Carfield

Dear all,

Just got back to New York City after two and half weeks in Hong Kong and Taipei. In order to issue a 100,000 miles MH F award before the World Perk change in late February, I decided to fly NW’s WBC back especially the fare is not bad $1400USD O/W. The only negative aspect was to stay at Taipei overnight and the closure of CKS Airport hotel meant that I had to stay in downtown Taipei, and woke up at 5am. Anyway, I was not expecting much from Northwest and was pleasantly surprised again by meals and the comfort of the new WBC seats. Some found the seats to be relatively poor. I actually liked it and yes, it could not less steep, but it was an improvement from Continental’s BF seat and even CX’s NBC.

January 20, 2005
NW 70 TPE-KIX Lv0825 Arr1145 Boeing 747-400 N663US “6303” in the classic livery
I arrived at Terminal one around 6:30am and the airport was very crowded with many charter flights to Cebu and other Asian destinations in the morning. Northwest counter was crowded, and there were four separate lines – one Internet check-in, self check-in kiosks, WBC, and economy line. The line was long for sure but everything was orderly. Only selected bags were secondarily screened, and I was checked in by a pleasant agent and she made sure everything was in order. I was given the invitation to China Airlines’ Dynasty Lounge. NW no longer operates its own lounge, but the new China Airlines lounge is very nice. So I don’t mind this change. Then I had to wait at the end of check-in counters to make sure my bags passed the x-ray test. Of course the machine decided to break down as I was heading towards the end of the line. Thankfully, the machine was fixed in fifteen minutes and as the NW supervisor said, could you imagine how the agents had to process all bags of these 300 passengers heading to the United States… The passport control was busy and only one security checkpoint was opened at the A side. Thankfully, it was not too bad and I had thirty minutes at the new China Airlines’ lounge, which was a major improvement from prior. The lounge had much open space and the interior is more stylish. There was a noodle bar at the end with three different types of noodles – Dan Dan Noodles (non-spicy one), Beef noodles, and vegetarian noodles, and the portions were more generous than CX. For dim sums, there were the buns, Chinese rolls, Danish, and some dumplings. There was an open alcoholic and non-alcoholic bars, but coke products in can were replaced by machines. There were lots of seats with side tables for food and there was a business center, as well as an Internet area. Good job, CI. As the agent said, boarding began at 7:30am – pretty early for an 8:25am departure. There was no line, as it was quite early for boarding. Since it was TPE, there was a separate J and Y line, and random passengers were selected for secondary hand carry checks. Once on board, I was welcomed by the American purser, but unlike CX and most Asian carrier, there was no escort to your seat, but I was fine. I had the much-priced 10A with lots of legroom in front of me. It was the only window seat that I could walk in and out of my seat without disturbing my neighbor. With a mostly TW based F/A, the service was carried with more smiles, and a tray of sparkling water, champagne, and orange juice was offered immediately. After most folks were seated, there was a headset and menu service, as well as newspapers but very limited American papers selection. The boarding was lengthy, as there were many late passengers. Door was closed two minutes late and we did not push back till 8:41am due to some late bags and cargoes. Well there was not much traffic at TPE, and we took off from R/W05 at 8:54am.

Flying time was an hour and forty-eight minutes. We first climbed to 33,000 feet but descended towards 29,000 feet due to light chops, and then back to 37,000 feet before approaching South of Kagoshima, Miyakonjo, Miyazaki, Kochi, and Tokushima. I love the “Follow the Map” function. That is my entertainment for the flight, as NW’s AVOD system still lacks selections – lots of movies, but how about some short subjects, such as sitcoms, dramas like CSI, and interesting things. You set up this great system, but fail to take advantage of it. In order to adjust to the time zone, I tried hard to stay up and the service this morning was a breakfast service. I was a bit surprised that there was no separate beverage service prior to breakfast. The service sequence was hot towels, breakfast all served on one tray, tea/coffee, and then tray collections, followed by duty free. It is a short flight, but I think a separate beverage service should happen especially there were only two F/As serving the whole main deck WBC section – one F/A per aisle rolling down the trolley, and us at second WBC cabin got our meals and beverage later. (Other F/As were in the galley). Anyway, the breakfast service was much nicer than imagined. Here is the full breakfast menu – used pretty much during the whole Winter months.

TPE-KIX 1 EB WINTER 2004/2005
Menu
Assorted Juices
Seasonal Fresh Fruit
Selection of Breads
The fruit was served in a new transparent tray with nice selection of apple, melon, cantaloupe, watermelon ball, and orange segments. Bread selection included warmed croissants and peach and blueberry Danish. The breadbasket was passed around twice.

Main Course
Cheese Scrambled Eggs, Grilled Ham
Or
Braised Chicken in Oriental Sauce, Steamed Noodles
I had the chicken dish, which was nice. The entrée should describe as “Braised chicken thigh with Chestnuts and Chinese gravy.” The chicken was not rubber and the sauce was flavorful. Delicious… and there was a side of Bak choy, which retains its green color.
Or
Cold Cereal

Dessert
Gourmet Coffee or Tea
For dessert, there was a tray of two mini pastries – strawberry mousse cake and tiramisu.

After breakfast, there was not much time left and I read a bit. Descent soon began at 10:16am and I could see some beautiful landscape of Japan on my way to my first landing at Kansai. Pilot signaled final preparation for landing at 10:25am, and we landed on Runway 24 at 11:42am Osaka local time (KIX was an hour ahead of TPE). Since NW used the gate at the other end, we got a nice tour of the main terminal of KIX. I saw the Air Calin’s A330 F-OHSD, AF’s Boeing 777-200 F-GSPV, EVA Air’s Airbus A330-200 B-16302 just arrived ahead of us from TPE, two Korean Air: A330-300 to Pusan HL7524 and Boeing 747-300 HL7469 (I have not see a Boeing 747-300 for a while except JAL and JAA), the brand new Asiana’s Airbus A330-300 HL7736 just gorgeous, Finnair’s MD-11 OH-LGE completing its push back for its flight to Helsinki, and then parked at Bay 6/Gate 19 next to an Alitalia’s Boeing 777-200ER I-DISO. To be honest, there are not many activities at Kansai compared to Narita and Nagoya (since NGO had domestic flights), as most flights were International and there are not many domestic flights. We parked at Bay 6 at 11:49am and headed to the transit area, which was crowded with folks on our flight. The terminal itself was very nice, but not as spectacular as HKG or ICN. I bought a few boxes of Kobe’s chocolate and then walked around to spot planes and to jog down all the registration number that I provided earlier in this paragraph. Northwest used a common user lounge but I did not visit, since plane-spotting was more important and I was sure that I missed nothing spectacular especially knowing lounges at KIX. To my surprise, many folks continued on our flights to DTW, but WBC was filled half with new passengers joining us at Kansai, but in Y, I will say 60% from TPE, and 40% from KIX.

NW 70 KIX-DTW Lv1315 Arr1120 Boeing 747-400 N663US
Boarding began at 12:41pm and boarding was less orderly as everyone was crowded at the gate, but elite and WBC boarding was strictly enforced. There was no need to all rush to the gate, when you heard the boarding announcement. Don’t want to generalize, but once again, the Japanese F/As took a more active role in assisting passengers in boarding, and the American F/As were fine, but did not look too enthusiastic – looked rather tired if you asked me. After passengers were settled down, two American F/As rolled down the amenities trolley. Menus, the new blue WBC amenity kits, headsets, and a choice of slippers (spotted a new gray color) or socks. Newspapers were offered by the Japanese F/As. English papers were lacking, except Asian WSJ and Herald Tribune. Door was closed early at 1:07pm and we pushed back three minutes later. After a Federal Express’ MD-11 and a JAL’s Boeing 777-200 landed, we took our turn at R/W24. We lifted off at 1:23pm.

Flying time was a quick eleven hours and fifteen minutes. We passed through Nagoya in 33,000 feet and then after passing North of Tokyo, we climbed to 34,000feet, and then later onto 35,000 feet before entering Alaskan cities of Quinkagak, South of Bethel, North of Kena, Tyenek, Anchorage, and Valdez. We climbed to 37,000 feet and then passing Whitehorse, Grand Rapids, Manitoba, Norway House, Thunder Bay, Hancock, Marquette, and began our descent after passing Traverse City.

Hot towels were passed out at 1:46pm, and then the beverage trolley made its appearance with cold mixed nuts and canapés – smoked salmon & cream cheese roll, and a teriyaki beef skewer. Lunch was not served till 2:45pm and to my surprise, the Japanese dinner was served in two courses, like the Western dinner. Good job, NWA, and the presentation was much improved from previous Northwest rides, which I avoided the Japanese dinners. Entrées were served at 3:10pm with rice and hot dishes, and then dessert tray made its appearance at 3:25pm and felt free to ask for everything. Trays were collected at 3:42pm. Here is the wine list and menu transcript with my description:

Wine List same on TPE-KIX flights as well
Champagne
Perrier Jouet Brut NV Champagne
White Wines
Choice of
2000 Stag’s Leap Beckstoffer Ranch Napa Valley Chardonnay
1999 Gallo of Sonoma Stefani Vineyard Chardonnay Dry Creek Valley
2001 St. Clement Napa Valley Chardonnay
2002 Chateau St. Jean Sonoma Chardonnay
2002 Benziger Fume Blanc North Coast
2001 Bouchard Beaune Du Chateau Blanc Premier Cru
2002 Chateau Ste. Michelle Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley
2002 Beringer Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Red Wines
Choice of
2000 St. Clement Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
1999 Gallo Of Sonoama Frei Ranch Vineyard Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley
2001 Fetzer Five Rivers Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon
1998 Anderson’s Conn Valley Napa Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2001 Chateau Arnauld Haut-Medoc Cru Bourgeois
2000 Les Brulieres De Beychevelle Haut-Medoc
2000 Chateau Coufran Haut-Medoc Cru Bourgeois

Port
Fonseca Bin No.27 Port

NRT KIX_ MSP DTW LAX WBC1 EB WINTER 2004/2005
To Begin
Cocktail or beverage of choice, canapés, and mixed nuts

Western style dinner
Appetizer salad
Mixed greens with garnish of the day
Choice of dressing

Main Course
Beef Tenderloin in Mushroom sauce, baby potatoes, vegetable Ratatouille
Or
Roasted Chicken Breast in Red Wine sauce, Mashed potatoes, and carrot batons
Or
Baked Salmon in Lemon Sauce, Parmesan potatoes, and asparagus

Japanese Style Dinner
Sakizuke
Tuna, Salmon, Squid, Octopus, and Salmon Roe
A nice selection of Japanese raw fish/sashimi – and the salmon roe was placed on a nice cucumber crown, and the salmon was smoked kind though.

Takiawase
Simmered Japanese Vegetables
Crab leg, spinach, beancurd roll with Japanese mushrooms, carrot, and pumpkin with starch sauce.

Soba – Chasoba

Osuimono
Clear Soup
Clear soup with two small Japanese starch balls and mushrooms

Main Meal
Simmered Duck breast, Grilled Beef Skewer, Shrimp, Eggplant
Very nice – nothing too heavy and yet filling enough

Japanese Dessert

Assorted Breads
I saw the garlic bread.

Dessert A La Carte
Fresh Fruit
Selection of Cheese offered with Port Wine
Ice Cream
Gourmet Cookies
Premium Coffee or Tea
Liqueurs
I did not see the fruit brochette offered as previous flights. The cheese selections were cheddar and Camembert, and flavor of ice cream is strawberry. I did not see the Godiva cookies offered on USA outbound flights.