Carfield

Dear all,

Here is my promised report on my most recent trip back to Hong Kong. I went to Hong Kong for a few days to attend a school-related conference, and for this trip, I flew Northwest World Business (the brand new) to Taipei on a cheap Z fare ($1200) and then overnight at the Evergreen Transit hotel at Taipei Terminal two, before flying BR to HKG on its brand new A330, and then from HKG to Taipei on CX, and then connecting on SQ to LAX. (I flew UA to SFO and then AA to JFK, but no report… except United did a good job with bags. The bags from LA came off before I reached the carousel and AA’s flight to JFK was excellent with good breakfast and snack – finally both the cheese/fruit plate and cookies). Here is the report!

April 30, 2004
NW 17 JFK-NRT Lv1415 Arr1700 Boeing 747-400 City of Tokyo N673US “6313” with new WBC but old livery
I arrived at JFK’s superb Terminal four about an hour and forty-five minutes prior to departure time. I went to the NWA’s check in area, which was pretty nice. For those with electronic tickets, you will be made to use to the kiosk (you will have to enter your passport information yourself), but I used the kiosk because there was no line and I could pick my own seat. For the JFK-NRT segment, many seats were opened up and got 4JK to myself. Then I proceeded to World Club, which was the Golden Circle Club operated by Aer Lingus. Even the staff was EI, and the GCC was better than any EI lounge at Ireland – SNN and DUB, in my opinions. It was spacious with lots of room and a stylish but relaxing interior. There were many sofa and lounge style chairs. The high ceiling and open windows provide lots of natural light to the lounge. For snacks, there were sandwiches, tortilla wraps, and a cheese & fruit platter. Of course, there was an open and self-served bar. There was also a great FLAVIA tea and coffee machine, and I had a nice cup of English breakfast tea. There was also a business center with Ethernet connections and four computers with web connections. I did a few last minute emails and then sat in front of the window, which was in front of Aer Lingus’ A330-300 EI-JFK ironically and Northwest’s Boeing 747-400. Since the lounge was outside of security area, I left the lounge unwillingly forty minutes prior to arrival. Since we were pretty much the only flight around at this time, there was no line for security plus a separate WBC line. Boarding began at 1:20pm and lines were huge, so I waited till the last minute.

For plane spotters, here was a list of planes I saw till takeoff –
Air Jamaica’s A321 6Y-JME, Pakistan’s Boeing 747-200 AP-SAK, Virgin’s new Boeing 747-400 VS-TOP “Virginia Plain,” El Al’s Boeing 747-400 4X-ELD, and Austria’s Airbus A330-200 old livery OE-LAP

Well I boarding among the last few passengers and was pleased to see the cabin outfitted with the brand new World Business seats plus the new AVOD function. The best seats were row 9 AB and JK with the most legroom. The worst seat is 10DEF because the bathroom lights will disturb you through the night. Row 1 to 4 was fine, but were not the best seats. The load was relatively full in all classes, but a few of us got the seat next to us empty, especially in the premium zone. The cabin crews were friendly, and your typical Northwest fare – and the Japanese F/A was the best, as she was the galley slave today and was actually the person, who took the entrée order and did the promotions for World perk. Once seated, I was given the menu, wine list, amenity kit (red triangle bag with the normal stuff – nothing fancy), and slippers. Then a range of Chinese, Japanese, and English newspapers was available in the console in front of us, and I got a copy of New York Times and World Journal (Chinese). Pre-takeoff beverage of orange juice, water, and champagne was offered. Door was closed at 2:06pm and we pushed back a few minutes early. We slowly taxied to Runway 13R and took off at 2:34pm.

I really like Northwest’s new interactive AVOD system, and the new Map function was addictive. It was no longer only the map, but you can follow the plane along, and zoom in and out along the track of the flight, which means that my flight route is a bit more detailed than normal. Flying time was thirteen hours and twenty-eight minutes. We first climbed to 31,000ft, while we passed through Elkland, Dunkirk, Lake Ontario, St Thomas, Croswe, Boyne city, Thunder Bay, and Kakabeka Fall before climbing to 34,000ft, then passing Skagway and Wells, before climbing to 35,000ft. Then we passed Katalla, Point Whiteshed, and Seward in Alaska, before climbing to 36,000ft, and we passed by Port Alsworth and Anogok before crossing the Pacific Ocean, and climbing to 37,000ft and our final cruising attitude of 39,000ft.

The flight started off really strong with a nice dinner service. The beverage trolley was out twenty-two minutes after takeoff, with a hot towel to start off, and then the new cocktail service. There were a bowl of mixed nuts, along with two spicy tandori shrimps and a beef canapé. The F/A came with refills on the mixed nuts. For Western dinner, the meals were served in two courses – salad and entrée, and for Japanese, it was a one tray thing.

To Begin
Cocktail or beverage of choice served with canapés and mixed nuts

Western Style Dinner
Appetizer salad
Mixed seasonal fresh greens with garnish of the day
Offered with your choice of creamy Parmesan or Japanese chukka goma dressing
Mesclun greens with a stick of cherry tomatoes, Parma ham, and Mozzarella cheese

Assorted breads and breadsticks
A white soft roll and pretzel bread stick – not really a choice here

Main Course
Stuffed Chicken Breast with au gratin potatoes and green beans
It was really a half spring chicken with a nice light cream stuffing. Chicken was juicy and tender, which was excellent in my opinions.
Or
Crusted red snapper with basmati rice
Or
Penne Pasta in Basil Parmesan sauce

Japanese Style Dinner
Sakizuke Shrimp and tamago
Takiawase Steamed Vegetables
Kobachi Wakame Salad
Soba Chasoba
Main Meal
Black Cod in Miso sauce, soup
Traditional Japanese Dessert

Dessert a la carte
Fresh Fruit
Chef’s selection of cheeses offered with Port wine
Ice Cream or Dessert of the day
Gourmet cookies
Have all you want – I had a fresh fruit brochette, which had kiwi, strawberry, apple and pear, and a mint chocolate chip ice cream on a chocolate covered waffle cup, and a Godiva chocolate cookie.

Mid-flight service
Enjoy an assortment of light snacks from our Sky Break Basket – Please help yourself.
Udon Noodles and Pizza
The Sky Break basket had Toberlone Chocolate bars, Grissini – Italian style breadsticks, Fritos, Otsumami, Fisher’s Fruit & Nut mix, bananas, apples, and pears. For udon, it was the Japanese mini cup with dried bean curd and, for pizza it was a cheese individual style. Water bottles were also passed out after dinner, and you can always ask for refills. Food was abundant.

For the new AVOD system, there were choices of movies and games. I played the Trivia for most of the flight, but I think the system can use a few sitcoms. The new seats were fairly comfortable and the sleeping position was alright, and the slope was not too bad. However, due to the entertainment system at the armrest, the seats were narrower and that is my only major complaint, compared to EVA’s new Premium Laurel and Singapore’s Raffles sleeper seats, which had the PTV in front of the seat. However, for a US airline, Northwest definitely has an advantage.