Hi there,

Hope you all had a great holiday season and best wishes for 2012.

My trip to Tokyo was a result of opportunistic timing and as a Christmas present I decided to take advantage of the half miles promotion that AA offered in conjunction with JL from SFO-HND. Although I visited Japan for the first time six months ago on a quick trip to Kyoto and Osaka, I was curious about Tokyo after having read and heard so much about it. I had the last week of December off so I said "why not". I redeemed 50,000 miles for a business class ticket and paid $71 total ($46 for taxes and $25 for ticketing over the phone). Deals can't get any better than this, especially on a quality carrier like JL. Ever since my first trip on JL long time ago (MEX-YVR) and a subsequent trip years later (BKK-KIX), I was hooked to JL's quality inflight service. I must add that these two trips were in Y and I was impressed by the attentive and professional service that I received. Since I am also an airline enthusiast I have watched the evolution of JL's logo with great interest and am glad that it has reversed to the classic red crane. Why on earth did JL mess with such a recognizable and well respected trademark? It was like watching someone go through an identity crisis, a malaise that also afflicted DL for a time.

Ok, let's move on to the "raison d'etre" for this report and talk about my experiences starting with the lounges. As an AA PLT I get access to all Oneworld lounges on an intl tkt and will take full advantage of this benefit. After all I worked hard to get to this level so I will now reap the fruits of my labor (truth be told, I was EXP in 2010 but on my own dime so I soft landed into PLT this year - thanks AA.)


CX First and Business Lounge

I arrived at SFO at around 10:40A and my first target was the newly opened CX First and Business lounge. The JL flight did not leave until around 1800 so there was plenty of time for indulging into a little "club hopping" until departure time.

I printed my boarding pass online and went straight to security. I flew out on Dec. 24 and I was not the only one planning to travel on that day. The lines to the A concourse were long and even the "express" line was slow. Families traveling with children and a slight malfunction of the detector contributed to the "joy" of standing in line for longer than usual. Since I had all the time in the world I could care less. I noticed the frustration on some fellow traveler's faces which became somewhat comical at times.

After what seemed like a century going through security, I ventured into the duty free shop to purchase something and browse the collection of ties from some respectable brands. My favorites are always the ones whose brand starts with an H.

The hallway leading to the CX lounge had an assortment of interesting vintage pictures of the airline. The nice signage and reception desk gave a promising look of things to come. On the left side of the room there were a couple of workstations with internet connection and the different sections of the club were well lit and stylishly appointed. The counter had a nice variety of breakfast items in addition to the noodle counter where one can order shrimp and pork wonton noodle soup or spicy peanut noodles. I had an enjoyable stay at this lounge and I never felt pressured to leave, even when all the guests departed for the HKG flight.








Reception desk






Counter














Do you think I was going to leave without trying the noodles?




Seating areas












Restooms




to be continued with BA Terraces and First Lounge....