It's almost time for another trip. There's a lot of travel coming up on several airlines, many aircraft types (big and small) and of varying comfort levels.
As well as my first One World round the world (after several Star Alliance ones), I have a wacky 31 days of travel, so I'll add in the other trips in this report for free just for you.
In the meantime, sit back and relax. At the request of some readers, I've added links to other trip reports.
If all goes according to plan I will fly over 108,000 miles in 46 flights in 31 days. That's roughly equivalent to circling the planet every week at a ground speed of 145 miles per hour (based on shortest distances)!
Given the complexity of my itineraries I expect there will be some changes needed - time will tell.
The travel includes a round the world (RTW) and a mixture of long-haul and short-haul side trips.
PLANNING
I have wanted to visit South America for quite some time. Only 2 airlines fly directly across the South Pacific to South America - LAN and Aerolineas Argentinas. Given the lengthy flights involved, naturally I wanted to fly business class if possible. When I got around to checking the fares last year I found the direct flights were just as expensive as flying indirectly via USA (LAX and DFW on QF/AA or SYD, LAX and IAD on NZ/UA). Furthermore the fare was about the same as a round the world fare.
That sealed it for me - a round the world it will be to get effectively a free side trip to europe and of course a lot more mileage.
So the next question was which round the world product. Star Alliance round the world's (CRWSTARx) are distance based and so the large detour through USA would eat up a large proportion of the maximum 39,000 miles allowed leaving less options for the rest of the ticket. On the other hand, One World Explorer (DONEx) is continent based and so no mileage restriction. Thus, my decision to try my first one world round the world.
Working through a draft itinerary I realised consecutive weekends in Europe and South America would work best for me, freeing up the interim to visit North America. If I wanted I could have skipped North America to save a continent but opted for the slightly more expensive DONE5.
I wont reveal the routing just yet. My planning consisted of using various online tools, timetables and spreadsheets to optimise the combination of places I wanted/needed to go, my tight timeframe (just 2 weeks for the RTW), and wanting to maximise miles and status earning. In general a DONE4 provides the best bang (miles or status earning) per buck. Note that the best routing to maximise miles varies according to class of RTW (economy, business and first) as well as which frequent flyer program (FFP) is being credited. Since I am crediting to Qantas Frequent Flyer, this meant for example finding 2-class AA domestic flights that are over 1200 miles. Unfortunately for me, the timing I could do this trip fell in between seasons for DFW-ANC and LAX-SJU flights, both favourites of the regular xONEx'ers (eg see here, and here) over on the One World forum. In my planning I found out that I could transit the country of origin on a through flight number - this may be of help to someone else.
It wasn't until after I had ticketed, that on re-reading the One World Explorer rules posted on Flyer Talk more carefully that I realised I had left a significant amount of mileage on the table by returning directly from South America to South West Pacific. Their is an exception to the cannot revisit a continent for North America in transit to/from South America. So I changed my ticket to get some extra mileage, slightly disappointed I didn't have an extra day available to maximise the benefit by flying via JFK and SYD. I saved US$125 on the reissue thanks to FT since the rules had omitted the usual reroute change fee - my travel agent hadn't picked up this omission and wanted to charge me until I asked them to query with an airline and got the green light for nil change fee. Thanks FT
The other trips were much simpler to plan so I wont belabour them here.
Auckland to Singapore (AKL-SIN) Raffles (Business) Class on SQ 747
Finally I get finish the last minute meetings and emails and head for the airport. As we drive through light traffic I ponder that cabs are a bit like the airlines - quick to raise fares when petrol rose in price but so far no drop despite petrol being a third cheaper than the peak. At least cabs include the basic cost of fuel in the tariff and not as a surcharge.
On arrival I see check in for Singapore Airlines is busy, as are the other check in desks. Still, it isn't as busy as I'd expected given start of school holidays. Check in is completed quickly as I know the drill - NZ$25 cash for departure fee, use the immigration at the far left of check in and express lane upstairs, SQ uses the NZ lounge, etc. For the first time as far as I can recall I cannot get return boarding passes from SQ. Oh well it is only a minor inconvenience getting them along the way.
No queue at the special immigration. Arriving in the express lane upstairs I am thankful for this service - the regular lines snake out into the landside part of the terminal and must take at least 40 minutes to get through. Even the express lane takes a few minutes. The woman in front looked like she would set off the WTMD so I checked the other ones along the way and nabbed an empty one. I don't understand why people flock like lemmings to join the queue for the WTMD right in front of the immigration officer that just dealt with them when others have no queue at all. My gain this time as sure enough she did set off the alarm - far too much jewellery left on as well as metal on belts and shoes.
So I arrive at the nice NZ lounge maybe 15 minutes after reaching the airport. The lounge is packed and I soon find out the reason why - an NZ flight to Sydney was first delayed and then cancelled. A minor change since I last visited was the installation of soft drink dispenser replacing the cans. Of course the fridge is reduced by 1/3 to make room for it. (Don't worry mad_atta there are still plenty of wines .)
The flight is called rather early. Too early I think so I am in no hurry finishing off some emails and freshening up before heading to the gate. By the time I get to the gate boarding has only just started and I head straight on. I had been checking availability the past week and it was showing as very full - generally F2 A2 and lots of zeroes. But SQ is very good at managing loads and so no op-up. It doesn't matter since I have my favourite upper deck exit row seat to settle in to.
I unwind from the rush of the past week with a pre-departure drink. Doors are closed on schedule - yup totally full flight - but we take a while to push back and so by the time we begin takeoff roll it is 30 minutes after scheduled departure. The captain is very chatty - taking a few minutes to do his speil (and same again prior to landing in Singapore).
The food, drink and service are good as always; however the flight was marred by a few cockroaches being seen around my and my seatmates seats. They have no spray to knock out any other crawling around and can only tell us to look out for them If they had empty seats I'm sure we would have been moved but we had to spend the last several hours of the flight with a slightly creepy feeling. I've never seen any inspect onboard a flight before other than the odd fly (especially Australian domestic flights) or mosquito.
Auckland to Singapore (AKL-SIN) Raffles (Business) Class on SQ 747 continued
I noticed the perfumes in the Raffles toilets onboard had changed to L`Occitane.
I spent the flight alternating between watching some movies, catching up on papers and looking at the scenery unfold out the window. The Australian outback, for example, has lots of interesting landforms clearly visible in cloudless skies. Here there is a desolate-looking plain, there a dried up river system, well eroded stumps of hills that may once have been a great mountain range, etc. As we head northwest the view is partially obscured by increasing haze and cumulus build ups. The volcanic peaks of Indonesia piercing through the murk while the lowlands are invisible and left to the imagination.
Once the sun has set and the skies darkened I return to the screen. Unusually I miscalculate when the krisworld system is going to be turned off and so miss the last 10 minutes of the program I was watching. We land at a rainy Singapore and have the expected long taxi around half the terminal complex before pulling up at F58. It is amazing how often this flight ends up at the far end of the terminal from the lounge (or gate for onward flight). Still, the exercise is good and I'm soon in the Silver Kris Lounge getting my onward boarding pass. Again they won't issue return boarding pass, saying the policy has changed. I need to remember this in future for tight turnarounds and connections on SQ.
Boarding pass issued I head into the first class side and check up on FT, emails, make another booking and drink some Dom Perignon (not necessarily in that order ). I notice that the printer has gone and so no way to print out stuff from the computer terminals unless you have your own
The 3 hour connection passes quickly and so it is off back to F pier for boarding the next flight.
Singapore to Tokyo Narita (SIN-NRT) Raffles (Business) Class on SQ 747
As usual in Singapore the screens show final call and gate closing ridiculously early, so as usual I ignore them and head out from the lounge 20 minutes before scheduled departure - giving me 10 minutes to traverse the terminal before the gate closes. As I approach the gate there is a long queue down the pier - due to only one WTMD being in operation. Fortuitously, the second one opens just as I reach the entrance, meaning I am quickly through.
Boarding has not yet started (but commences in another minute or so). Since the flight is very full (again checking availability it had been showing all zeroes, even for paid full F, for several days) the gate lounge is full and I can see we wont be pushing back on time.
I settle in to my upper deck exit row seat once more. Boarding is surprisingly quick and doors close only a few minutes late. But we have missed our slot so sit near the gate for 20 minutes. In contrast to the earlier flight the captain's announcement is much briefer although warns there may be some turbulence close to Japan due to Super Typhoon Yagi which is churning out to sea.
By now I'm very tired and struggle to stay awake long enough to tell the FA I want my meal as breakfast not supper. It seems most other passengers prefer this too. For on these short red-eye flights there is a single meal with the choice of being served shortly after take off or about 90 minutes before arrival.
I get a deep short sleep and get woken up for my book the cook breakfast. For those unfamiliar with Singapore Airlines, first and business class passengers have the option of pre-ordering a special meal (called BTC aka book the cook) - only available from certain cities. Generally these meals are a bit better than the regular meals and there is a wider selection. Naturally Singapore is one origin for BTC, but so far Auckland is not.
While having breakfast I finish off the last of the program I missed on the prior flight, and figure I have just enough time to watch a short movie. Again I was wrong and missed the last 10 minutes of that one too. There is no view outside due to a solid sheet of cloud. However the sun is reflecting nicely off the engines below and behind me. The expected turbulence does not eventuate and several coffees later we are flying low over green fields and villages on approach to Narita.
Since the opening of the southern part of the terminal back in July, the taxi for SQ is much shorter (it used to use the furtherst gates on the furthest satellite).
Tokyo Narita to Singapore (NRT-SIN) Raffles (Business) Class on SQ 747
After a brief security check I head to the NH F lounge. No that is not a misprint, thanks to my status and flying SQ Raffles I have access to F lounge. *Gold only has access to business lounge unless flying in first.
Even the though lounge is new I've been here before on a previous trip, but am still astounded at the ratio of lounge staff to pax - even more than Lufthansa's famous first class terminal at FRA it seems. At this early hour the lounge is fairly empty so I grab a nice shower to freshen up. I get given a L'Occitane amenity kit for the shower room, which is also stocked with comb, brush, hairdryer, etc. Others have posted the amenity kits are not always offered.
I while away the transit posting on FT, drinking a nice iced tea and <to be continued ... meeting up with FTer now>
Tokyo Narita to Singapore (NRT-SIN) Raffles (Business) Class on SQ 747 continued
Apologies for the interruption.
Boarding is well underway when I am called from the lounge. I head down to the gate, pick up an SQ printed timetable (these are much better than the ones available from SQ's SIN lounge since only a few pages thick as opposed to a fat book) at the desk and board. It is another very full flight (was showing all zeroes for several days).
Again I have the upper deck exit row seat, in fact the same seat I had on the same aircraft only a few hours earlier. The overhead bin nearest my seat has a pillow and blanket inside which I move aside to see if my carry on will fit - as it happens it wont since another oddly-shaped carryon is underneath the pillow & blanket. But the jerk sitting on the other side yelled at me to put those back - they're his and they have to be in that bin, nowhere else will do. I noticed during the flight he never touched either pillow or blanket in the bin. What an idiot.
While settling in the captain apologises for the lack of aircon - apparently the APU isn't working and external power isn't coping with this warm Tokyo day. We have a small delay in pushing back waiting for ATC clearance and then roar into the sky.
I don't know why, but somehow during the turnaround the IFE on my seat stopped working properly. I had "VID" (ie airshow plus movies) but not "INT" (interactive including tv programs, games, etc). They rebooted my seat but this didn't fix the problem. A bit annoying but it did mean I read a lot more than I normally would on an SQ flight and at least I could still watch movies.
Our flight path was further east and much closer to the typhoon than on the way up, thus there was a lot more turbulence for the couple of hours. The view consisted of nothing but clouds almost right until touchdown.
The service, while generally good, was off the usual very high SQ standards. For example, no offer of sake with the hangoyomi, missed drinks rounds, didn't come back with hot towel if away from seat during their pass through, assume you want dressing on the salad instead of asking, etc.
We had strong tailwinds all the way and so looked to be arriving quite early when we banked just off SIN followed by an announcement that due to a tall ship(?) passing just in front of the runway we have to hold until it clears the area. So we spent the next 30 minutes going around in circles gradually descending through the thick tropical air. Eventually we straightened up and land a little behind schedule. A short taxi this time to our gate at the end of E pier. We stop short of the gate for 5 minutes to allow another a/c to clear the area.
Since once again I was unable to get an onward boarding pass at Narita my first stop is check in desk inside the lounge.
Singapore to Auckland (SIN-AKL) Raffles (Business) Class on SQ 747
I notice I will be on the same aircraft and same seat again (that's 3 flights in a row). Again I check some emails and FT, drink some Dom and freshen up. derpelikan joins me for a while - he'd been trying to get on the same flight from Tokyo but was unable and thus took the longer option via Bangkok (still on SQ).
I headed for the gate slightly early for me, arriving a full 30 minutes before scheduled departure - which I was soon to regret. Again a queue out the door for security, but this time stupidly across the pier instead of down it - blocking the way for anyone heading to or from the gate past this one. Boarding has already started - as is often the case it starts early for SQ flights to New Zealand - but so far only for first, business, PPS and *Gold passengers. As I often do when on the upper deck and boarding is through 2 airbridges I mentally tossed a coin as to which way would be easiest. Left and through door 1L then through zone B to get to stairs (with a possible wait by door 2L to cross paths), or right and through door 2L and straight up the stairs. I chose right but should have chosen left since there was a long queue here in the hot airbridge. 5 minutes later and I'm onboard and up the stairs - it is sweltering inside, well over 30 C. It seems the APU hasnt been fixed and so the a/c has heated up badly during the few hours it sat parked here.
To compound the discomfort we pushed back late due to traffic congestion and so I had an unpleasant hour until the air cooled sufficiently to be comfortable.
Someone must have reset the IFE for my seat during the stop since it was now working I had my BTC meal and then quickly fell into a deep sleep only to walk up with bright sun streaming in the windows 6 hours later. Yup the FAs forgot to pull down the blinds. Shortly after I awoke they went around closing most of the blinds, but left some hard to reach ones open! Service was again uncharacteristically poor. Here are some more examples, missed drink service, no drink top-ups (or even asking if we wanted top-up), forgot which coffee type I had requested (in just a few seconds!), forgot (or misremembered) I don't have milk with my coffee, rubbish left on the armrest for most of the flight (still uncleared by the time we landed), at breakfast forgot to ask if I wanted any yoghurt, another missed hot towel (just skipped a couple of rows), etc.
Breakfast was served a couple of hours prior to landing.
It was a fine spring day in Auckland with scattered cloud and so great views of the hills, harbours and city which we circled to land from the east. Immigration and customs were surprisingly empty for what is normally a busy time of day, and so my plane to exit time (with no checked bags) was an excellent 5 minutes even though we got the gate at the end of the pier.
.)
I've never seen any inspect onboard a flight before other than the odd fly (especially Australian domestic flights) or mosquito.
