Background

Greetings folks! Welcome to another (albeit slightly belated) FlyerBeek RTW trip report.

You might remember my last trip report, entitled “FlyerBeek’s last MileagePlus hurrah." Well, it turns out that title was a bit of a misnomer. Back in December 2013/January 2014, following United’s announcement of a massive devaluation in premium cabin partner awards, I speculatively booked a handful of first class Star Alliance awards I might need in the future. I had assumed that my previous trip report written in August 2014 would have been the last of the legacy partner awards I could use, but UA.com seemed to allow rebooking the award flights online well past the typical one year ticket validity. So, I ended up with several additional Asia – North America first class awards that remained unused, including this trip’s return.

I had been wanting to visit Vietnam for quite some time, and I finally found ten days off from work to make the trip happen. For the outbound segments, I had originally ticketed a Cathay Pacific first class award about two weeks before departure, but later switched to JAL first class JFK-NRT once availability appeared about a week out. On the return, Thai and Asiana first class availability were easy to find, and Lufthansa first class predictably opened up about two weeks prior to the flight. I was able to rebook and reissue the entire UA award online, without having to deal with an agent who might question the validity of an award originally issued 16 months prior. The domestic segments on Vietnam Airlines and the Thai Airways Hanoi - Bangkok segment were booked as paid tickets once everything else was confirmed.

This trip report will include the following flights:
- US Airways First Class Washington – New York (DCA-LGA)
- JAL First Class New York – Tokyo (JFK-NRT)
- JAL Business Class Tokyo – Ho Chi Minh City (NRT-SGN)
- Vietnam Airlines Business Class Ho Chi Minh City – Da Nang (SGN-DAD)
- Vietnam Airlines Business Class Da Nang – Hanoi (DAD-HAN)
- Thai Airways Economy Class Hanoi – Bangkok (HAN-BKK)
- Thai Airways First Class Bangkok – Hong Kong (BKK-HKG)
- Korean Airlines Business Class Hong Kong – Seoul (HKG-ICN)
- Asiana First Class Seoul – Frankfurt (ICN-FRA)
- Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt – Washington (FRA-IAD)

And, the following airport lounges:
- Air France First Class Lounge New York (JFK)
- JAL First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita (NRT)
- Vietnam Airlines Domestic Business Class Lounge Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)
- Intercontinental Sun Peninsula Resort Airport Lounge Da Nang (DAD)
- Noi Bai International Airport Lounge Hanoi (HAN)
- Thai Airways Royal First Lounge and Royal Orchard Spa Bangkok (BKK)
- Singapore Airline Silver Kris Lounge Hong Kong (HKG)
- Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon (ICN)
- Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt (FRA)

To whet your appetite: a few photo highlights of what’s to come:



































So now, sit back, relax, and buckle-up. Let’s get started…

-FlyerBeek