to discuss.

Hello!!!!
You can't easily call a US 800 number from India!!! I can't dial it on my cell phone. I can't dial the AT&T access number for India from my cell phone. I can't dial the AT&T access number for India from a pay phone. In fact, the only place I was able to get the AT&T number was in the hotel (where I got to pay US$8 for the privilege each time).

I suppose I could have waited until I got to Hong Kong but I wanted to deal with it then and now.

So I figured out that there is a backdoor in my voice mail system that allows me to originate calls, and since it is based in the US, that it would let me dial the 800 number.

When AT&T answered, and I explained that yes, I was in India and the calls were legit, they thanked me for calling. I pointed out how difficult that had been -- and asked why they don't leave an international number when they call to inquire about unusual international phone call activity?!?! The person on the other end of the line was very defensive with me and couldn't see what the problem was. I guess she's never been to India

UAL Traveler

So true. Many companies that maintain 800-only numbers in the US do not understand how difficult it can be to call them from abroad. Many overseas phone cards block 800-number access entirely, as they have trouble with the billing. For example, when I need to call United in the US from SE Asia, I usually wind up making a direct call on my mobile, and pay the normal IDD rates. The CSR on the other end often wants to shoot the breeze about the weather out here, and can't understand that I am paying for the 800 call at international rates.

B747-437B

There are ways to get around this problem which is also one of my pet peeves.

From a regular Indian payphone dial "199" (this works on MTNL payphones - I'm not sure about the other service providers) for the local operator and ask to be transferred to the international operator and then ask the international operator to connect you to AT&T. However, most Indian payphones are usually in pretty bad condition and I would not want to be making an international call from them!

You can also go to one of the many booths labelled "STD/ISD/PCO" in bright yellow and dial the AT&T access number for the price of a local phone call. This is my preferred method from airports since these booths are all over the place and the equipment is usually very reliable.

Finally, you can use a computer system like net2phone to dial a US 800 number using internet telephony. Of course, this only works if you have dialup access in India. If you don't, you can purchase blocks of dialup access for a pretty reasonable rate from a reliable ISP like Satyam Internet on CD-ROM from a number of vendors. All Hallmark stores in India stock Satyam Internet CDs for example, and I'm sure other places do so too.